I've been an avid fan of the baked brownie recipe for quite some time now. I like the idea of a brownie with copious amounts of melted chocolate involved. I have even become a bit snobbish, looking down on lowly brownie recipes who's chocolate flavor is supplied by cocoa powder alone. So when I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit this month, I was intrigued. Mostly because there is only 1/3 of a cup of flour, which has to be a good thing in a brownie recipe.
I like fudgy brownies. In fact, I frequently ask myself why I bother to bake them in the first place, since the batter is so darned delicious. (Usually, I decide that the baked form is more easy to transport and distribute. Usually.) I have been known to leave a 1/2 inch edge of crusty discards all along the outside of the brownie pan. Despite--or maybe because of-- the lack of melted chocolate in this recipe, they were incredibly fudgy. Now if you're one of those people who likes edge-brownies, I don't really know what to say. But you can come eat my garbage if you like.
Cocoa Brownies
adapted from Bon Apetit
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup flour
- dash (<1 cayenne="cayenne" li="li" optional="optional" pepper="pepper" tsp="tsp">
- Prehear oven to 325. Line an 8x8-inch pan with tin foil and grease it.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let cool. Mix sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, and pour the butter in, whisking as you go. Whisk in vanilla and beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour and cayenne until just combines
- Bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs attached (I don't bake it this long. . .), 25-30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
I swear licking the bowl isn't the only reason I make brownies.
In other news, we had an epic date night at Zoo Lights
