My girlfriend, Inge, is a chocolate junkie. I can always tell when she’s stressed because there’s a little mountain of foil wrappers next to her on the couch. Cake is her crack. Brownies are her ‘lucy in the sky with diamonds.”
I’m not a baker – I’m a cook. I will cook anything at anytime, but give me a cake recipe to make from scratch, and I’m shaking in my skivvies. Cookies are easy as long as they aren’t too complicated. Brownies are easy, too, because I usually make them from a box! Not exactly homemade, but damn if they aren’t delicious. And hard to screw up.
But I came across this recipe in Bon Appetit for brownies. It touted them as the only brownie mix you will ever use for the rest of your life. They claim it is the “best and the easiest.” Really? It was hard to believe, but as it seemed so easy I decided to give it a shot and surprise the girlfriend. A few more brownie points (pun intented) never hurt!
It has only 7 ingredients. Instead of the Scharffen Berger natural unsweetened cocoa powder that the recipe called for, I used Hershey’s Special Dark all-natural unsweetened cocoa. When you mix the cocoa/flour mixture together with the sugar, eggs and butter, you get this intensely dark chocolaty paste. It looks like crushed oreo cookies without the creamy center, but better. It’s a thick batter and that’s okay. I’m going to tell you now…lick the bowl. Don’t pass it by, don’t think you’re too old for it. Don’t worry about the raw eggs (I haven’t died yet from it). Lick the damn bowl. And the spatula. And the spoon. And your hands. Pretty much anything you get this chocolate mixture on, lick it. Eat it. Take a spatula and scrape the bowl to get the stuff left on the sides after you pour the batter into the pan. You won’t regret it.
This is hands-down, the best sinfully delicious, chocolatey brownies I have ever had. Inge agreed. The Special Dark cocoa transformed these brownies into a moist, dense, intense chocolate flavor. You only need to eat one piece for effect. Two may be gluttony, but come on…it’s the holidays. Live it up. You’ve got a month until that evil New Year’s resolution.
These brownies are my new staple, box mix be damned! And they’re so easy, I bet you will make them your go-to brownies, too. If you don’t, you will regret it. I can promise you that much. Play around with different cocoas. Add nuts if you want (I don’t). Cut the intense chocolate with a dash of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Whatever your addiction calls for, do it (brownies, folks…come on).
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1¼ cups sugar
- ¾ cup Hershey’s Special Dark natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.Line an 8x8x2 baking pan with foil, pressing firmly into the pan and leaving a 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray and set baking dish aside.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it cool slightly. Whisk cocoa, sugar, and salt in a bowl until well combined. Pour butter into the dry ingredients in a steady stream, whisking constantly to blend. Whisk in vanilla. The batter will be like a thick paste. That’s expected.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each egg. Add flour and stir until just combined (do not overmix). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
- Bake until top begins to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan. Using the foil overhang, lift the brownies out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut and serve!
December 10, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Those look awesome! And I’ve always licked the bowl, and spoon, and beaters,…. Like you, the raw eggs haven’t killed me yet!
December 12, 2012 at 1:56 pm
What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger…I recall hearing that somewhere.