Best Cocoa Brownies
photo by Greeny4444
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Yields:
-
16 brownies
ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, cold
- 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2⁄3 cup walnuts (optional) or 2/3 cup pecan pieces (optional)
directions
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
- Spray the pan and lining with cooking spray.
- Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water.
- Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth, though it will appear somewhat gritty.
- Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not at all hot.
- Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon.
- Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each one.
- When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well-blended, add the flour and stir until all the streaks of flour disappear, then beat vigorously for 40 more strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
- Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 25 minutes.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Set the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes (it will make for clean cutting of the brownies).
- Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.
- Cut into 16 squares.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
I'm not the best brownie maker, so I am constantly trying new recipes to see if I can make good ones. This one came out really nice right from the oven - see my pic with two casserole dishes (I doubled the recipe and baked them in two 8x8's for 28 minutes), but I fell asleep at step 12 (with them in the refrigerator), and by morning they had a fudge-like consistency (see my other picture). :( I am kinda nervous to take them to my BBQ today, but maybe once they warm to room temperature they will un-firm or de-dense (is that a word?) a little bit. I have a feeling that something, somewhere does not want me to be able to make good brownies. LOL! I am going to try this recipe again, because it was actually really easy to do. Thanks for posting it.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm 23 years old and I live in Trinidad. One of the islands in the Caribbean.
I love baking and have a major sweet tooth but I am trying to cook more savoury foods and I am enjoying trying new recipes.
Recently I have come to love photographing the food I make. Too bad they don't all come out photo worthy, but at least they still taste good! lol
<img src=http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Ingredients/BANNERS/SuperBowlSTKR.jpg> <img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b280/carolinamoon21/Ingredients/BANNERS/TeaSuppers-STKR.jpg">