Brownies, Brownies

Let me preface this with saying, I have never claimed to be a baker... but I try! I had a lot of brownies to make for some very special people. I combed my most trusty cookbooks and websites only to find mixed reviews or questionable methods. Solution: two kinds of brownies.

So, this post is a "learn with me/do as I say not as I do" sort of thing. I was rushing, and rushing can lead to overlooking.... like the vanilla that fell over and hid behind my recipe book stand. It never made it into the final Dulce De Leche brownie batter... alas I think the creamy wonderful Dulce De Leche might have compensated for the lack of extract. As for the Outrageous Brownies, I only had kosher salt, whereas the recipe called for fine salt. This really wasn't too bad. I really enjoy the combination of salty and sweet, and you could actually taste the salt in the final product without it being completely overpowering. I would call that more of a happy accident, at least for me, but I would recommend using regular salt as it is an unexpected flavor for most people. Also for this recipe, Mama's got a brand new pan!

And oh. my. gosh. IT'S HUGE AND I'M OBSESSED WITH IT. If you are considering getting a half sheet for any reason (that's 18 x 12x 1), do it. They are fabulous and I'm sure it will last forever.

These recipes were adapted from two of my foodie heroes: David Lebovitz & Ina Garten.

Batch 1: Dulce De Leche Brownies

adapted from David Lebovitz

makes about 12 brownies.... depending on how you like to cut :)

8 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (don't forget!)
1 cup flour
optional: 1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup Dulce De Leche, or Cajeta

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While you are doing this, I would recommend toasting the nuts. I like to place my nuts in a frying pan over medium and really keep an eye on them. They will become fragrant and darken a few shades. It doesn't normally take longer than about five minutes depending on the nut.

Apparently I just wasn't paying a terrible amount of attention to Mr. Lebovitz. He says the line the bottom of an 8 inch pan with foil and then grease the foil with non-stick cooking spray or butter, which I did not do. I did butter the pan, though, apparently I just did not even see the bit about the foil. This is the most likely reason why my brownies did not turn out nearly as pleasing to the eye as his. They were tasty, but they were definitely a carmel-y melty mess.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the chopped chocolate and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. When it comes to chocolate- ALWAYS go low and slow. Remove from heat and whisk in the coco powder until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time (it will look a little funky at first, but have faith, by the third egg you will see the beautiful brownie batter begin to emerge), then the sugar, vanilla, and flour. Add the nuts at this point if you are using them.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared baking pan (foil & all!) and spread out. In even dollops, drop 1/3 of the Dulce De Leche onto the brownie batter and drag a knife gently through to swirl the batter slightly. Pour the rest of the brownie mix over the top and repeat the process with the remaining Dulce De Leche. I think I may have dragged my knife too heavily, for the incredibly amount of swirl that Mr. Lebovitz had in his brownies, I would almost recommend using something like a toothpick.

Bake 35-45 minutes, allow to cool completely. He says these brownies get better the second day, which is great since I immediately had to mail them off to my lucky gent! I think they will do fine in the fridge or covered with foil at room temp, up to you and how long you think you can make them last.

I try to practice Mise En Place, which means having all ingredients measured, chopped, open, etc. and ready to go so that you can cook quickly and efficiently. It is a good habit, but sometimes it falls to the wayside. I cannot stress enough, however, the importance of thoroughly reading an entire recipe before you begin preparing it. That has really saved me (or caused me) a lot of trouble more than a few times- obviously I should have done a better job of it this time!

Batch 2: Outrageous Brownies

adapted from Ina Garden, The Barefoot Contessa

Makes a whole bunch of brownies. I mean it.

1 pound unsalted butter

1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (they are sold in 1 lb. & 12 oz. bags at most grocery stores)

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 extra-large eggs

3 tablespoons instant coffee granules

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped walnuts ( I thought this was a little much, I used about 2 1/4 cups)

*Regarding the photo above with the butter and the chocolate; that melting process would have been quite a bit quicker if I had cubed the butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a half sheet (18 x 12 x 1) pan.

Melt the unsweetened chocolate, the butter, and the 1 lb. chocolate chips in a medium bowl over simmering water. This is called a double boiler. I have an actual double boiler but the top bowl was much too small for the amount of chocolate and butter I was using. When doing this, make sure the water is just simmering, not boiling, and that the water is not touching the bottom of the pan. The only bowl I had that would fit was glass, so I was extra careful of the heat. Also, water ruins chocolate, so keep them away from each other! Once again, when melting chocolate: low & slow.

Remove the mixture from heat and allow it to cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir (DO NOT BEAT) the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. I waited at least 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir this into the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the 12oz chocolate chips and chopped walnuts with 1/4 cup flour, this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. Stir the chips and walnuts into the batter (don't worry about the extra flour in the bottom of the bowl, you really just need the chocolate and nuts to be coated), then pour the brownie batter onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the edge of the pan on the oven rack to release excess air. Careful, you may spill a little of the batter into the oven and make your kitchen a little smokey. Yep, it happened to me. Bake for another 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle... I should really buy some toothpicks. Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut as you please. These freeze pretty well, and they are so fudgey and lovely. Worth the effort.

Enjoy, And learn from my mishaps!