TWD: Best~Ever Brownies (hmmm...)

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing baker: Rick Katz




These are good as far as brownies go - just not "best~ever" in my not-so-humble opinion. I prefer the recipe I make every year for my cookie tins - which freeze beautifully!

Not sure what Rick, the contributing baker means by "these can be frozen, but they never freeze solid, so you may want to think about using them as a mix-in for ice cream." Does this mean they don't hold there shape? Do they fall apart or turn to moosh? I won't know for I am dusting them with powdered sugar and sending them to work with the husband for the boys - they'll eat anything and not one is named Mikey.

The recipe calls for a nine-inch square cake pan; of course I have an 8 and a 10-inch. I went with a 9x13-inch pan and baked them for 30 minutes and they came out fine. If I was not distracted I would have baked these five minutes less for I like my brownies on the under-baked side.

It was hard, but I refrained from adding espresso powder as I do to the brownies I make at Christmas. I followed the recipe to a T other than using a different pan size as mentioned above and did not have any issues with the batter being runny as some of the other bakers had. The bake time must be incorrect in the book. I haved always baked brownies in a larger pan for the time allotted in the recipe.

The brownies are cake-like as opposed to gooey and chewy (how I like mine) with a slight crisp top. They are soft and light due to the whipping of the eggs. I would have liked the chocolate to be a bit more pronounced - maybe add a little cocoa powder (and espresso!).

All in all these are OK for everyday brownies.

Success meter (1-3): 2

Chocolate & butter.

Melt the chocolate and butter..

Add sugar..

Fold in the whipped eggs.

Add dry ingredients.

Place in unbuttered pan and bake away.

(I line the pan with parchment paper

for easy removal and slicing.)

If this post has intrigued you to make these yourself, you can find the recipe over at Monica's blog A Beautiful Mess, our host for the week.

One of the joys of cooking with a group is reading about all the different variations on the recipes. Do be sure to wander over to the Tuesdays with Dorie LYL link to see what the other bakers have come up with and to salivate over beautiful photos.