4/8/08
While-you're-at-it Brownies
I call these brownies 'While-you're-at-it' because the steps can be done in between other things, such as laundry, other cooking, or basic around the kitchen stuff. They are very rich, and I can generally only eat a 1" square at a time. I know, I'm a wimp!
Adapted from Practical Cooking.
1 - 6 oz bar Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
6 oz butter, chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup plus two tbsp all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 - 8 oz package walnuts
*Why do I command that thou usest expensive chocolate? Why, because your brownies are what they start with. You want bitter, gritty, mealy, stick-in-your-throat-sweet brownies, go ahead and use generic semi-sweet chips. I pity your soul.
Start with a smallish heatproof dish that just fits into a sauce pan without falling in. For example, I have a Pyrex bowl that is about an inch larger around than my medium saucepan. Bring your water to a boil, then remove from heat. Set your bowl into this, not touching the water, not boiling the water, and being careful not to cross your arms. Kidding on that last one there, guys, relax.
Preheat your oven to 350˚
Now drop your chopped butter and chopped chocolate together into the glass dish.
Go about your business.
Or, as my Italian nonno used to say: "bidness"
In a few minutes, drop by the dish, give it a swizzle with a whisk, and resist the temptation to lick it. Yeah, right.
You can use this time to measure out your other ingredients, unless you're a Type A and already did. If you're like me, you will start about fifteen kitchen projects that are destined to never be finished. Oh, and you'll probably clean up 1.2 kid messes, answer the phone, and spill something on yourself in this time.
Give the butter/chocolate heaven another swizzle. Is it starting to get shiny? Good. Not? Maybe you could reheat the water, keeping the glass out of it again (you knew, that, right? ok, I won't bring it up again)
Now you can suddenly remember that you need an 8" x 8" glass baking dish and scramble to wash last week's frittata out of it. Once it's dry, you can brush melty butter on it and rip off a piece of parchment paper appx double the width of your baking dish. The overhang is to allow you to pull the greasy things out of the pan when they're cool.
Squish the paper down in the dish, trying desperately not to pay attention to the fact that it doesn't fit. This part always reminds me of the classic Phil Hartman SNL skit: The Anal Retentive Chef. I wonder how he would deal with oversize parchment paper.
Now that you've wasted even more time on JibJab, your stuff should be mostly melty. Blend your sugar & vanilla with the eggs. Is your chocolate/butter mix shiny? Fold it into the egg mixture, gently. Add your cocoa powder, flour and walnuts at once, mix just until the white no longer shows (is that like holding fire until you see the whites of their eyes?) and dump unceremoniously into the baking dish. Anticlimatic, isn't it?
Bake for appx 40 minutes, dreaming of better things. I suppose this could be another moment where you do other things, like finish one of the fifteen things started or yell at your kids again.
These brownies are messy when cut while warm. I do not know if they are any different when cut while cool, because they never make it to that point in my house. They are SO GOOD that they melt in your mouth, and the bigger you leave the walnut chunks, the better, for some odd reason. No wimpy 'bits' for me, thanks.
Enjoy.
...and RIP, Phil Hartman.
Adapted from Practical Cooking.
1 - 6 oz bar Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
6 oz butter, chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup plus two tbsp all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 - 8 oz package walnuts
*Why do I command that thou usest expensive chocolate? Why, because your brownies are what they start with. You want bitter, gritty, mealy, stick-in-your-throat-sweet brownies, go ahead and use generic semi-sweet chips. I pity your soul.
Start with a smallish heatproof dish that just fits into a sauce pan without falling in. For example, I have a Pyrex bowl that is about an inch larger around than my medium saucepan. Bring your water to a boil, then remove from heat. Set your bowl into this, not touching the water, not boiling the water, and being careful not to cross your arms. Kidding on that last one there, guys, relax.
Preheat your oven to 350˚
Now drop your chopped butter and chopped chocolate together into the glass dish.
Go about your business.
Or, as my Italian nonno used to say: "bidness"
In a few minutes, drop by the dish, give it a swizzle with a whisk, and resist the temptation to lick it. Yeah, right.
You can use this time to measure out your other ingredients, unless you're a Type A and already did. If you're like me, you will start about fifteen kitchen projects that are destined to never be finished. Oh, and you'll probably clean up 1.2 kid messes, answer the phone, and spill something on yourself in this time.
Give the butter/chocolate heaven another swizzle. Is it starting to get shiny? Good. Not? Maybe you could reheat the water, keeping the glass out of it again (you knew, that, right? ok, I won't bring it up again)
Now you can suddenly remember that you need an 8" x 8" glass baking dish and scramble to wash last week's frittata out of it. Once it's dry, you can brush melty butter on it and rip off a piece of parchment paper appx double the width of your baking dish. The overhang is to allow you to pull the greasy things out of the pan when they're cool.
Squish the paper down in the dish, trying desperately not to pay attention to the fact that it doesn't fit. This part always reminds me of the classic Phil Hartman SNL skit: The Anal Retentive Chef. I wonder how he would deal with oversize parchment paper.
Now that you've wasted even more time on JibJab, your stuff should be mostly melty. Blend your sugar & vanilla with the eggs. Is your chocolate/butter mix shiny? Fold it into the egg mixture, gently. Add your cocoa powder, flour and walnuts at once, mix just until the white no longer shows (is that like holding fire until you see the whites of their eyes?) and dump unceremoniously into the baking dish. Anticlimatic, isn't it?
Bake for appx 40 minutes, dreaming of better things. I suppose this could be another moment where you do other things, like finish one of the fifteen things started or yell at your kids again.
These brownies are messy when cut while warm. I do not know if they are any different when cut while cool, because they never make it to that point in my house. They are SO GOOD that they melt in your mouth, and the bigger you leave the walnut chunks, the better, for some odd reason. No wimpy 'bits' for me, thanks.
Enjoy.
...and RIP, Phil Hartman.
Labels: baking, brownies, chocolate, cooking, humor, kitchen, walnuts
