Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Classic Brownies


1 cup (4 oz) pecans or walnuts chopped
1 ¼ cup cake flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder
5 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped *(their recipe calls for 6 oz)
12 Tablespoons butter
2 ¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Line the inside of a 9x13 pan with foil. Push in to corners and up sides of pan, fold any excess over the outside of pan. Spray with Pam.
If using nuts, spread on baking sheet and bake 5-8 minutes.
Whisk to combine flour, salt and baking powder in bowl.
Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl, or in double boiler. I use my gas range on the lowest setting. Gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour in three additions. Folding in. Make sure not to over mix.
Transfer mixture in to pan. Sprinkle nuts on top. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. 25-35 minutes. When cooled, lift brownies out of pan by foil. Flatten out overhang foil and cut.


Cooks magazine did a whole write up on making the perfect brownie in March/ April 2004. They analyzed everything that goes in to making the perfect brownie-from the type of flour (cake flour yields a softer texture), to the baking of the nuts, and placing them on top, instead of inside the batter, to insure the nuts were still crunchy, and not soggy. These are my type of people!

*I made these a few times, before I changed to 5 oz…I like the chocolate flavor to be a little less intense in brownies.

Si

1 comment:

corrine said...

yummy mama! looks delish - maybe I will try tomorrow :)