Triple Your Pleasure

“During the publication of the series of the ‘Brownies’ just closed in The Ladies Home Journal, the question has often come to me ‘What is the origin of the brownies?’ And perhaps there is no better time to answer this question than now, before the next series of brownie adventures shall begin on this page.

The brownie, as the cyclopeaedia informs us, springs from an old Scotch tradition, but it leaves us to follow up the tradition ourselves and learn how far back into the past it may be traced. Now a tradition, or legend, is about as difficult game to hunt to cover as your literary fowler can flush, but enough can be found to prove that the brownies were good-natured little spirits or goblins of the fairy order.” — Palmer Cox

Sorry. Wrong brownie origin. However, there’s some relevance to it. I’ve run across a number of supposed origins for the brownie: It was a chocolate cake, but the baker forgot to add baking powder; or, A chef mistakenly added melted chocolate to a batch of biscuits; or, A cook was making cookies but ran out of flour. In short, apparently there is no definitive source for this concoction anymore than there is for Mr. Cox’s Brownies. There is only general agreement that brownies are an American invention.

I’m neither a big fan of sweets nor a big fan of chocolate. Oh, I like sweets and chocolate well enough, but faced with the choice between a bar of chocolate and a slice of roast beef I’ll go for the roast beef. That said, I am a fan of brownies. Or rather, I like moist, chewy, not-too-sweet brownies. And this recipe, from the Cooks Illustrated American Classics cookbook, is just about perfect. The texture is lush and fudgy but not gooey and they’re ever-so-slightly bitter because the dark chocolate is allowed to stand out and because of the espresso powder.

Triple-Chocolate Brownies

5 oz bittersweet chocolate — coarsely chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate — coarsely chopped
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp espresso powder
8 tbsp butter — cut into quarters
3 ea eggs, large
1 1/4 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 c all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350F and place a rack in the lower-middle position. Spray an 8″x8″ baking pan with a nonstick cooking spray, line with aluminum foil, and spray again. (Note: The aluminum foil should extend beyond two ends so it can be grasped to lift brownies out of pan.)

Place chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and zap at 50% power for one minute. Stir. Zap for another 30 seconds and stir. Repeat until you can stir the mixture into a smooth sauce. (Note: due to variations in microwaves, these instructions are very conservative, you may be able to zap for longer intervals. Use your own judgment.) Whisk in cocoa powder and espresso powder and set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar. Whisk in the warm chocolate. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour until just combined. Pour into baking pan, spread to corners, and smooth.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes until puffed and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool on a wire rack for about two hours before cutting. Makes 16 brownies.

Technorati: Food | SHF # 13 | brownies

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