Double Chocolate Brownies

Happy 2010 everyone.

It has been months since I have made homemade brownies, and I was in the mood for something chocolatey, fudgy and delicious so I decided to try out a new recipe. These are, in fact, delicious.

I always like to try new brownie recipes without any additions- so I left out the nuts which Chris so ardently adores. However, this recipe was so good he did not even comment on the missing pecans.

This recipe is now my favorite brownie recipe- although, I am wondering how some of the recipes on Epicurious stack up against it. If you all have a favorite brownie recipe please post it so I can try it.

Also, for those of you who are fans of boxed brownie mixes- Epicurious just did a taste test and a gluten free version came out on top- very interesting. Click here for the full article.

Ingredients

Makes 9 large or 16 small squares

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 6 ounces coarsely chopped good-quality semisweet chocolate*
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.
2. Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate are melted. Let cool slightly.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.
4. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

*We are fans of bittersweet chocolate so I use the Ghirardelli bittersweet 60% cacao chips in most recipes now, including this one. I am sure the brownies will be just as delicious with semi-sweet.

From Martha Stewart's Cookies

Cream Cheese Brownies

I love brownies, I love cheesecake- and I love them even more together. Enjoy!

Brownie Base
2/3 C. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
8 Tbsp. butter cut into quarters
1 C. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Cream Cheese filling
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch baking pan with foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water- melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla and sugar. Whisk in eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until just incorporated.

For the cream cheese filling: beat the ingredients together in a small bowl until evenly blended.

Pour half the batter in the pan, drop half the cream cheese mixture, by spoonfuls, over the batter. Repeat, layering the remaining batter and cream cheese filling. Use the blade of a knife to gently swirl the brownie batter and cream cheese for a marbling effect.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the brownies have puffed slightly and a toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool on a wire rack and in the refrigerator until chilled (probably about hours).

Courtesy of "The New Best Recipe"/Cooks Illustrated
photo: We had nine dinner guests last night and the brownies were gone well before I thought to take a picture. So I have borrowed one: dinneranddessert.wordpress.com