Fudgy brownies (per request by sarahd)

Clarissa

Thu, Jul 02 2009, 12:11 pm

These are really fudgy. A little messy to handle. When I don't want to go to the trouble, I make a simpler recipe from Epicurious called Andrew's Brownies. When I want something different, I make the Double Decker Mocha Brownies, which I posted here a while back. I also make other brownie recipes (along with brownie cookies and white chocolate brownies) but those mentioned are my top 3.

FUDGE BARS
from Bake and Freeze Desserts by Elinor Klivans

For a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan, 12 to 16 bars (amounts for 8 x 8 x 2 pan are everything in half, except for semisweet chocolate, which is 1 1/3, for some reason)

2 1/2 cups (15 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
2 teaspoons instant decaffeinated coffee, dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the pan of your choice with heavy aluminum foil, letting the foil extend over the ends of the pan. Butter the aluminum foil.

2. Put the semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, butter and dissolved coffee in a heatproof container and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir the mixture over the hot water until the chocolates and butter are melted and smooth. Remove from over the water and cool 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, put the eggs in the large bowl of an electric mixer and mix the eggs at medium speed for 10 seconds. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes, until the egg mixture thickens and is a light yellow color. Decrease the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate mixture. Add the flour and mix just until no white streaks of flour remain.

4. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake 28 minutes. The brownies will look soft. Cool 1 hour at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight. Use the overhanging ends of aluminum foil to lift the brownies out of the pan. Remove the aluminum foil. Cut into pieces.

Advice: Let the fudge bars chill before cutting them, but serve them at room temperature for the best chocolate flavor.

My note: As I wrote above, they are messy to cut and to handle. I clean the knife between slices, just to be able to continue to slice. And when you clean the knife often, you wind up with a pile of little fudgy clumps, and someone has to eat them...

Clarissa

Thu, Jul 02 2009, 12:37 pm

bbmom wrote:

Sounds delicious!

Have you ever made them in either a convection oven or with parve ingredients?

I've never made them pareve, but I imagine they'd work fine, as I've subbed in margarine for a fudge pie and it was great. Just make sure it's unsalted.

I've never baked them in a convection oven, but if you do, make sure to check that the top isn't burning. I've really had to watch desserts baked in there, since the sugar/chocolate can burn, and convection really makes things move quickly.

Clarissa

Thu, Jul 02 2009, 12:39 pm

GR wrote:

Thanks for posting. I'll try these IYH for this week, but with a few changes (of course, do I ever follow a recipe? Rolling Eyes

).

Have you ever posted the brownie cookies, Clarissa?

No, never posted the brownie cookies. I can look for them, if anybody wants -- I haven't made them in a long time, but I'm sure I still have the recipe somewhere.

I'm making something else for this week's dessert. These very cakey, lumpy cookies, with a chocolate drizzle on top. I've never made them before. They look ugly and delicious.

gryp

Thu, Jul 02 2009, 1:01 pm

Clarissa wrote:

GR wrote:

Thanks for posting. I'll try these IYH for this week, but with a few changes (of course, do I ever follow a recipe? Rolling Eyes

).

Have you ever posted the brownie cookies, Clarissa?

No rush. I'm set for this week with this one.

Enjoy your ugly and delicious cookies. Smile

The pretty ones never really taste as good.

blueberrypie

Sat, Nov 05 2016, 9:34 pm

Clarissa wrote:

Clarissa, do you still have the recipe for the double decker brownies? They sound really good! I searched the site, but can't find them.thanks!

Clarissa

Sat, Nov 05 2016, 10:16 pm

Here you go:

Double Decker Mocha Brownies

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) soft unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon instant decaffeinated coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (4 ounces)

1. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

2. Put the semisweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in an ovenproof container and melt it in the oven, 8 to 10 minutes. As soon as the chocolate is melted, remove it from the oven and stir it smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

3. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and stir together. Set aside. Put the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium speed for 15 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until the butter and sugar are creamed thoroughly, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and mix in the eggs and vanilla, mixing until the eggs are incorporated. The mixture will look slightly curdled. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of bowl once during this time. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until the flour is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Put 2 cups batter in a medium bowl. You can use the bowl that held the flour mixture. Stir the dissolved coffee into this batter. Stir the melted chocolate into the batter remaining in the large mixing bowl. Use a thin metal spatula to spread the chocolate batter evenly in the prepared pan. Spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the batter. Use the thin metal spatula to spread the coffee batter evenly over the chocolate chips. A few chocolate chips may show through the coffee batter.

4 Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center no longer has liquid clinging to it but the top of the brownies still feels soft, about 35 minutes. If the toothpick penetrates a chocolate chip, test another spot.

5. Cool the brownies in the pan on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Cut the brownies into 12 or 16 pieces.

from the Bake and Freeze Chocolate Cookbook by Elinor Klivans

blueberrypie

Sat, Nov 05 2016, 10:16 pm

Clarissa wrote:

Thank you!!