Suzanne's Best Brownies Recipe
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If one is going to take the trouble to make chocolate brownies, and incur the wrath of the Fat-god for eating them, one may as well make them right. Brownies from a box? No thank you. This is my dear friend Suzanne's recipe, which she originally got from Epicurious and modified to use almond extract in place of the vanilla (the original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of vanilla). They are the kind of brownie that can't make up their mind whether they would rather be cake or fudge. The almond extract gives these brownies a wonderful flavor, a perfect blend with the cocoa and pecans.
Suzanne's Best Brownies Recipe
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Ingredients
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup pecan pieces
Method
1 Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
2 Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
3 Stir in the almond extract with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
4 Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.
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Posted by Elise on May 8, 2005 and indexed Brownies, Chocolate
I just bought brownie mix yesterday, which I NEVER do. Must be lazy-end-of-semester-blues setting in. Do you (or any of your readers) know what the recipe for Starbuck's Daybreak cookies is? I've been searching for it online and can't find it. I just LOVE that cookie!