Cocoa brownies with brown butter and pecans

Whenever I feel the urge to bake something delicious but am out of time I bake brownies: they’re super easy to put together, there’s not need to wait for the butter to soften – and in this recipe not even the eggs need to be at room temperature – and once in the oven all you need to do is decide whether to eat them still warm with ice cream or plain, after they’ve cooled down. :)

These brownies are a variation of Alice Medrich’s ultra delicious cocoa brownies, and even though they’re really god I find the previous version better – I like the addition of pecans but I don’t think the browned butter makes such a huge difference in this case, unlike other recipes. As I looked for the cocoa brownies link to post here for you I read there that “my 16 year old sister loves these brownies” – she’s 19 now and I’m feeling really old right this moment. :)

Cocoa brownies with brown butter and pecans
from the Brownie Wizard Alice Medrich

10 tablespoons (140g/1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, chopped
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (68g) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, cold
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (56g) all purpose flour
1 cup (110g) pecans, lightly toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F. Line 20cm (8in) square baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 5cm (2in) overhang. Butter the foil.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, water, vanilla, and salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into squares.
Brownie can be stored in an airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Makes 16

Cherry brownie bites

I've just finished watching "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (probably for then 15th time) and it's possible that I'll watch it a couple more times in the years to come: the movie is so much fun and an absolut classic. I love classic movies (most of them) and I love classic desserts like brownies, which are an American classic and nowadays are extremely popular here in Brasil, and this bite-sized version not only is delicious with the bits of dried cherry but also they're so cute! And they pop out of the molds so easily you don't have to worry about making perfect slices or squares.

Cherry brownie bites
from the delicious Rose's Heavenly Cakes

55g (2oz) dried cherries, roughly chopped
½ tablespoon dark rum
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter
55g (2oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1/3 cup (33g) cocoa powder, preferably Dutch processed
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
55g (2oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup (47g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Place the cherries in a small bowl and mix in the rum. Let steep for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F. You’ll need fourteen lightly buttered ¼ cup capacity silicon molds or mini muffin pans – I used silicon molds and the brownies were easy to unmold; they’re very moist so I guess it would be difficult to unmold them from metal pans.
Place butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Transfer to the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add the cocoa, beat in medium speed to incorporate, then beat in the sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. When incorporated, beat in the cream cheese until only small bits remain. Add the flour and salt and mix only until the flour is fully moistened. Drain the cherries and stir them into the batter.
Fill the molds about ¾ full and smooth the tops. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the batter has set. The batter will puff and rise a little above the top of the cavities but sinks slightly on cooling - if pressed lightly with a finger tip they will spring back.

Makes 14 – I made the exact recipe above, used 3 tablespoon-capacity molds and got 19

Chestnut brownies

Remember my chestnut-flour-baking-frenzy? After removing the cake from the oven and placing it on a wire rack to cool, I immediately started making these brownies: the recipe called for chopped roasted chestnuts to be incorporated in the batter, but I decided to bake the brownies without them anyway. The result was a cakey brownie, very moist and delicious; I gladly gobbled up two pieces of it and that says a lot since I’m a definitely a fudgy-brownie-kind-of-gal.

Chestnut brownies
slightly adapted from the wonderful Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen

112g (4oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
½ cup (50g) chestnut flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) dark brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Amaretto or cognac
icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 23cm (9in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, chestnut flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. Add the sugars and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and Amaretto (or cognac). Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar (if desired) and cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16 – I made the exact recipe above using a 20cm (8in) square pan

Easy double choc brownies make happy coworkers

My idea was to bring brownies to work but had so much to do I was running out of time to actually bake them – that was when I turned to the cookbook for all things sweet, which I have baked very delicious things from. When I’m pressed for time and can’t go to Eat Your Books or flip through my cookbooks I go straight to Bon Appétit Desserts and up until now I have been extremely happy with that.

These brownies are easy, the recipe calls for simple ingredients that are mixed in one saucepan and you can even make them without the white chocolate – that was something I added to jazz the brownies up a little. Totally optional – and a hit with the coworkers.

Easy double choc brownies
slightly adapted from the magnificent Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful

140g (5oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups (230g) white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 32x22x5cm* (13x9x2in) metal baking pan with foil, leaving overhang. Butter the foil.
Stir dark chocolate and butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool 15 minutes. Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then whisk in eggs and salt; stir in flour just until absorbed. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan.
Cut into bars and serve.

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan

Makes 20

Rocky road brownies

I bought a bag of mini marshmallows last week with these cookies in mind – I found the recipe going through my folder of torn magazine pages and thought it would be great to use whole wheat flour in my baking (haven’t done that in a while now). But the reviews discouraged me to make the cookies. :(

Luckily, Alice Medrich – a.k.a. the Chocolate Queen – came to my rescue and I ended up with these brownies: they are so good, so sinfully delicious that I wished the recipe had yielded more than 16 pieces. :D
While tasting one of the brownies I knew I had done the right thing by buying Medrich’s new cookbook – cannot wait for it to arrive.

Rocky road brownies
from the wonderful Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies

120g (4oz) dark chocolate – I used one with 50% cocoa solids
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (90g) all purpose four
¼ teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (262g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup mini marshmallows
90g (3oz) milk chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup (110g) pecans

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter an 8in square cake pan, line with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.
Melt the dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar and salt on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale and about double in volume. Fold the chocolate mixture into the eggs until partially incorporated. Sift the flour mixture over the batter and fold just until blended. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Distribute the marshmallows over the batter, followed by the pecans and the milk chocolate. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a cakey part of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Makes 16