I have identified these brownies as the beginning of my downfall this holiday season. I usually have considerable willpower, but with the way I acted around these brownies, I was surprised not to find “kryptonite” in the ingredient list.
The photo shoot for these brownies started with sixteen … and ended with … less than sixteen.
Well, more than four, but less than sixteen.
In the fudgy vs. cakey brownie battle, I side with the fudgy crew. These brownies are thick and fudgy, with a dense texture that I believe is referred to in culinary terms as “perfect.”
I have been using King Arthur flour almost exclusively for a few years (I also love their catalog, full of specialty baking items, so fun to peruse). But I had not explored the recipes available on the King Arthur website until I clicked through an email I received from them. I will be visiting that site often – tons of good stuff there!
I learned something really important, in the brownie realm, from this recipe. You know how sometimes when you make brownies, they have a crackly flaky top layer, and sometimes they don’t? Turns out that layer results from heating the butter and sugar together before mixing them in to the remaining ingredients. I had never paid attention, but some recipes call for this step and some don’t. So there you have it!
How much do people LOVE round “two bite brownies”? Rhetorical question. Make this recipe into nuggets of goodness by using a mini muffin pan instead of a square baking dish. Just make sure to spray and flour the pan first, and have a small implement (like the TINY spatula shown below) to loosen them from the pan after a few minutes of cooling. {Or save yourself some work and just cut the brownies smaller from the square pan.}
Ingredients: – 2 eggs – 1/2 c + 2 T high-quality cocoa – 1/2 t kosher salt – 1/2 t baking powder – 1/2 t instant coffee granules or espresso powder (you won’t taste it – it just heightens the chocolate flavor!) – 1.5 t vanilla – 1 stick unsalted butter – 1 c + 2 T sugar – 3/4 c flour – 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks {I had some Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate squares that I wanted to use up so I chopped them roughly}
How do I make it?
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8″ x 8″ or 9″ x 9″ pan.
Crack the eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, coffee granules or espresso powder, and vanilla until smooth.
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and sugar, and heat, stirring, until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot and JUST starts to bubble. Once it bubbles and the mixture looks shiny, turn off the heat.
Add the hot butter and sugar mixture to the egg mixture, and stir until smooth.
Add the flour, and stir until smooth.
Add the chocolate chips or chunks, and stir to distribute. If you want the chips to retain their shape and not melt in, let the batter cool in the bowl for a few minutes before stirring in the chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes (check around 27 minutes). When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, the brownies are done. The brownies will be more set around the edges, and the middle will still look moist (but still cooked through).
Cool on a rack before cutting; use a bench scraper to make sure you get straight lines. But if you don’t get straight lines, and need to keep “evening it off,” I won’t tell.
Original link: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe
Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.
Too much flour? Go back to your edges - if they're not burnt, look a good colour (similar to the centre) but the brownie is too cakey and dry throughout, the recipe probably included too much flour.
I've found I also need to add some solid chocolate in the form of chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate. Whether you use chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips, adding them while the batter is still hot gets the melting process going — which ensures your brownies' top crust will be shiny.
Brownies should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and placed in an airtight container to help keep them from drying out and going stale. (You can also use a layer of aluminum foil around the layer of plastic wrap to help protect them from air exposure.)
Brownie textures fall into three general camps… Cakey, fudgy and chewy. Cakey brownies, like the name implies, are light, moist and airy, with a slightly fluffy, cake-like interior. Fudgy brownies are moist, dense and gooey, with almost the texture of fudge, but not quite as compact.
Mixing incorporates air into the brownie batter. The more air that is incorporated will result in a more open, airy and cakey brownie. If you wanted fudgy brownies and you got cakey, check on your mixing technique and pull it back. Making fudgy brownies at home is often best done with a wooden spoon.
Without eggs, baked goods will become a little thinner and not rise as much in the oven. As long as you replace the moisture from the egg with milk, banana or applesauce, you can make brownies without eggs. And yes, this recipe makes thinner brownies than normal.
They give brownies a lighter, drier, and more cake-like texture. If you prefer this over the chewy variety, then go ahead and crack in that additional egg. On the other hand, too many eggs will yield brownies that are hard, heavy, and tough.
If you accidentally add baking soda instead of baking powder to baked goods, they won't rise because there is not enough acid. To fix this, add about one tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar for every half teaspoon of baking soda to the liquids before mixing with the dry ingredients.
To test for doneness with a toothpick, insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies and pull it back out. For fudgy brownies, you'll want to see some moist crumbs attached to the toothpick when you pull it back out. If it looks like it's covered in brownie batter, the brownies will need to bake a bit longer.
After greasing the pan, many bakers like to line it with pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil that have been cut larger than the size of the pan so that the edges hang over the sides like a sling. Thoroughly grease the lining.
Either you're melting chocolate into your batter and/or adding chocolate chips. One thought is that the melted chocolate contains more fat and less moisture than butter. So if a large portion of the fat in the recipe comes from chocolate, there will be less water to prevent that crust from forming.
If I'm being lazy and using a box mix just add double the amount of water that the recipe calls for. This will produce a more fudge like texture in your brownies. If making the brownies from scratch I'll usually add some applesauce or yogurt. You can also add more fat but I prefer the applesauce or yogurt.
Do Brownies Need to Be Refrigerated? Brownies don't need to be refrigerated, but they'll hold up a few more days if they are. Unless your brownies include more perishable ingredients like fresh fruit or cream cheese frosting, they'll be fine at room temperature as long as they're stored in an airtight container.
One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.
To test for doneness with a toothpick, insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies and pull it back out. For fudgy brownies, you'll want to see some moist crumbs attached to the toothpick when you pull it back out. If it looks like it's covered in brownie batter, the brownies will need to bake a bit longer.
Keep in mind that fats make a brownie creamy and gooey. A brownie is softer and more gooey if the fats are (at least partially) liquid. It is why a brownie stored in the fridge will be denser than one that's been heated up just slightly before serving.
The ideal consistency of brownie mix is thick and gooey, similar to a thick cake batter. When you mix the ingredients together, the batter should be smooth and free of lumps, with a slightly sticky texture. This consistency is important for achieving moist and fudgy brownies that are rich in flavor.
The molasses content in brown sugar is what is responsible for chewy yet soft brownies. If you don't want chewy brownies, completely keep brown sugar out of the picture.
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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