Brownie Delicious

In the mood to bake, I asked my very resourceful nesties to point me in the direction of a Great brownie recipe. I got quite a few replies, a couple of them being Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. I was ready to make them until I saw it called for instant coffee, which I didn't have on hand. So I went with my second choice that Bridget recommended on this blog, but it would have been my first if I would have seen them in the blog before I went surfing for Ina's recipe. Omg, these pics had me drooling!

So I was all set to make them, but realized I didn't have any unsweetened chocolate on hand. After doing some research, I found that you can substitute semi sweet as long as you cut back 1 Tbs. granulated sugar per 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate.

Everything was going great I melted the chocolate, combined all my ingredients, went outside for a few to see the eclipse, came back in and spread the mixture in the pan. I kept thinking to myself, that the batter was a lacking viscosity but spread it in the pan anyway. I even dotted the top with the toasted walnuts. Then I saw it. The BUTTER. I left out the butter. How in the world I did that is beyond me. But it happened. So I went outside to look at the eclipse again to think about what I would do.

I came back in, used the spatula to scrape the batter off the foil and back into the mixing bowl. I nuked the butter until melted, and then folded it in the batter. What a difference, the batter was now like the brownie batter I've seen before.

You know, I would have never known the difference. I'm so glad I didn't give up on them. These brownies were fantastic. Chewy, light crust on the top, and just perfect with some butter pecan on the side.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup pecans or walnuts (4 ounces), chopped medium (optional)
1 1/4 cups plain cake flour (5 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate , chopped fine
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into six 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups sugar (15 3/4 ounces)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13- by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

4. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost--simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve. (Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)