Brownies

I finally feel like I’ve mastered THE BROWNIE. I recently spent a week in Mexico and while I was there I was blessed with the opportunity to visit a chocolate factory! I was able to get my hands on some chocolate made from scratch and I thought the best thing to do was make some brownies. To highlight my fresh bar of chocolate, I approach these a little bit differently starting by melting my butter and chocolate together. This adds a richness in flavor especially when using premium chocolate.

Brownie Tips

It took me forever to get brownies under my belt and I realized my biggest faux pas was overmixing. I find that doing everything by hand i.e. using a whisk and a spatula as opposed to an electric hand mixer gives me more control over the speed and how much mixing is being done. It’s okay to heavily whisk your wet ingredients, but when incorporating the dry, to avoid dense, tough brownies just mix everything until combined.

I would also like to note that when I say measure with your heart I DO NOT mean with baking powder, soda, flour, or any of the other foundational ingredients. Especially with brownies, your dry ingredients need to be measured meticulously, a tbsp more or less could change the outcome of the entire recipe.

Why measure with your heart?

You may see in my recipes that I do not provide a measurement for vanilla and occasionally for other ingredients. I like to allow you as much creative freedom as possible without destroying the recipe. I trust your instincts. Now obviously don’t go and pour the entire bottle of vanilla in your batter, but it’s not one of those ingredients you have to be super meticulous with. If I don’t measure it why should you?

For a pinch of salt I pour the salt in my hand and use my pointer finger and thumb to pinch, then add it to my bowl.

All of my recipes are written as I do them.

From a young age, my mom used to always get on me for not following recipes to a T, but as I got older I realized that the creative freedom I gave myself fueled my love for baking. In the kitchen I allow my mind to wander and test the limits of each recipe. Sometimes resulting in disaster but more often than not resulting in a delicious outcome.

One Bowl for wet and dry ingredients ???

I know! Crazy right?! In recipes, to minimize the number of dishes I have to do at the end of the night I tend to do everything in one bowl. Recipes usually tell you to mix dry and wet ingredients separately so you don’t accidentally overmix your batter. Feel free to combine the dry ingredients separately if your heart truly desires. Just make sure dry ingredients are fully incorporated before continuing to the next step. If you are nervous about overmixing you can also use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet; that generally helps me.

Prep Time: 10 mins | Bake time: 25-30 mins | Yield: 12 brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of chopped chocolate

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)

• 2 eggs

• 1 egg yolk

• splash vanilla

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 cups flour

• a PINCH OF SALT

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350

2. Begin by melting your butter in a medium saucepan over medium to low heat.

3. Once your butter is melted add in your chocolate and stir continuously until everything is melted together; remove from the heat and set aside.

4. In a large bowl mix together both of your sugars

5. Whisk in your eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla for about 3 minutes.

6. Once everything is combined, mix in your melted butter chocolate mixture.

7. Add all your dry ingredients to the bowl and fold them in using a spatula until a batter is formed

   • JUST combine until a cohesive batter is formed be careful not to overmix

8. Pour your batter into an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper and tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles

9. Bake for 25-30 mins (depending on your oven; I baked for 27)

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool COMPLETELY before cutting in

    • I would advise 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and then allow the rest of the cooling time to be done on the counter

    • served best with vanilla ice cream 😏