CHOW's Intense Brownies
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 45 mins
Active: 15 mins
Makes: 16 brownies
By Aïda Mollenkamp
CHOW’s version of this classic is not too sweet and just a bit fudgy, with a nice cakey top. This is a recipe for chocolate purists, but add nuts or chocolate chips as you like.
What to buy: We make this recipe using 60 percent bittersweet chocolate, but for more intensity feel free to use a chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa (not unsweetened).
Game plan: All the ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning. These brownies will last 3 days in an airtight container.
This recipe was featured as part of our DIY TV Dinners story.
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon brewed espresso
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the rack in the middle. Line an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Combine chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until evenly melted. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Combine eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, espresso, and salt in a large bowl and briefly stir until just evenly incorporated. Add cooled chocolate and mix until uniform in color. Add flour and stir until just incorporated (no white streaks should remain).
- Transfer batter to the prepared baking dish and bake until a tester inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting.
Beverage pairing: Rogue Chocolate Stout, Oregon. Few things are more delicious than the combination of bitter and sweet. So this dark beer brewed with bittersweet chocolate brings a toasty, dark palate to the table from the chocolate as well as the slightly bitter flavors of deeply roasted malt. It’s acidity and creamy carbonation provide a mouth-cleansing rinse.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
Yummy!
My very old Joy of Cooking insists the secret is room temp eggs and letting the chocolate/butter cool, and this recipe follows that rule. These brownies will be perfect.
Maybe it's just me, but I've become used to having nuts in my brownies to give them a bit of crunch - and I miss them in this recipe!
Wonderful brownies. Personally, i don't like nuts, so these were great. They needed more baking time than called for in the recipe, i.e. for a toothpick to come out clean.
This recipe is misleading. CHOW said these brownies would last three days in an airtight container, but mine were gone in less than a day!
I really don't like the taste of coffee (or anything coffee-related) at all, but I'd like to try this recipe. Should I just omit the expresso, or is there something else I should substitute in its place?
cecile16:
The espresso is in this recipe is not meant to give the recipe a coffee taste, but rather to highlight and intensify the chocolate flavor. I would suggest you try it once with the espresso and, if you don't like what it does, just omit it the next time around.
I have an abnormally sized glass baking sheet. I think I need to make more batter than was specified above but I wanted to ask how much batter should be poured into the sheet (an inch? 2 inches?). Also will glass affect the cooking time/temp? Im afraid if it is too thin then it will come out uneven. Any suggestions anyone? Thanks
I have an idea for a caramel apple brownie, using granny smith or some other tart apples and caramel on top of a brownie. This recipe seems like a good one to use for the base. my only question has to be should I cook the apple with the brownie or wait until the brownie is almost done and add them? That should keep the crunch of the brownie too, then add a drizzle of caramel sauce to the top.
Intense is right! These are awesome brownies. I'll be making more this weekend.
A teaspoon of espresso seems a little ridiculous... If I'm going to go through the trouble to brew a shot, I'm going to use the whole shot!
These are intense, more of an adult brownie (though my kids loved them, too). Do you have to butter the foil? I did out of habit. I agree w/ chemchef about the tsp of espresso. I don't know how much that added.
Note to chemchef: Instant Espresso powder is our baking friend.
So, to reitterate....
These are 'cakey and a little fudgy', but NOT CHEWY....is this correct??
If so, does anyone have a REALLY CHEWY brownie recipe they could share?
Thanks...
Well you wouldn't be able to eat them if they weren't chewy. lol.
Two words:
Yum.
Gone.
ps: these are more chewy and fudgy to me, not cakey.
Anyone knows how to make them "fudgier"? but not super; just a bit more...
I made these last night. I have had ridiculous issues in the past with Brownies and these officially broke my curse, I added chunks of white chocolate and did with some white chocolate shavings on the top.
They taste fantastic and incredibly rich.
Made these brownies for Thanksgiving snacks. Easy to mix up: used Ghiradelli bittersweet chips and some instant coffee granules (sorry, no expresso in my cupboards). Lined a disposable pan with parchment paper and topped off the pan with walnut halves. The brownies were a breeze to handle, though I over baked it by a few minutes. Brownies were still deliciously rich and fudgy. Not a complaint from anyone as even very crunchy bits were scarfed up.
This recipe came out perfectly. I made my nieces and nephews and they were gone in a day!
If food is love then this brownie is Cassanova!
I have a question about the espresso.. when it says brewed, you mean 1 tsp of liquid espresso taken from i.e. a cup of brewed espresso?
i just want to clarify because other recipes for brownies have you add the powder right into the mix.
could i sub the espresso for instant coffee?
regarding the real vanilla extract, i find that when i add it to my baked goods it changes the flavour profile, and makes me wonder whether it would have tasted better without the extract. would i be lacking a layer of flavour if i omitted it? the floral note of the vanilla, i find, doesn't allow the chocolate to shine through as well. any comments on this?
If you dont like the flavor of vanilla extract, I would say leave it out. However, I believe vanilla is a key ingredient to bring out the true flavor of the chocolate. Sort of the ying/yang of it all, if you will. As for the espresso, I do exactly what you suggest every time and the pan never makes it to the next day! I find the espresso enhances the chocolate flavor in a similar way to the vanilla
These brownies rule! I have made these several times, and they always make you look rock star.
*Quick dessert hack: top with espresso gelato and macerated strawberries. It's super easy, and you're friends will rave.
These brownies rule! I have made these several times, and they always make you look rock star.
*Quick dessert hack: top with espresso gelato and macerated strawberries. It's super easy, and you're friends will rave.