I best brownie is _____
...chewy, dense & fudgy with walnuts but no frosting served slightly frozen and consumed while drinking a big glass of cold whole milk! Today is actually National Chocolate Brownie Day...we need to celebrate and "weigh-in" with our thoughts on the perfect brownie.
fudgy or cake-like
nuts (and what kind) or no nuts
mix-ins like peanut butter, cream cheese, rocky-road, etc
frosting or sprinkled with powered sugar, etc
what accompanies the brownie---milk, ice cream, coffee
your own famous recipe or box-mix or mail order source
Hard to believe brownies began their life in the Sears, Roebuck & Co catalog on 1897. I wonder how many overall brownies are consumed on a daily basis...
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
22 Comments:
JEP -- My vote is for Ina Garten's recipe -- they're everything you described, plus her recipe makes a metric ton of brownies. The addition of espresso powder really jacks up the chocolate flavor -- it's a trick I've used successfully in lots of other chocolate baked goods.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 9:11PM on 12/08/07
I use Barefoot Contessa too. My changes are I add chamboard, grand mariner or kaluah depending on what mood strikes me.
I make them with and without nuts for those who like them without. They are fudgy and moist and they freeze so well that metric ton can be made ahead and frozen.
JerzeeTomato at 9:37PM on 12/08/07
I love, love, love these brownies from DelightfulDeliveries.com, they are are ooey, gooey, fudgey (just the way I like them), with roasted and salted peanuts in them and all natural peanut butter on top...oh my goodness...pure delicious! I could never eat them with anything but a huge glass of ice cold milk! I swear when I eat them, I feel them making their way to my deriere, but it's soooo worth it. Peanut Butter Brownies
Gourmet Gal at 10:21PM on 12/08/07
fudgey
no nuts
no mix-ins (except maybe chocolate chips now and then)
sprinkled with powered sugar (if anything at all)
milk (ice cold)
haven't found the perfect recipe... YET!
LoCo at 10:33PM on 12/08/07
Warm brownies are the best. Must be gooey! Walnuts - good, chocolate chips - also good, but nothing else.
I love Dancing Deer brownies, but I'm more of a traditionalist so I prefer Dancing Deer Chocolate Chunk.
I agree a tall glass of cold milk is a must.
Sorry, I can't recommend a recipe. I'm the quick fix type - just easier to buy 'em.
If you're going to buy online, definitely vist www.DelightfulDeliveries.com . They have a great selection of brownies, plus Gourmet Gifts and Gift Baskets
delighteric at 10:52PM on 12/08/07
Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. She is the Barefoot Contessa. I save the corners for me own self.
Outrageous Brownies Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 20 large brownies
PerkyMac at 10:52PM on 12/08/07
For most of the last six years I've had to limit my chocolate intake so I haven't made brownies in a long time. But recently my stomach issues have calmed down a lot through slightly bizarre circumstances...so I've eaten a few brownies, one of my very favorite foods.
I like a brownie somewhere between cakey and fudgey, a little more to the fudgey side.
Nuts are just OK, I'd rather have peanuts or pecans than walnuts if I have to have them. (I love nuts in general, it just disrupts the lovely texture of a brownie.)
Peanut butter or cream cheese brownies are tasty, but if I am specifically in the mood for a brownie I don't want those.
If the frosting is high-quality then fine. But it's not necessary.
Coffee with my brownie, please. Ice cream is also good, and if there is ice cream, warm caramel/dulce de leche sauce. I'm not a big fan of whipped cream.
Mmmmph.
wellred at 11:18PM on 12/08/07
The best brownie is the one in my hand ...
kjgibson at 11:52PM on 12/08/07
Kjgibson, I agree completely.
Christina at 2:05AM on 12/09/07
Thanks for comments, recipes & links. I agree with Ina's recipe being the best...or the one that meets all my brownie expectations!
PerkyMac--you mentioned the corners---now I am just the opposite because I love the middle pieces that are extra gooey :) I remember from a previous thread that there more than a few SE's who like slightly burnt brownies!
JEP at 5:23AM on 12/09/07
Speaking of brownie edges, there's a pan that creates all outside edges!
kjgibson at 11:22AM on 12/09/07
Ditto Ina Garten's recipe- People faint over them!!!!! Fudgey, dense, and no need for anything in it.
Mich23 at 12:11PM on 12/09/07
Now if only they made a pan that made NO edge pieces...
feriorrenna at 1:28PM on 12/09/07
@kjgibson THANK YOU!!! Is it too soon to say I love you? I had no idea this existed. Amazon is out of stock, so I went to bakersedge.com and ordered it. The reviews on Amazon are super enthusiastic. My Christmas present to myself!
@feriorrenna
@JPE
I copied one of the reviews just for you. This pan may be for you (or youze guys as they say in my neckada woods) as well:
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
All-around quality, March 8, 2007
By bsumommy (Indiana) - See all my reviews
I have to admit that I am not an edge brownie fan--I always will pull from the middle of the dish if possible. I was a skeptic until I ate my first cookie bar out of this pan. Even if you are not an edge fan, you will be a fan of this pan because it is the PERFECT solution for the uneven baking problem. I no longer have to throw away the edge corner brownies that are hard and that no one in my house will eat. I just bake the dish for slightly less time and I have no wasted pieces. I am and continue to be amazed at the quality of baking this pan provides. Not only is it the highest quality in construction but allows me to make dishes that are evenly baked and present nicely...EVERY TIME! Guests at my house get excited when they see that I have been baking in my Baker's Edge pan and I no longer have conventional 13X9 pans in my kitchen because the pan allows me the versatility of baking other things as well. Even if you are not an edge brownie fan or if you are also a skeptic...you MUST try this pan. I am confident that you will be the next one writing your review.
PerkyMac at 1:50PM on 12/09/07
Merry Christmas PerkyMac! It's always a joy when such an easy and small gesture makes someone else happy.
kjgibson at 2:50PM on 12/09/07
PerkyMac--thanks for the review...I foresee another gift idea added to my Christmas wish list :)
JEP at 4:01PM on 12/09/07
That amazon review is so positive that my inner cynic wonders if it was written by someone associated with the company.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:33AM on 12/10/07
My favorite brownie is the bouchon from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery. It's a cork-shaped cake like brownie with a crispy outside, soft middle and bits of gooey chocolate chips. The recipe is also used in a larger version at Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant in Napa. There the brownie is drizzled with a caramel sauce and vanilla whipped cream. Words cannot describe how amazingly good these brownies are!
I made the brownies recently and had a bouchon battle using Valrhona and Scharffen Berger chocolate. Valrhona won, but you can't go wrong with either chocolate brownie!!!
SundayNiteDinner at 12:31PM on 12/10/07
I own the Brownie pan that gives all edges pieces, a friend gave it to me earlier this year. It is awesome.
I love Mark Bittman's recipe, it's definitely fudgy and since one of my pet peeves is pieces of nuts in my food (or little, hard pieces of anything, for that matter....NO NUTS!
Brownies
Makes 1 to 2 dozen
Time: 30 to 40 minutes
My kids have taught me two things about making brownies: One, they're better without nuts than with (obviously a matter of taste, but mine has changed). Two, if you line the baking pan with lightly greased aluminum foil, you reduce cleanup time by fifty percent; not bad. These are chewy and dense, dominated by chocolate and nothing else. If you like cakier brownies, add one-half teaspoon baking powder to the flour.
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus a little for the greasing pan
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan, or line it with aluminum foil and grease the foil.
Combine the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is just about melted, remove from the heat and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Gently stir in the flour, salt, and vanilla. Pour and scrape into the prepared pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until just barely set in the middle. It's better to underbake brownies than to overbake them. Cool on a rack before cutting. Store, covered and at room temperature, for no more than a day.
lo82070 at 1:04PM on 12/10/07
I learned a brownie lesson from my kids, too. When they were pre-teens and having a sleep over party, they all wanted brownies. I gave them the recipe and left the kitchen. When they should have been ready to take out of the oven, they called me in to see. It was liquid chocolate soup. They had forgotten to add eggs. I gave them all a laugh they will probably never forget. I whipped some eggs into the boiling liquid and of course, they scrambled. I believe they actually ate spoonfuls of that as they waited for the second batch to bake.
PerkyMac at 1:58PM on 12/10/07
Zingerman's magic brownies are my favorite; I love Katherine Hepburn's recipe for making at home.
dettling05 at 2:08PM on 12/10/07
The corner pieces of chewy brownies; partially crunchy but still chewy and delicious! I love when the top is flaky and the inside is moist. Mmmm...
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 2:07PM on 12/11/07