OK so maybe I got caught up watching the Grammys and never bothered to post the actual recipe for my cutesy heart shaped brownies. (I HAD to see what Gaga was wearing in that egg!) But I ate the heart shaped brownies while watching the Grammys. That must count for something, right?
Normally I make cocoa brownies because cocoa is something that I will keep on hand for chocolate emergencies. Bittersweet chocolate has no shelf life when I'm around, and unsweetened chocolate just seems like a tragedy. However, I was getting low on cocoa and found a random hunk of unsweetened chocolate in the back of my cupboard. Fortunately it was actually labeled 'unsweetened' because let me tell you, the only other way to tell is to taste, and that wouldn't have been pretty.
Since I am a hoarder, I was able to find a fabulous brownie recipe in one of my gazillion cookbooks. Bittersweet by Alice Medrich is one of my faves for chocolate. This recipe uses unsweetened chocolate and is not unlike my recipe for cocoa brownies, except that it uses only one bowl. Bonus! The ice water bath at the end seems a bit much for your average brownie, and could probably be skipped, but it does cool them down to an appropriate eating temperature post haste! (Sorry, it just felt right.)
Once cool, I ordinarily start cutting one little brownie square off after the other until my little brownie 'taste' has turned into one gigantic brownie meal. But just for yucks I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out holiday appropriate shapes. (Little brownie hearts are kinda sorta edgy, no?) You could do that too, or just cut them into little squares and try to stuff them into a heart shaped box. From Duane Reade. Gossip Girl? Nirvana? Anyone?
One Bowl Classic Chocolate Brownies Adapted from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cold large eggs 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line an 8-inch-square metal baking pan with foil or parchment paper so that it extends beyond the pan. (See photo above and below.) In the top of a double boiler (or large non-reactive mixing bowl) set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt the butter and chocolate together. Stir often, and remove from the heat when a few lumps remain. Stir until smooth. 2. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring thoroughly with each addition. Add the flour and stir until very smooth, about 1 minute, until the mixture pulls away from sides of bowl. Add the nuts, if using. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare a water bath. Pour ice water into a large roasting pan to a depth of just less than 1-inch. Remove the pan from the oven and place it in the water bath, being careful not to splash water on the brownies. Let cool completely, then lift out by the foil or parchment, and cut into 1-inch squares (or hearts!). Makes 16 brownies.
For chocoholics like me, (perfectly made) brownies are the ultimate chocolate treat. And for some people, cheesecake is the ultimate indulgence. And for others...well, who cares? Everyone needs to make this ASAP!
Cheesecake Brownies
For the brownie batter: 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 large eggs 3/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
For the cheesecake batter: 8 ounces cream cheese, well softened 1/3 cup sugar 1 large egg yolk 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. Make the brownie batter: In a small saucepan over low heat, gently melt the butter. Add the cocoa, whisking until thoroughly combined. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla, stirring until the mixture is well blended and pale yellow in color. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour and salt and stir just to combine. Pour the batter into a non-stick 8-inch square baking pan. Set aside.
3. Make the cheesecake batter: Whisk together the 4 cheesecake ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
4. Dollop the cheesecake batter over the brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula. Bake until the center is just set, 30 - 35 minutes. Makes sixteen (2-inch) squares.
Two things are lacking on this blog: bacon and chocolate. Yes, perhaps I gave you a tantalizing visual strip of salty pork luster yesterday, but I haven't really addressed it as a (beloved) ingredient in recipes. I have my reasons...which will be revealed in posts to come. But chocolate! No day is complete without at least a small piece of dark chocolate. If I am home and have time to do more than unwrap a chocolate bar, I will make brownies.
There is no need to ever use a boxed brownie mix. Ever. Seriously. You still have to add wet ingredients to dry, so how much harder is it to just open separate containers of flour/sugar/cocoa instead of a prepackaged box of it? I do have some friends who get nostalgic for the taste and texture of boxed brownies from their youth, and I get it. As much as I love a decadent truffle accented macaroni and cheese, I also love Lawry's Seasoned Salt sprinkled on my Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. (So what!) But they're not the same thing. Just try making real brownies. Once.
Photo by David Prince My recipe is just a simple cocoa brownie recipe that has evolved over the years, from initially using Choco Bake when I would make them with my sister, Erin, back in the day (What up Suki?!?), to a more straightforward recipe using regular cocoa. Some people swear by using actual chocolate bars over cocoa, and I love those brownies too, because I think they are more densely chocolate (and I prefer fudgey over cakey brownies), but I am less apt to have enough chocolate on hand. I almost always have multiple containers of cocoa, however. (Let's face it. It's much more challenging to successfully snack on unsweetened cocoa when you get a chocolate craving.) Once you make the brownies once (or thrice), you will realize how quickly you can throw them together. And warm brownies straight from the oven? Enough said.
Cocoa Brownies
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In a small saucepan over low heat, gently melt the butter. Add the cocoa, stirring until thoroughly combined. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla, stirring until the mixture is well blended and pale yellow in color. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour and salt and stir just to combine.
3. Pour the batter into a non-stick 8-inch square baking pan and bake for 22 - 25 minutes. (A toothpick inserted into the center should have a few crumbs clinging to it, but not be completely covered in batter.) Makes sixteen 2-inch squares.
For a variation, stir in any of the following at the end of step two:
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 cup chocolate chunks
1 cup chopped toasted nuts (such as walnuts or pecans)
I'm a food & drink enthusiast, photography director and a recent cookbook author. In other words, I like to eat, drink and take pictures. Questions? Contact me at theoccasionalcook at gmail dot com.
I don't cook unless there is an occasion, and by occasion I don't mean Christmas. I mean: A co-worker might bring in a bunch of basil from their garden so I'll make pesto. Or my friends might beg me to invite them over so that I'll make them a vat of Macaroni & Cheese topped off with some Sticky Toffee Pudding. Or another friend might be hosting a baby shower and will suggest that I create a special cocktail. Or I'll just go out for dinner five nights in a row. And...sometimes I'll come home from work and have popcorn for dinner. To me, these are all occasions. This is how I cook. And here is where I share these experiences, occasionally cooking.
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