Decadent Dark Chocolate Brownies

When I first set out to make these, I wasn't sure if I was going to feature them on my blog. But I took pictures anyway just in case I changed my mind later. Plus, I wanted to try out my new camera, so it didn't hurt.


Brownies are a classic American treat that everyone loves. But since they're a classic, they've been done by many and in my mind, isn't super innovative and blog worthy. However, I had mostly always made brownies from a box and was curious if homemade ones tasted any better. The box mix brownies are pretty delicious and they're quick and easy. So I set out to see if made-from-scratch ones are worthy of the time and effort. (The one time when I made them from scratch, they tasted the same as the boxed ones..but I was convinced that there were better recipes out there and that I just had to find The One!)

I was flipping through my new beloved Williams Sonoma Baking cookbook and came across a recipe for dark chocolate brownies. Having loved everything that I've tried from this book thus far, I decided that this would be the perfect recipe to use for my experiment! I was confident that this one would be better than the previous one.


The recipe called for 6 oz. of unsweetened chocolate, chopped. I pulled out my scale to weigh out the chocolate, but to my surprise, the baking chocolate I purchased had nicely packaged 1 oz bars! (Obviously I'm a baking novice! This was probably common knowledge...)

Melt butter with the chopped chocolate...


...to create this beautiful dark chocolate syrup!


In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla.


Then combine the two mixtures.

The batter was really pretty and swirled together when I was mixing it!


It should look like this when well mixed- really smooth and shiny.

Next, slowly fold in the flour.

When you're done, the batter will have thickened. Pour into a 8x8 pan (but I used a 9x13, because I wanted thinner brownies) and bake for 35-40 min (less for me because they were thinner.)

Aren't they gorgeous?? They turned out beautifully! And since I'm blogging about this, you can probably guess at the conclusion of my experiment.

Let me just put it this way: I will never, I repeat, never, bake brownies ever again from a box! These brownies were out of this world! I don't think I've ever had a brownie that tasted this good before. And I don't even like dark chocolate. No joke. We had it with a side of vanilla bean ice cream and it was incredible!

They were rich, fudgy, and sooo decadent. I can't even begin to describe how good they were. The only word I can use to describe them is: "Mmmmmm!" I encourage everyone to try this recipe this weekend and see for yourselves just how incredibly mind-blowing these brownies are! And be sure to leave a comment if you do- let me know how you liked them!

Recipe:

Classic Dark Chocolate Brownies
Essentials of Baking, Williams Sonoma, p. 53

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 (6 oz) cup unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 large eggs
1 3/4 (14 oz) cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 inch pan. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler placed over barely simmering water. Heat, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove from over water and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla until blended. Whisk in the chocolate mixture until blended. sprinkle all of the flour over the mixture and whisk slowly just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.