Chewy Chocolate Brownies

I may have mentioned a time or two (or three) that I am fond of chocolate. And I am very fond of brownies. So I am always on the lookout for the perfect chocolate brownie. This may be it. I got it from the Cook’s Illustrated All-Time Best Recipes. You can check out, on their website, their scientific explanation about why these are wonderful – it’s all very interesting – and you can eat the brownies while you read about them.  They are truly absolutely scrumptious!

Chewy Brownies

1/3 cup Dutch cocoa

½ c. plus 2 tbs. boiling water

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

½ c. plus 2 tbs. vegetable oil

4 tbs. unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ½ c. sugar

1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cayenne, optional

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2” pieces or ¾ c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook’s Illustrated says: Make a foil sling for 13x9” baking pan. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Spray foil with cooking spray.

I don't advise this, but it may work better for you.

·        *  I say: make a sling with parchment paper. The brownies really stick to the foil, so next time, I’ll use parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray.

Whisk cocoa and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. 

Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. 

Did you ever see the movie Chocolat? Well, I felt a lot like Juliette Binoche while I made these...

Whisk in oil and melted butter (mixture may look curdled). 

Add eggs and yolks and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. 

Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. 

Whisk together flour and salt (and cayenne if you choose to be daring) in small bowl. 

I really like a bit of heat with my chocolate.

Mix into batter with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; spread batter into corner of pan and smooth surface. 

Bake until toothpick inserted in center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30-35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. 

Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 1 ½ hours. If you use a glass pan, cool the brownies for 10 minutes, then remove them promptly from the pan (otherwise the superior heat retention of glass can lead to overbaking).

This is where I wasn't too impressed with the foil sling. The brownies did not come off the foil easily. So you may want to use a metal 9x13" pan to bake these.

Remove brownies from pan using foil. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 more hour. This is important for the chewiest texture. Cut into 2” squares and serve. Makes 24 brownies and can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If they last that long.

These are definitely the chewiest homemade brownies ever. They have a great rich flavor – nice and chocolaty with a crisp, flaky crust. Yummy!