Brownie Power

The other day I posted my Killer Brownie Recipe as well as a link to Squash Brownies. I heard back from Patti O'Brien that she has a co-worker who uses black beans in her brownie recipe! While I'm waiting for this recipe, I had a comment from Brownie Power, a blog that is devoted to Brownies. Well, I'm in heaven. I skimmed the site and was quite taken by Girl Scout Thin Mints Cookie Brownies and Outrageous Oreo Crunch Brownies. There's even a Guinness Beer Brownies recipe that complements my St. Patrick's day recipes. Lots of other brownie recipes, too. Can't wait to try a few.

Chocolate Birthday Cake

They say it's your birthday! Well, it's mine, anyway. So yes, I'm either 29 or 39. I've lost track. What better way to celebrate than with a chocolate cake? Hats off to my friend Janet Appel for bringing a chocolate birthday cake for me to the mystery bookgroup last week. She's usually busy marryin' folks at the county courthouse, so she bought this one, although she really is a great baker. 

I'm actually out of town today for my birthday. I'm in Bodega Bay, setting of Hitchcock's The Birds. (Here's a site to incredible birds you'll find in Bodega Bay) I  have all the baking paraphernalia up here, so I could bake a chocolate birthday cake. Or, I might go to a great restaurant and have a molten chocolate cake for dessert. Probably the latter. I love to bake, but I want to take the dogs (my golden retrievers Topper and Busby Berkeley) for a nice long walk on the beach.  No chocolate for them, though. Chocolate (especially good dark chocolate) is dangerous to dogs. 

Killer Brownies

So I was on Facebook today and read that my friend Patti was going to make brownies today. Since I had just blogged about two fun brownie pans and hadn't included a recipe,  I thought I'd ask her what she was planning to use. Turns out it was one of my old stand-bys, Betty Crocker Brownies. Now, I know some of you out there are yelling,  "sacrilege" --first using a box mix and second the quality of the chocolate. But boy are they good, and especially if you have zero time. 

Well, Patti has another friend on Facebook who sent her a recipe for Chocolate Squash brownies. Again since my mind translated that to mean squashy squishy chewy brownies, I thought I should take a look. This recipe actually adds winter squash as an ingredient. Here's the link. I might try this some time.

Anyway, this all got me to thinking I should include my own Killer Brownie Recipe on this DyingforChocolate Blog, so here goes. 

1 lb plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (lots of great choices out there)

6 extra large eggs

2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

4 Tbsp strong brewed coffee

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 lb unsalted butter (European sweet butter is the best!)

3 tbsp instant coffee granules

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 cups chopped walnuts or chocolate nibs (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 12" x 18" x 1" baking pan or one of the interesting new pans.

Melt together butter, 1 lb of chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate in medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (don't beat) together eggs, coffee, vanilla, coffee granules and sugar. Stir warm chocolate mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss walnuts or nibs and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add to chocolate batter. Pour into baking pan.

Bake 20 minutes, then rap baking pan against oven shelf to force air to escape between pan and brownie dough. Bake for 15 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool, refrigerate and cut into squares.

Of course I never wait and the brownies sometimes crumble and are gooey, but who cares? I like them best right out of the oven!

Two New Chocolate Brownie Baking Pans

I came across two interesting baking pans that are of interest to chocoholics. The first is a Baker's Edge Brownie Pan. This is a must for those brownie-lovers who like their batch baked to crispy-edged perfection. It's quick an inventive pan. Baker's Edge website says about this pan:

• Two delicious, chewy edges on every individual serving
• Patented sidewalls circulate heat evenly throughout the pan
  
• Better performance (fewer undercooked middles and burned edges)
  
• Sized to fit box mixes and recipes for 9”x9” or 9”x13” pans
  
• Premium nonstick coating and round, easy-to-clean corners
  
• Durable heavy-gauge cast aluminum construction
  
• Recessed handles allow pan to be gripped when turned upside-down

I personally don't care about the crispy edge with brownies since I like them chewy. On my salty foods, though, crispy is a must. This item is available at many brick-and-mortar and online stores, so check for best value.

The other item is the Wilton Brownie Cup Pan. This leaves an indentation that is perfect for ice-cream or other additons. The bowls are 3 1/2' and can be used for other products. Wilton products are available in lots of stores and on-line.