Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Brownies to beat the blues

Like everybody else, I get the blues for one reason or another from time to time. Well, you guessed it..I've been tryin to chase them away. And what's a girl's favorite way to try chasin away the blues?? Chocolate!!! And since I've been on what feels like the NEVERENDING hunt for the perfect brownie, I thought I'd do double duty with my baking today and try out a new brownie recipe. I was a bit skeptical of this recipe..of course I'm skeptical of every brownie recipe I try, most likely because I have a VERY specific idea of how I want my brownies to be. I want a rich & fudgey brownie, that's firm & a little chewy, but not cakey and I don't want it to be crackley on top. A brownie like you would find in a bakery or a coffeeshop..atleast the ones I've been to & ordered brownies at lol.


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Does that make sense to anyone?? If anyone has a recipe that results in that brownie I would love you forever if you share it with me!!! =)

So I found the recipe of all places in an old issue of Cooking Light magazine from December 2003, the Best of Cooking Light Simple Suppers issue. I figured it was worth a shot because I had all the ingredients on hand & felt sure even if they didn't live up to my hopes & dreams for a brownie they would be decent & I was right. I'm still on the hunt for that perfect brownie, but these were good. They got pretty good reviews..my niece & nephew gobbled them up, which seems to be nothing new when it comes to my baked goods. I suppose that right there should give me HUGE confidence because they are pretty stiff critics & not yet to that age where they pretend to like something so as not to hurt your feelings..I just love that about them..cause if it taste horrible I want to know..lol

The recipe strictly uses cocoa powder, so no chocolate to melt. I chose to go with half dutch processed cocoa & half regular unsweetened cocoa, as dutch-process is my preference but can come across as overwhelmingly strong in many recipes. The recipe also calls for a bit of coffee, which I couldn't so much taste, but my nephew noticed & loved immediately. The coffee was more or less just to intensify the chocolate flavor. Also recipe requires that you beat the sugar & the eggs together for about 5 minutes to give the baked brownies a crackly surface. I added some semi-sweet chocolate chips because I don't think there is any such thing as too much chocolate..lol



Fudgy Brownies
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp hot water
2 tsp instant coffee granules
1/4 c butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c all purpose flour
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
cooking spray
1 Tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
1. preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Place sugar & eggs in a large bowl, beat with mixer on high speed until thick & pale, about 5 minutes. Combine hot water & coffee granules, stirring to dissolve. Add coffee mixture, butter & vanilla to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until combined.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa & salt, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring just until moist ( batter will be thick).
4. Spread batter into an 8-inch square pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325 degrees for 23 minutes or until the brownies spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pan on wire rack. Garnish with powdered sugar, if desired. Yields 16 servings.
Calories: 121
Fat: 4.1g
Protein: 2.4g
Carb: 20.6g
Fiber: 1.4g
Chol: 34mg
Iron: 1mg
Sodium: 75mg
Calcium: 10mg

Comments on "Brownies to beat the blues"

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (10:44 AM) : 

Jaay--Sometimes you just need a good brownie! It's always nice to discover a dessert from Cooing Light (and therefore low-fat) that you like, because chocolate minus guilt = heaven.

 

Blogger Nic said ... (9:14 AM) : 

I usually prefer brownies made with cocoa powder to ones made with melted chocolate. They seem to turn out a bit softer and chewier for me.
But who's going to argue with a lightened brownie?

 

Blogger Ziz said ... (12:53 AM) : 

I hope your blues are starting to go away Ms Jaay! :) I made brownies tonite and thought of you. ;)

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (9:26 PM) : 

Man, I have to give you props. I can't bake brownies to save my life. They look like something that could be paired with a diaper. Someone told me it could have been the altitude (i'm in a mountain range). But I'm not convinced. These look gorgeous!

 

Blogger Tania said ... (6:26 AM) : 

Hi Jaay

Wow, you won't believe how much our taste wrt brownies are alike!! I have been searching for the same type of brownie for AGES myself. I have found that most brownies with 70% dark chocolate, give that chocolatey taste I'm looking for, but all of them are very bitter if you use at least 70% cocoa solids. I will be keeping a close eye to see if you find that brownie, because I'm sure it will be the one I'm looking for too! I am also a chocoholic, but crave the chocolatey taste that cocoa gives, rathen than the taste that normal chocolate provides. Anyway, if you find that really dark, chocolatey brownie that is inbetween fudgy and cakey and that does not have the crackling part on top and that's not bitter, I will be forever grateful!! In the meantime I will also search for that recipe, and let you know if I find it. I have spent so much money on trying brownie recipes - to my hubby's annoyance - to find the perfect one, I've lost count! Anyway, good luck!

 

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