Valrhona chocolate chip brownies
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 1:30PM Last but not least, these brownies are an old standby, especially for times when I need to make a sweet quickly and don't want to deal with the mixer and bringing butter to room temp. I've loved these ever since I first cut the recipe from the back of a King Arthur Flour bag 5 years ago. Easy, and so much better than anything you can get from a box!
The key to these brownies is using the best cocoa powder you can find/afford. Regular Hershey's cocoa will work, but won't give you the fudgy richness something like a Valhrona or Callebaut cocoa will. Note: if you're interested in buying Valhrona cocoa in bulk - this place has consistently had the best prices I can find. If you know of a cheaper place, please let me know!
Valrhona Chocolate Chip Brownies
(adapted from King Arthur Flour Company)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 9x13" pan. Note: You can either butter the whole pan or cut a piece of parchment that's approx 9x18 and use it to line the bottom of the pan, with equal amounts of parchment going up each of the shorter sides, then butter the long sides. This creates a sling that will make it a lot easier to take the whole mess of brownies out when they're cooled.
1 c. unsalted butter
2 1/4 c. (460g) sugar
1 1/4 c. (120g) Dutch-process cocoa (I always use Valrhona cocoa)
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 T. vanilla
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 c. (6 1/4 oz) AP flour
2 c. (12 oz bag) chocolate chips (I use chips from Trader Joe's - only 11 oz, but close enough)
In a medium sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat, briefly, just till it starts bubbling; it will become shiny looking as you stir it. (note from original recipe: Heating the butter and sugar a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yeild a shiny top crust on your brownies - who knew? She probably did)
While the butter is melting, whisk together cocoa, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the sugar/butter mixture and then vanilla. Stir until combined and allow mixture to cool for about 5 minutes. Add eggs and quickly stir until smooth (if you wait too long, the eggs will start cooking on top - gross). Add the flour, stir and finally, the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, using a rubber spatula or metal offset spatula to smooth it out.
Bake brownies for 28 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester instered into the center comes out dry. The edges of brownies will also come in from the sides of the pan - that's how I usually guage for doneness. With something like this, a little underdone is always better than a little overdone!
Let the brownies cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes. At this point, you can use a spatula to free up the long edges of the pan and gently pull out the whole sheet using the parchment sides. Place on a cutting board or other large flat object and cool in either the fridge or freezer until you're ready to cut them. (I like the crunch that the chips provide, but if you can't wait for that, by all means dig in whenever you'd like it!)
Flip the brownies over, peel off the parchment and flip again so you can cut into squares (or whatever shape you like) - I find a serrated knife works best.
Enjoy! And please post any questions in the comments. I'm quickly realizing that actually typing out a recipe so it makes sense is harder than actually making the recipe!
