The Brownie Project Top 10 List for 2009

I have to admit, coming up with a “Top 10” brownie list was more difficult than I imagined it would be. There are so many variables to consider with each recipe – but I think I’ve got it down.

Instead of just listing the Top 10, I’m also providing a brief synopsis of each recipe – I think this will help if you’re trying to decide which one to make.

Ready? Here they are:

#1 – Outrageous Brownies (Ina Garten) - these are still my all time favorite. They do contain a lot of coffee, and are loaded with chocolate chips. Intensely flavored.

#2 – Supernatural Brownies (Nick Malgieri) – these are really rich, and pack a serious chocolate punch. They almost pushed Ina’s recipe out of the #1 spot.

#3 – Deep Dark Brownies (Baked) – these run parallel to the Supernatural Brownies. They are just what the name describes – deep and dark (and delicious!)

#4 – Amaretto Brownies (Tyler Florence) – yes, they do contain alcohol, but these are my husbands favorite – and he usually doesn’t like brownies. These aren’t as rich as the first three recipes, which is probably why he likes them so much.

#5 – King Arthur Brownies -  for a brownie made strictly with cocoa powder, these are seriously chocolatey. I think they are a good choice when you don’t want something strongly flavored with coffee or alcohol.

#6 – Perfect Brownies for Kids – these come highly recommended from a 10 year old – and he samples a LOT of brownies. These are mild, but chocolatey enough to satisfy.

#7 – Sour Cream Brownies (Nick Malgieri) – these are light on the chocolate flavor, and very cake-like, with a pleasant tang from the sour cream. I think they would make a great base to a sundae.

#8 – Triple Chocolate Brownies (Anna Olson) – very hefty, intense, and more like a fudgy chocolate cake than a brownie. But worth every bite.

#9 – Classic Brownies (Dorie Greenspan) – sturdy, with the “traditional” brownie flavor. A good all-purpose choice – they aren’t too strongly flavored but can definitely hold their own.

#10 – The Farm Brownies – very, very rich, decadent and very chocolatey. I actually made these twice in one month – I ate the test brownie before I photographed it. These will satisfy any chocolate craving – and then some.

As always, brownies are a very subjective matter – what works for me may or may not work for you. My goal was just to outline the 10 recipes that I liked best this year. I have two new recipes coming up in December – so come back soon!

Dorie Greenspan’s Classic Brownies

Since several readers of The Brownie Project have asked for it, and it’s getting close to that time of year when many of you are looking for just the right recipe for a holiday gathering, I’m working on a “Top 10” list of brownies.

Of course, looking back at my posts throughout the year has kicked off a brownie craving like you can’t imagine.

But before I publish my list, I’d like to get another great brownie recipe into the running – because you know, 31 recipes over the course of the year just isn’t enough.

Dorie Greenspan has several wonderful brownie recipes in her book, “Baking From My Home To Yours”, and as I was flipping through it, I came across her version of “Classic Brownies”. Dorie says these are not classics in the truest sense of the word, as they contain both unsweetened chocolate as well as bittersweet chocolate.

However, these brownies fit my definition of a classic because they are sturdy enough to be packed, simple to make, yet deeply chocolatey enough to border on the fudgy side. They are dense, but not heavy. Assuming, of course, you don’t cut large squares like I do.

These are a great go-to brownie when you want something simple, without anything to get in the way of a pure chocolate punch.

Classic Brownies - adapted from Dorie Greenspan

5 tbs. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with foil and either butter the foil or spray it with nonstick spray.

In a medium sized saucepan, over very low heat, combine the butter and chocolates. Stir until just melted and smooth, then remove from the heat. Stir in the sugar, then whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, and gently stir in the salt and flour just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tester just about comes clean. Be very careful not to overbake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely, then use the foil to remove the brownies from the pan and cut into squares.

Yield – 16 brownies.

The Farm Brownies

Happy November to you!

It might appear that things are quiet over here at The Brownie Project, but I’ve actually been baking – two new recipes to be exact – and I wanted to wait until the Halloween infused sugar rush was over.

Is it over yet?

For us, it is – I usually throw out the leftover candy one or two days after Halloween – the kids lose interest in it rather quickly. Which works out splendidly for me, given the amount of baking I do.

With that in mind, here’s a recipe for brownies from The Farm Restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. You can read about The Farm restaurant here – but from what I read, they are pretty famous for their brownies. With such rave online reviews, I had to see for myself if they were worth the hype.

Oh boy – these lived up to their name and then some. I took the time to re-read the reviews before baking them – which translated into cutting back a bit on the butter, and chilling them thoroughly before attempting to cut or eat them.

These were amazingly rich, decadent, super chocolatey – I couldn’t stop eating them.  I can’t imagine adding anything else to these, they were perfect on their own. And, I just realized, I actually made these twice last month – which is a first in the history of The Brownie Project.

The Farm Brownies - adapted from epicurious.com

2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
6 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan, knocking out excess flour. Melt butter with chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove bowl from pan and whisk in eggs, one at a time. Sift together flour and cocoa powder in a separate bowl and stir into batter with sugar and salt. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven until top is firm and a tester inserted into center comes out with crumbs adhering, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours, before cutting into 20 squares.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

It’s that time of year – break out the cans of pumpkin and be prepared for the onslaught of fall-themed recipes!

And here at The Brownie Project, I’m not immune to the allure of these tempting treats:

Sadly, they look better than they taste. The brownie part was good, but the pumpkin filling was rubbery and lacking in flavor. If I was to attempt these again, I would double the amount of spices – but that doesn’t solve the rubbery texture of the filling. Not sure how or why that happened – because I certainly wasn’t too rambunctious with the mixing, which can certainly contribute to the unappealing texture.

Anyways, I like the idea of pumpkin and chocolate, so I’m just going to have to try a different recipe.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies – adapted from Martha Stewart

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter lining.
Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.
Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. Into the other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don’t set.
With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect.
Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

Ghost Brownie Pops for Halloween

To kick off the month of October, I wanted to make something special for The Brownie Project.

Unfortunately, I was attacked while I was in the middle of photographing my recent creation:

Cute, aren’t they? I wish I could say this was my idea, but I saw similar pops in the new Williams Sonoma catalog – so I just improvised and came up with my own way of making them.

I used a new brownie recipe that I found on Epicurious.com – and after the batter was baked and cooled, I crumbled it up:

Mashed it into a ball:

Chill them for several hours, then put a stick through the top:

Dip them into white chocolate coating, and after it has set (keep them in the refrigerator!), add facial features with black sparkle gel.

Ready for Halloween!

The brownies, by themselves, were very good. If you bake them for the shorter time, they are very fudgey and gooey, with good chocolate  flavor. The slightly underbaked texture helped keep the brownies together, so I would suggest not baking them to the cake-like stage if you want to form them into pops.

Brownies - adapted from Epicurious.com

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (2 inches deep) and line bottom and sides with wax paper, then butter paper.

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium sized bowl in the microwave for 1minute on high power – stir mixture until smooth, heating again in 10 second increments if necessary to melt chocolate completely.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl, then pour in chocolate mixture, whisking until combined well. Whisk in flour mixture, and transfer batter to baking pan.

Bake until top is shiny and set and sides have begun to pull away slightly (a wooden pick or skewer will not come out clean), about 35 minutes, for fudgey brownies; or until wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour total, for cakey brownies.

Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack. Invert onto a cutting board, remove paper, and cut into squares. Yield – 16 brownies

Crazy Blondies

It’s been awhile since I’ve made a good blondie. I’ve become enamored with them only recently – but their brown sugar chewiness is addicting and I find myself saving more and more blondie recipes.

This one, which is adapted from a recipe by King Arthur Flour, is really unique in that it calls for white whole wheat flour,  in addition to all purpose flour. The whole wheat flour gives a nutty taste without being overpowering or obvious, which is always a bonus – especially if you are giving these to children – they won’t know it’s there unless you tell them.

The original recipe, which you can find here, calls for the addition of assorted varieties of chips and nuts – but being the purist I am, I simply used bittersweet chocolate chips.

These were outstanding – and I would definitely make them again soon, if I didn’t have so many other recipes to try!

Crazy Blondies - adapted from King Arthur Flour

1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup all- purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan and preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the brown sugar, and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool to lukewarm. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.

Whisk the flours and baking powder together, then add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, and bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, until light brown on the edges and top.

Yield: about 2 dozen 2-inch squares.

Waffle Iron Brownies

Brownies in a waffle iron?

What a fabulous concept! Especially if you are like me, and want to pack one for your kids to take to school – it certainly solves the problem of squished brownies in the lunch box.

The batter has an unusual mixing procedure – you boil milk, butter and sugar together – then add the remainder of your ingredients. It produces a nice, fudgey brownie batter with a mild chocolate flavor.

The only drawback to this method is that you must not walk away while they are baking. These go from done to overdone in a matter of seconds – and an overdone brownie is not worth the effort it takes to eat it.

I will definitely be making these again, especially around the holidays. They will make a nice addition to a holiday cookie tray.

Waffle Brownies - adapted from a recipe by Beatrice Ojakangas

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 tablespoons milk
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
Powdered sugar for serving, if desired

Preheat a waffle iron. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and milk. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat. Add the unsweetened chocolate and vanilla. Stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Allow the mixture to cool the mixture for a few minutes, then stir in the eggs. Gradually blend in the flour mixture until smooth.
Drop rounded spoonfuls of the brownie mixture into the preheated waffle iron. Close the iron and cook for about 2 minutes (mine were done before that!) until the brownies are done. Remove and cool on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Perfect Brownies for Kids

I have found the perfect brownie for kids. Alexander (who is 10, mind you) declared these the absolute best brownies that I have ever made. And that’s high praise, considering how many different brownies I make him try.

I have to agree with him, though – these are really mild, with a cakey-but-not-dense-middle, and crispy top / edges. The semisweet chocolate gives them that “kid-pleasing” sweeter quality, because most kids (mine included) don’t care for bittersweet chocolate.

I think I’ll make a batch of these for his class on Friday, sort of a “congratulations you survived the first week of school” treat.

Scratch that – I’ll give them to his teacher, instead – she’ll need them more.

Perfect Brownies for Kids - adapted from a recipe by Kathy Faulding

2/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli Semi Sweet)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla extract and chocolate chips, reserving some of the chips for later. Stir until the chips have melted and the mixture is smooth, Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each one.  Blend in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour the mixture into a greased 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the mixture with the remaining chocolate chips and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the brownies cool before slicing into squares.

Brownie Buttons

Wow – I didn’t realize so much time has passed since I last posted a recipe!

Here we are with another one bowl wonder – this time from everyone’s favorite baker, Dorie Greenspan. In case you’ve been living under a cyberspace rock lately, these brownies were just covered by 300+ bakers for Tuesdays with Dorie group.

Easy to make, with a  wonderfully mild chocolate flavor. These are great – cute, perfectly sized, and will definitely be making an appearance for a friend’s upcoming birthday party. She wants a dessert table with an array of sweets, and I think these will be just right for a group of 50 7th graders.  I’m still on the fence as to whether or not they should be iced. The original recipe calls for a white chocolate dip (doesn’t that sound fun?), but maybe a pretty rosette of ganache would be nice too.

One note: since these are so small, you really need to watch the time. They go from done to overdone in the blink of an eye.

So don’t blink!

Brownie Buttons - adapted from Dorie Greenspan

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 teaspoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a miniature muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
Whisk together the flour and salt.
Melt the butter, chocolate and brown sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula. When the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and cool for a minute or two.
Stir in the vanilla, egg and the zest, if you’re using it, into the chocolate mixture. When the mixture is well blended, add the flour and stir only until it is incorporated. You should have a smooth, glossy batter.
Spoon the batter into 12 of the muffin cups, using about a teaspoon and a half of batter to fill each cup three-quarters full.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the tops of the buttons spring back when touched. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 3 minutes before carefully releasing the buttons. Cool to room temperature on the racks.

Famous Dave’s Kahlua Fudge Brownies

Cowabunga!

That’s the first thought that popped into my head as I bit into these brownies. They pack a serious coffee flavored punch. Definitely not for anyone that doesn’t like strong flavors.

However, the next day, when I tried them again, the flavor had mellowed considerably. To the point that they didn’t seem to taste like much of anything.

Although, to be fair, the original recipe does call for the baked brownie to be sprayed with Kahlua liqueur, then topped with ice cream, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and fresh strawberries. I’m sure the Kahlua would have added another flavor dimension to these, but in my opinion, the brownie should taste good by itself.

And while these weren’t bad, they weren’t great either.

Another interesting bit of information – these call for vegetable oil as well as butter. I was quite curious about that addition, but honestly, if I hadn’t added it in myself, I never would have known it was there.

Kahlua Fudge Brownies - adapted from Famous Dave’s

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup espresso powder
4 eggs

Mix flour, baking cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Heat the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan over low heat until blended, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Combine sugar, oil, espresso and eggs in a mixer bowl. Beat for 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Add chocolate mixture. Beat just until blended. Add flour mixture, beating just until blended. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spoon the batter into a buttered 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges pull from the sides of the pan; do not overbake. Cool to lukewarm on wire rack or just enough to handle pan.