Chocolate Brownies With Cocoa Powder

Intensely Chocolate Brownies

Intensely Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

Makes 8 To 12

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, plus a little extra for the pan
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Method

1. About an hour ahead of time, unwrap the butter and place it in a large bowl
2. Use a table knife to cut it into 1-inch pieces, and let it stand at room temperature to soften
3. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350°f (325°f if you’re using a glass pan)
4. Put a little soft butter on a paper towel, a piece of waxed paper, or a butter wrapper, and lightly grease the bottom and corners of a 9-by 13-inch baking pan
5. No need to grease the sides
6. Fill a smallish saucepan with about 2 inches of water, and place a heatproof bowl that is large enough to hold the chocolate chips directly on top of the pan
7. The bowl should rest firmly in place, clutched by the pan’s rim, and the bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water
8. Pour the chocolate chips into the bowl, and put the whole setup on the stove over low heat
9. Let the water simmer gently until the chocolate chips are all melted (there should be no solid pieces when you give it a stir)
10. Remove the pan from the heat, and carefully, using pot holders or oven mitts, remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the pan
11. Set it aside to cool a little
12. Use a handheld electric mixer at high speed (or if you don’t have one, use a whisk, with enthusiasm) to beat the butter (by itself, for now) for a couple of minutes, or until it becomes light and fluffy
13. Crumble in the brown sugar, and continue to beat at high speed (or with your own arm at its personal best) for another 2 minutes or so
14. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times during this process
15. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well enough after each addition to thoroughly mix it in
16. Add the vanilla extract, and continue to beat for another minute or two, until everything is very well combined
17. Keep beating as you slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate
18. If you are beating manually, you might want to get someone to help hold the bowl steady for this
19. Beat well until the chocolate is completely incorporated
20. The constant movement prevents the heat of the chocolate from cooking the eggs
21. Sprinkle in the flour and salt, and stir (you can finally stop beating now) until they disappear into the batter
22. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, taking care to scrape all of it in with a rubber spatula
23. Then use the spatula to spread the batter evenly
24. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the top springs back a little when lightly touched in the center
25. They might seem under-baked, but they will firm up as they cool, and these are moist brownies
26. That said, if they seem too soft for you, it’s okay to leave them in the oven for a few minutes longer, until a toothpick inserted all the way into the center comes out clean
27. At that point, they’ll be cakey brownies, rather than fudgy ones
28. Let the brownies cool in the pan for about 10 minutes; then cut them into squares of your preferred size
29. Let them sit for another 10 minutes or so after you do the cutting, so each piece can solidify
30. Then remove the squares from the pan and let them cool on a rack
31. Serve warm or at room temperature