Brownies

Who loves brownies? Actually, the real question should be...who doesn't love brownies? I have a HUGE sweet tooth and nothing satisfies my sweet tooth like a good old brownie. Oh yea! :)

There's essentially two types of brownie lovers - those that enjoy a more cake-like texture and those that enjoy a more fudge-like texture. I fit into the latter category because I really like my brownies more on the gooey side...yummm! It's definitely hard to find fudge-like brownies at stores as most sell cake-like brownies. When I was a kid, I didn't know that brownies could be like fudge! My mom used to bake my brother and I Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate brownies from the mix and the taste is never to be forgotten. It was so good at that time! But, as I grew up and discovered the fudge-like brownies with a more gooey inside and a nice crusty exterior, I fell in LOVE! haha :) My brother, on the other hand though, still enjoys the cake-like brownies...I guess he's still attached to the box mix?

So, when I make brownies, I always face this dilemma - should I make cake-like or fudge-like brownies? Essentially, satisfy my sweet tooth or my brother's? And...my brother usually ends up winning! :( Another problem is...I like adding different toppings or mix-ins (nuts, dried fruits, etc) now that I'm older, but my brother still enjoys just the pure chocolate taste. :( But this time, I decided to go with a more dense, fudge-like brownie and I just sprinkled some toppings on top to compromise! :)

Anyways, enough of my brownie story! haha :) Today I wanted to share with you a brownie recipe from David Lebovitz! He's definitely one of my favorite bloggers and foodie! You should check out his website next time because his pictures and food adventures seem amazing! :D

Brownies
From David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar simply because I ran out of granulated sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (I eliminated this)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Line the inside of a 9-inch square pan with 2 lengths of foil, positioning the sheets perpendicular to each other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of the pan, or with a single large sheet of extra wide foil or parchment paper. Lightly butter the foil or parchment.

3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir until it is melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Add the flour and stir energetically for 1 full minute—time yourself—until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. Stir in the chopped nuts.


4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center feels almost set, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake.

5. Let the brownie cool completely in the pan—this is the difficult part—before lifting the foil or parchment and the block of brownie out of the pan. Cut the brownie into squares.