This brownie recipe is much easier than a traditional brownie recipe (which requires you to melt baking chocolate in a double boiler); this recipe just uses cocoa powder. However, you should take the butter out of the fridge and leave it to sit at room temperature for several hours, to soften it up. OK? Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
| 1 cup | (all-purpose) flour | 120 grams (or 250 ml)
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| ¼ teaspoon | baking powder | 1 ml
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| ½ teaspoon | salt | 2 ml
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| ¼ cup | cocoa powder | 30 grams (or 60 ml)
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| ½ cup (1 stick) | butter | 120 grams (120 ml)
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| 2 | (large) eggs |
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| 1 cup | (granulated) sugar | 200 grams (or 250 ml)
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| 1 teaspoon | vanilla | 5 ml
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| ¼ cup | milk | 60 ml
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| ⅔ cup | chopped nuts or raisins | 100 grams (or 160 ml) This is OPTIONAL
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Notes, substitutions, and equipment:
- Baking powder: please note that you must use baking POWDER, not baking SODA. There is a big difference. Also note that it is important the you level it off with the back of a knife, so that it is a LEVEL quarter teaspoon (or 1 ml measure).
- Cocoa powder: use regular baking cocoa (which is an unsweetened brown powder). This is NOT the same thing as cocoa mix which you buy to make hot cocoa; that normally contains sugar and milk powder. Cocoa that is used for baking is a medium-brown powder made from cocoa solids; it has nothing added to it. (For more information about cocoa powder, see this article: Cocoa Powder.)
- Butter: should be soft enough that you can "mush" it easily. Don't try to soften it by microwaving it: the microwaves start to cook the milk solids, so that they separate out from the butter fat. This gives you the wrong kind of consistency. You can use margarine instead of butter, but you CANNOT use light margarine: light margarine has too much water in it.
- Chopped nuts or raisins: this tastes best with walnuts or pecans, but you can substitute just about any kind of nut. You can use either nuts or raisins, or both, or neither: it's up to you. It just depends on what you prefer.
- Rectangular pan: use a baking pan with the following dimensions: 13" x 9" x 2" (= 33 cm x 23 cm x 5 cm; by volume: 3.5 quarts or 3.3 litres). I prefer the heavy glass kind, but any kind will do—just make sure you grease and flour it before pouring in the batter.
Directions:
- About 3 - 4 hours before beginning to bake, measure out butter and let it sit, so that it comes to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃).
- Grease and flour a rectangular 13" x 9" (23 cm X 33 cm) baking pan.
- Sift cocoa powder and measure out 1/4 cup (60 ml or 30 grams).
- Measure flour, baking powder and salt, and sift into a medium bowl, alternating with the cocoa powder. In this way, the cocoa gets sifted into the flour mixture.
- In a large bowl, cream butter (with wooden spoon or mixer on low speed) until it is completely soft and without lumps.
- To the butter, add sugar and mix very well.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs (with a fork, whisk, or mixer on low speed).
- Add the beaten eggs and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well (with wooden spoon or mixer on low speed).
- To this mixture, add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, stirring well after each addition.
- If you want nuts and/or raisins in your brownies, add them now, and mix until well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and put into pre-heated oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes (or until brownies done by testing with toothpick or cake tester to see that it comes out dry).
- Take out of oven and place on a cake rack. After letting cool for 5 - 10 minutes, cut into squares or rectangles.
Disclaimer: while these recipes are the result of years of experience and/or lots of research, in the end they are just my personal preference. If you try something I suggest and it doesn't work for you, please don't sue me — I guarantee nothing. Best of luck!
Page created and maintained by A. Steinbergs
Last modified: January 11, 2012