Are you a dark chocolate person or a milk chocolate person?
I have to say, I'm more in the milk chocolate camp myself. Always have been. Oh, I love a rich, dark chocolate bite or two... but I have to immediately wash it down with milk. Whole milk, preferably, that has been chilled to precisely 33.9 degrees. But that's another story for another time.
My dad, on the other hand, has always been a dark chocolate addict. When I was growing up and my mom would buy those little bags of miniature Hershey's candy bars, he'd go straight for the Special Dark chocolate bars no one else wanted. And I, of course, would scarf down the Krackels. Followed by the regular Hershey Bars. Followed by the Mr. Goodbars. Then I'd go watch Gilligan's Island and pull all the heads off my little sister's Barbie dolls.
Over time, I've found that there's no gift—for Christmas or birthday—that my dad has responded to more passionately than a box of good dark chocolates. So when I fiddled with these dark chocolate brownies this week, I knew I’d found the treat I’ll make him the next time he’s here. And he’s definitely getting a box of these on Valentine’s Day!
For these ultra rich, ultra decadent brownies, I basically adapted the regular brownie recipe that I’ve used for years. I made it in the saucepan rather than the mixer, and I added cocoa powder on top of the baking chocolate. Then, just before putting the batter into the pan, I stirred in chocolate chips. Whew! Chocolate, chocolate everywhere. There was no escape from it! And the results were delicious, though I have to admit to needing a swig of milk between each bite. Tiny squares of these brownies are more than enough, and if the idea that a little dark chocolate every day wards off depression... these babies could be downright medicinal.
Here’s how I made them!
In a medium saucepan, add some butter and unsweetened chocolate. You can use the basic grocery store brand or the nice, nice, gourmet brand (if you can find it). Any unsweetened chocolate will do as long as it’s 5 ounces!
Heat them over low heat, whisking every 29.7 seconds, until it’s all smooth and melted and perfect.
When it’s all melted, sprinkle in some cocoa powder.
Yummy!
Stir the mixture until smooth, then remove it from the heat and let it cool off the stove for about 5 minutes or so.
Next, to cut all this crazy, insane chocolate richness, pour in 2 cups of sugar…
And stir it until it’s just barely incorporated.
Add a tablespoon of vanilla, because vanilla makes everything a little more heavenly.
After the sugar and vanilla, the mixture should be somewhat cooler now. So add three eggs, one at a time, stirring gently after each addition.
Then sprinkle in flour…
And stir it until it’s halfway combined.
Then, to put the nail in the coffin of the chocolatey nature of these brownies, add some SEMI-SWEET chocolate chips. These are “dark chocolate” chips, which I thought would perfectly bring out the chocolate flavor of the brownies. But in hindsight, I think I should have added semi-sweet. The dark chocolate was a little out of control!
But don’t listen to me. I like Krackel bars.
UPDATE: I whipped up another batch of these this morning as I was making breakfast burritos for the cowboys. They are EVEN BETTER with semi-sweet chocolate chips. That’s definitely the way to go! The chocolate flavor is more well-rounded. Amen!
Stir the mixture all together until it’s just barely combined…
Then pour it into a very well greased and floured (or sprayed with baking spray) 8 x 8 OR 9 x 13 inch cooking pan.
About the pan size: A square pan will result in thicker brownies. These look great, but sometimes (depending on ovens, kind of pan, and astrological sign) it can be a challenge for the center to fully bake before the edges start to brown.
A 9 x 13 inch pan will result in a thinner brownie, but the baking can be a little more even.
Either one is fine—just keep an eye on it while it’s baking!
Smooth out the top…
Then bake it at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes if using a square pan, a little less if using a rectangular pan.
Now, the hardest part is letting them cool. Ironically, even though brownies are notoriously delicious warm, I’ve found that they really turn out better when you allow them to cool completely and “settle down” before eating them. You can always nuke them later if you want to do an ice cream sundae or something. (Oh, that sounds awfully good right now.)
They should come right out of the pan (you might need to run a knife along the edges)…
Then you can sprinkle away with powdered sugar!
A little goes a long, long way so I decided to cut them into small-ish squares.
Even these might be a little too big for how rich the suckers are!
Ahhhh. A glorious sight!
Ahhhh. A glorious bite!
If you love chocolate, and I mean rich, rich, rich dark chocolate, you will love these!
(Pssst. How delicious would they be with coffee ice cream? Wow!)
