Outrageous Brownies

Need I say more? Doesn't the title just say it all?

This Brownie recipe is an Ina Garten recipe. (of course...the food network) I saw her make them on her show once and decided to give them a go.

I have to warn you, they are expensive to make, but they are sooooo worth it!!! This is one of my favorite brownie recipes. They are very rich and fudgey, everything you want in a brownie.

My friend Keith that I work with had a death in the family, so I made these brownies for him.

Chocolate = comfort, comfort = love, love = brownies. See how I did that? Brownies love me and I love brownies!! It's a mutual thing. :-)

We made these brownies a couple of times at the cafe, but everyone was so used to our other brownie recipe that these ended up going by the wayside most of the time. What a shame. Because trust me, once you try these, you will love them. And based on my math above, the brownies will love you back.

Teri

Notes:  Like most things made with chocolate where the chocolate flavor shines, the better the chocolate, the better the taste. I use Ghirardelli Chocolate because I think it has a great taste. You can use Scharffen Berger Chocolate, but you really don't need to go to that expense.

I also didn't add a complete pound of chocolate to the butter and unsweetened chocolate that gets melted. I only added 12 oz. I don't think that the 4 oz that's missing made a huge difference.

You can add a different nut if you like other than walnuts. I believe walnuts go with brownies, but if you believe a different nut does, by all means, use it. Or if you have an allergy to nuts or don't like them, leave them out!! Either way is good.

These can be frozen. I like to freeze them and take them out when I need a chocolate kick. They are just as good as the day I made them. I've frozen them for up to a month, but only because they never last further than that!

You can also warm these up and serve them with some Vanilla Ice cream. That will take them from outrageous to over the top!!!

Outrageous Brownies



1 pound unsalted butter

1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 extra-large eggs

3 tablespoons instant coffee granules

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl in the microwave. I started at 1 minute with just the unsweetened chocolate because it takes longer to melt. Then added the butter and chocolate chips and microwaved for 2 minutes in 1 minute increments; stirring after each minute. You might need to microwave longer if not fully melted. But all should be smooth and melted. If you don't want to microwave you can put all in a double boiler and melt mixture that way.

 

 

 

 

In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the flour mixture.

Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.  This helps to keep the chocolate chips and walnuts from sinking to the bottom.

 

Pour into the baking sheet.

 

 Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake!

Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.

The first time I made this, I didn't refrigerate the brownies before I cut them. Trust me you have to. Otherwise you will have nothing but crumbs on your hands!! I think it has something to do with all the butter that's in them.

Enjoy!!