Food and design blogs are my procrastination poison—those dark holes on the internet that suck you in for hours, hours that you could spend oh, I don’t know, doing homework or writing on your blog, which you love but is too often ignored. Two blogs I frequent had a very similar recipe for some pretty delicious (read: gooey-looking) brownies, of which I made a mental note and moved on to my next procrastination portal. The truth is, I’m a little low-brow when it comes to my brownies. I’ve made Ina Garten’s brownies from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and they were wonderful. But they felt like a lot of work, and I have to be honest, I’m fond of brownies from a box. They just always seem gooier than their more high-brow counterparts, and gooiness is my top criteria for brownies. Then, over Christmas, I came across that same recipe again (there’s a lot of sharing on the web, it would appear). And this time, I noticed that these brownies looked suspiciously like boxed brownies (remember, fellow bloggers, this is a compliment in my book).
Lo and behold, these were the EASIEST brownies I have ever made in my entire life. They might actually be easier than boxed brownies, if that’s at all possible. The ingredients are easy and items that I normally have in my pantry, it uses the microwave and only one bowl. AND, you line the pan with parchment paper, so clean up is a snap. SOLD. I have no dishwasher, so more important than easy ingredients are minimal dishes.
The first time I made the brownies—for my pregnant sister, aren’t I saintly?? Although I don't remember her actually getting to eat any...-- my mom commented that they reminded her of the pluff mud in Muddy Bay, off the South Carolina coast near the little fishing village of McClellanville, where we have a house. She’s exactly right, so in honor of my favorite Lowcountry haunt, I’ve christened this recipe Muddy Bay Brownies and made a tweak or two.
MUDDY BAY BROWNIES
Makes 16 brownies, 25 if you’re stingy
Time: 10 min. prep, 25 min. in the oven
Oven: 325 degrees
10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick + 2 Tbsp)
¾ C. unsweetened cocoa powder (*people make a big stink over Dutch processed versus natural—I made this recipe twice, once with Dutch processed, and once with Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder, which uses both Dutch and natural, and they were both stupendous. Just don’t used sweetened cocoa powder. That’s for chocolate milk.)
1 ¼ C. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp almond extract (*see note for variation)
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
½ C. all purpose flour
Note: You can omit almond extract if that's not your thing (we can't be friends anymore, but I understand that everyone's allowed their own preferences.). If so, increase the vanilla to 1/2 a teaspoon, and if you'd like, you can add 2/3 C. pecan pieces at the very end before baking. This was the first incarnation of the recipe that I tried, and it was a big hit.
Preheat the oven to 325.
In a large (4 C. or so) glass measuring cup, dump the butter, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Microwave on high for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Stir until smoothish. It will look gritty (like wet oreos, I tell you.) but don’t fret. It’ll smooth out later.
Set aside to cool for a few minutes (you want it warm, not hot. If you add eggs to hot batter, you get scrambled egg brownies, and no one wants that.). Once your mixture’s cooled down a bit, add the almond and vanilla extracts. Stir to combine. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon between each egg. Now the mixture should start to look smoother and shinier. Once everything’s mixed up, add the flour. Stir in until you can’t see any white, then beat vigorously with the spoon for 40 strokes (I will admit, I find this EXHAUSTING. Must go to the gym more so I can be in better shape to make brownies.).
Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang on two opposite ends. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out so it's even. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (or clean-ish… remember: it’s better to have underbaked brownies than overbaked. Gospel truth.).
Allow to cool in the pan, then pull out by the parchment paper by the ends and cut. Store in an airtight container, and hide from your husband.
If you're interested, here are the other blogs with the original recipe:
http://www.honeyandjam.com/2010/11/gooey-cocoa-brownies.html (the one that finally got me to try the brownies)
http://mattbites.com/2010/12/14/alices-new-classic-brownies/ (this Matt fellow is a HOOT)
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/01/best-cocoa-brownies/ (Deb of smitten kitchen is a blog-lebrity. Even my dad wants to try her white bean and chard stew!)
