What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Want to try a gluten-free dessert that tastes anything but? How about hanging your lip on a Nanaimo bar? The recipe's from our neighbors up north, but the gluten-free graham crackers are a creation of Celiac Teen's Lauren. Unbelievable.
This recipe is part of Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies.
New Classic Brownies
This brownie recipe is straight-up like my Mom’s brownies with one crucial difference, something Alice Medrich refers to as ‘The Steve Ritual’ in Cookies and Brownies:
The Steve Ritual
When Maya Klein, my assistant, told me about the Steve Ritual – which calls for baking brownies for only about 20 minutes at 400 and then cooling them in an ice bath – she said it originated when her husband (Steve) was in college and one of his college roommates discovered the oven was way too hot or possibly on fire and the brownies were in mortal danger. Without thinking to save himself, the smart roommate (she thinks it was Steve) rescued the brownies by shoving them into the freezer next to a frozen pizza, which arrested the cooking instantly and produced, by accident, brownies divinely moist and creamy inside yet crusty and satisfying on the outside.In an eloquent full-page single-spaced document, Steve himself claimed that the ritual evolved slowly and thoughtfully, requiring a rigorous application of the scientific method and pushing his analytical and baking skills to the very limit over the course of many months. By the time the ritual was perfected, he said that he and his roommates had taken to dimming the lights in the kitchen before retrieving the brownies from the freezer – and here Steve would close his own eyes – for fear of giving the secret away.
I don’t know which story is true. But I do know that brownies with at least 1/2 cup of flour (for an 8-inch brownie pan), even cakey brownies, even brownie mixes, turn out more luscious and decadent when made with the Steve Ritual. (Brownies with less than 1/2 cup of flour and more than 5 ounces of chocolate are already so gooey that the Steve Ritual is unnecessary).
New Classic Brownies tested with the Steve Ritual won hands down against the same recipe baked in a conventional manner. Not only was the crust crustier and the center creamier, but the flavor livelier and more chocolatey as well! Fortunately a pan of ice water is a perfect substitute for the freezer in the original story. The frozen pizza is optional!
A few notes about this recipe:
- Assumed 1 cup flour = 4.5 oz
- Baked in a 13x9 metal pan
- An easy batter to mix, the amount of butter helps in easy clean-up. The dough eased out of the bowl into the pan leaving nothing sticky in the bowl. Same held for the offset spatula I used to spread the batter in the pan – the butter made the batter non-stick.
- Bakers was the only unsweetened chocolate I could find easily in our nearby groceries – but I would have preferred to use a nicer brand just in case chocolate quality was an issue.
- Steve method did produce dense, moist brownies about 3/4” to 1” tall.
- They did not cut particularly cleanly, probably because of the addition of the walnuts to the batter.
- Deep, dark brown color. Not terribly sweet.
- Most of my tasters couldn’t agree on a word to describe these brownies – I got chewy, flakey, crumbly, gooey, and cakey.
New Classic Brownies
8 T unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 c AP flour
2/3 c walnut or pecan pieces (optional)
Equipment
8-inch square metal pan, lined across the bottom and up 2 opposite sites with parchment paper or foil
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Melt the butter with the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a medium heatproof bowl set in a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth.
- Remove the top of the double boiler (or the bowl) from the heat.
- Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next.
- Stir in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the nuts, if using.
- Scrape the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. The surface will look dry but a toothpick inserted in the center will still be quite gooey.
- While the brownies are baking, prepare an ice bath: Fill a roasting pan or a large baking pan with ice cubes and water about 3/4” deep. Trust me on this – it’s the crucial component of the Steve Ritual.
- When the brownies are ready, remove the pan from the oven and set it immediately in the ice bath, taking care not to splash water on the brownies.
- Cool the brownies in the ice bath.
- When cool, slide a knife between the pan and the brownies on the unlined sides.
- Lift the ends of the parchment or foil liner and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.
- Cut into 16 squares.
Yield
Makes 16 brownies
Storage
May be stored, airtight, for 2 – 3 days.
Source
This recipe comes from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies, and is available on Purple House Dirt with permission from the author.
More Info
Very Fudgey Brownies from Cookies and BrowniesBittersweet Brownies from Cookies and Brownies