seattlejo, perhaps?) because I have a really bad sweet tooth, and love baking, but often can't finish a batch of something sweet before it goes off, or shouldn't - Jeff doesn't eat sweet things very often, and having a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies around is just asking me for me to eat them all in three days. So I checked the book out of the library, and prompty didn't make anything out of it for weeks, until this past week, when sheeplass posted about baking out of it, and specifically about baking the Moist Fudgy Brownies. I came home Friday in a state of "must have chocolate NOW" (ahem) and so brownies were made.1.5 tbs unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
0.75 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (about 2.5 tbs) (I used regular old baker's chocolate, since that's what I had hanging around)
0.25 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
1 tbs plus 2.25 teas well-beaten egg or egg substitute (No matter how beaten, trying to measure out a tbs of real egg is a nightmare, because eggs have gloppy bits in the middle. I'll be buying some egg substitute when we go to the store tomorrow)
0.5 teas pure vanilla extract
3 tbs plus 2 teas all-purpose flour
1/8 teas salt
0.25 cup chopped pecans (optional) (I used a non-measured amount of chocolate chips instead. However, these did not seem to really impact anything in the final product except the calorie count, and I'll leave them out next time. Peanut butter or butterscotch chips might be tasty, though.)
1. Place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F. (Or, if you're using your toaster oven and it happens to heat up quickly, skip this step.) Lightly grease a petite loaf pan (2-cup capacity, 5x3 inches) with the extra butter. (or, if you're using a muffin tin, grease that. This recipe made three brownies when using a regulation sized muffin tin. Highly recommended if you're the type to eat all of the corners from a pan of brownies first.) Line the bottom of the lof pan with a strip of aluminum foil to fit down the length and up the short sides, with enough eextra length to extend over the edges by about 1.5 inches. Lightly grease foil, set pan aside. (Use the muffin tin. Really. :))
2. Put the butter and chocoalte in a medium-size microwave safe bowl, and nuke on medium power until the chocoalte is soft and butter is melted, about 1 minute (do this in 15 second chunks, or you stand a good chance of burning the chocolate. Which I did with the first batch of chocolate for the bread pudding I made awhile back.) Stir until chocolate is smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg. Add the vanilla. Mix well. Add the pecans, if you're using them, and fold in. Spread the batter evenly in the pan (or muffin tin).
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs attached, 28 to 30 minutes (mine took 20, being done in a tin in the toaster oven. Less energy used, and I didn't heat up the whole kitchen). The top will appear dry and starting to shrink from the edges of the pan. Do not overcook.
4. Removed pan from oven (why do recipes always say stuff like this?), place it on a wire rack, and let the brownies cool completely in pan. Use the foil to pull out. (As the Sheepie said, the world will not end if you don't let them cool all the way.)
Notes: these were definitely moist and tasty, and pretty good. I will be making them again. However, they were very calorie dense, especially with the added chocolate chips. I am curious as to how they would be with a shot of rum in them instead of vanilla, or maybe with some instant coffee added. I think these brownies really depend on the chocolate used, and mine could have been chocolater. They would be a good showcase for some really good, expensive chocolate if you had an occasion to make dessert for and didn't want to make a big batch with expensive chocolate. Also, I want to buy a mini-muffin tin so I can make things like brownie bites. :) Finally, measuring out all of the little amounts was a bit fiddly, but I'm sure with practice I'll get faster.
