Ultra Chocolaty – Extreme Chocolate – Brownies
This is our favorite brownies recipe for oh so many reasons. They are easy to make, the recipe yields a huge batch, they freeze beautifully and, oh yeah, they happen to be the most extremely rich chocolate brownies you have ever tasted. That is a bold statement to be sure, but we stand by it. They were inspired by Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies; we ramped up and improved the flavor by using a higher-quality chocolate for the part that is melted and incorporated within the batter and also reformulated the recipe to use large eggs, as that’s what we usually have around.
Extreme Chocolate Brownies
Author: Bakepedia
Makes: Makes up to 80 chocolate brownies. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels/chips
- 3 cups toasted walnut halves, finely chopped
- 1 pound semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, such as Callebaut
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 2¼ cups sugar
- 7 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet (18-inch by 13-inch) with nonstick spray lined with parchment paper, then spray parchment.
- Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in chocolate chips and all of the walnuts to coat; set aside.
- Melt 1 pound of chopped chocolate, butter and unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water or in a microwaveable bowl. Cool to lukewarm.
- In a large bowl, gently whisk together the sugar, eggs, instant coffee and vanilla. Stir in the lukewarm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. Fold then stir in the dry mixture just until combined. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pan front to back once during baking, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Do not over bake. Cool on rack. Cut into squares; best eaten within 3 days. Store in airtight container at room temperature in single layers separated by parchment paper or foil. May be frozen up to 1 month, double wrapped in plastic and then foil.
Bakepedia Tips
- If you want a brownie with no nuts, you can certainly leave them out. What we often do is make them half with and half without. Do not toss the nuts with the flour as directed; set them aside. Make recipe as instructed and scrape batter into pan. Take 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts (you only need half the original amount) and scatter some of them over half of the pan. Gently press them down into the brownie batter with a small offset spatula until they are largely submerged. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top and bake as directed. When you are cutting, make sure the border is clear so that the brownies with no nuts truly have no nuts. That said, if someone is allergic we suggest explaining how they were baked and let them decide.
- We like to freeze in large pieces and cut after defrosting. Segment the brownies into 2 or 4 large pieces, place them on cardboards for support, double wrap in plastic, then slip into a heavy zip-top bag. Freeze up to 1 month. Defrost in refrigerator overnight.
- As with most brownie recipes, do not over-bake. If you test with a toothpick there should be many moist crumbs clinging.
Can this recipe be cut in half? It is dangerous to have such a big quantity of brownies around.
Doris, these freeze very well, and believe us, we don’t say that easily! If, however, you still want to make half a batch, it does work in a 13×9-inch pan. You can use 3 eggs, whisk a 4th egg and add half of it, or it will work with 4 eggs. Keep an eye on baking times and use the visual cues. Let us know how you like the recipe!