Truffle Honey » Julia’s Brownies

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Julia’s Brownies

Posted by trufflehoney / 1 comment » / cookies & bars, dessert, recipes

If boxed brownies aren’t the biggest travesty out there, I don’t know what is. As a kid, we ate quite a lot of those things, and they always tasted so disappointing, greasy and superficial. I never knew there was an entire world of scratch made brownies out there waiting to be explored. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that the “real” brownies put the boxed stuff to shame, and they’re actually not as difficult to make as you might think.

Until I saw the recipe for these brownies, which are said to be Julia Child’s favorite (and I can understand why!), I’ve never made them from scratch, and I was so excited to try them. They were fairly easy to make and pretty much just involved pouring ingredients into various bowls, mixing them up, adding them to each other, and then baking them. The most difficult part for me was beating the eggs and sugar by hand since I didn’t own a Kitchen Aid or hand mixer when I first made these. If you do have either of these tools, the mixing process will be a cinch. Also – in case, like me, you tend to rush through things, make sure you read the recipe through first (I know that might sound obvious, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen automatically) because there are a few different bowls being used at once and you wouldn’t want to accidentally pour one mixture into the wrong bowl…(woops.)

These brownies, once cooled and sprinkled with a generous amount of powdered sugar, are just incredible in texture and flavor. They’re moist and delicate, and, surprisingly, not overwhelmingly chocolately. There’s a great balance between the sweetness and the cakey texture. Neither overpowers the other and the blend is perfect. Paired with vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream, these things are deadly (as in, you’re going to eat far more of them than you want to!), but they’re such a decadent, special dessert. I guess that’s not too much of a surprise. Anything that was Julia Child’s favorite couldn’t possibly be anything less than perfect. Even after sitting in a platter covered with foil for a few days, the brownies were still perfectly moist as if they’d just been baked. I’m actually surprised they lasted that long.I had a bit of a problem with the baking time, and my brownies needed 10 more minutes than the recipe suggests. I think my oven has issues, so I’d stick to the recipe with this. Either way, just keep an eye on your brownies, and know that they shouldn’t be firmly set when you take them out of the oven. They’ll be done when they are moist and the slightest bit runny.

Julia's Brownies

Yield: 12-15 large brownies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
8 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or butter.

2. Mix the flour & salt in a large bowl.

3. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once the butter is melted, lower the heat to low and add all of the chopped chocolate.

4. To this butter/chocolate mixture, add 1 cup of the sugar and stir until combined, about 30 seconds-1 minute.

5. Pour this wet mixture into a mixing bowl and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

6. In a separate bowl, add the second cup of sugar and all of the eggs. Whisk just until combined but no longer than that. Slowly pour half of this sugar/egg mixture into the bowl with the chocolate mixture and stir slowly to avoid setting the eggs because of the heat from the chocolate.

7. Using a hand mixer or the whisk in your Kitchen Aid (or your hands!) beat the remaining half of the sugar/egg mixture on high speed until it doubles in volume, thickens, and becomes pale in color.

8. Gently fold these whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture. When the eggs are mostly incorporated, carefully fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture.

9. Pour the batter into the greased brownie pan and bake in the oven for 25-28 minutes until barely set and slightly gooey.

10. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting and serving.

The brownies will keep for 3-5 days in an air tight container but will last for a week or two if you put them in the freezer.

Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours