Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies

These brownies are truly outrageous, but it’s taken me so long to share the recipe with you because, of course, things like holidays or work or whatever else gets in the way. But let me tell you this: I have made this brownie recipe countless times and they are, without a doubt, the absolute best brownie recipe known to man. I’ve made one bowl brownies and peanut butter brownies and just about everything in between, but if you’ve got a little extra time and a lot of extra chocolate, these are the brownies for you. Best of all, they make enough for a crowd. Seriously. They’re made on a baking sheet, so it’s almost double your usual 9x-13-inch brownie BS. These are the real deal. You can, of course, add in walnuts, or M&Ms, or chopped up candy bars or whatever else. They are versatile and pretty much fool-proof. However, I like to keep things straight-forward when I make Ina’s brownies. They are so rich, so chocolatey, and honestly, so damn perfect, that there isn’t much more you can add to them to make them better. If anything, I think they are so jaw-droppingly good because of how unassuming they are. To the layman, they look like regular brownies, but take a bite and be transformed. The tops are so crackly and delicate, while the interior is bursting with two kinds of chocolate, plus a little chopped chocolate for good measure. It’s impossible to dry these out or to mess them up. Really. You don’t even need an electric mixer for these bad boys. Think about it: has Ina ever steered you wrong? No. She hasn’t. She’s a brownie angel. Just don’t forget the milk.

I finally got around to flipping through the last of our photos from our Asia trip in January, ha! Here’s Kramer eating some hangover-curing soba in Japan.

I wish I had some of these magical brownies to cheer me up on this crappy-looking Monday morning. We were lucky enough to have a really lovely weekend, with lots of sunshine and mild weather, but, as New York always does, it’s come to bite us in the ass because it truly looks like The Most Miserable Day Ever outside. And I have about a mile to walk after I get off of the subway to get into the office. Uggggh. At least I don’t have that much going on outside of work this week. I’ve been trying to find a good balance of social events, networking events, and just giving myself time to chill at home. One of the best (and worst) things about New York is that there’s always something to do, right? But that can be both tiring and tempting. Yes, I want to go out, but I also hate small talk. Yes, I want to advance my career and make connections and ~talk shop~, but I also want to go home and watch Flaked (which is actually pretty good, despite what reviews might say – check it out, guys). I often end up making plans for two or three different outings during the week, be it casual drinks with friends, catch-up drinks with people I haven’t seen in a while, or some kind of networking event, where I have to explain that I have a full-time job and I also freelance and I also run this blog, and yes it’s a lot, and yeah, it is hard not being “obese” when I bake all the time (this is the #1 question I am asked and it drives me freaking nuts). This week, however, I only have one obligation after work. One! I have a coffee meeting and a lunch, but the after-work stuff is the real sleep-killer, so congratulations to me for keeping it low-key this week. Now if I can only keep it that way for a few more weeks…we’ll see.

My soba had eggplant and shrimp tempura.

A delicious soy donut.

An English menu.

Our day’s reward.

Anyway – brownies!

The nectar of the gods – butter and chocolate.

Mix in that flour.

Chop up that extra chocolate and fold it into your brownie batter.

Don’t mess around when you butter your sheet pan.

Because that is what’s going on top.

Let them cool (seriously) before you slice them up and dig in.

That crackle on top, tho.

How I really feel about these brownies.

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Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies

Author: Sydney

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  40 mins

Total time:  1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 30 brownies

 

These are, hands down, the best damn brownies I have ever made or eaten.

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped*
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped*
• 6 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups chopped walnuts (optional - I didn't add these)
• *A note about the chocolate: I have made these with all kinds of chocolate. If you want to use all dark, or all semisweet, or all milk, or a combination of whatever you have on hand, I promise that these will still turn out amazing.

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a cookie sheet (a 12x18x1-inch pan) and set aside.
2. Place the butter, 1 pound of semisweet chocolate, and 6 ounces of unsweetened chocolate in a medium sized pot, and melt them together slowly over low heat, stirring often so that you don't burn the chocolate. If the pot gets too hot, remove it from the heat for a bit, stir, and return to the heat. Once melted, allow it to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (don't beat!) together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add it into the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts (if using) and 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl with ¼ cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter (these helps keep them from clumping together). Pour the batter into the generously buttered baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven and tap the baking sheet against your counter top to force the air bubbles to escape from between the pan and the brownies (don't forget to do this!). Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake - the beauty of these is that they are thick and chewy, but they're made in a sort of shallow pan, so they won't be as hard to bake through as some other brownie recipes. Personally, I never bake these for more than 40 minutes total, but I know my oven well.
5. Allow the brownies to cool thoroughly (you can refrigerate them to speed up the process), then cut them into large squares. Ina recommends cutting them into 20 brownies, but if you're bringing these to a party or something, you can probably cut them into 30-35 still-pretty-big brownies

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