Brownies and the Bachelor

Oh, the Bachelor! What in the world is going on with this season? Has there ever been a woman as abrasive and sickening as Courtney? It makes me ill to think that there are women out there who really believe that using mind (and body) games and manipulation to "win" a man is acceptable! It shows so little respect for men and her extreme arrogance...it's painful.

"I wonder if he's ever gone skinny-dipping with a model before?"  

"Winning!"

My two favorites are Casey B. and Emily, they are genuine and smart and very 'what-you-see-is-what-you-get.' It must be maddening to have to live 24 hours a day in a small space with Courtney and her obnoxious facial expressions. Even though I see Emily digging her own grave every time she bashes Courtney to Ben, I can sympathize with her and it would be tough not to try to take the whole thing into your own hands. Frustrating! And Ben, get a haircut, man!

Source

Luckily for me, yesterday afternoon, I was craving brownies and made a yummy batch so I had one (or five) to sweeten the whole Bachelor experience. These are "The Brownies of My Dreams." I ruled out a lot of recipes before I found them and believe you me, I have a pretty specific set of guidelines. I don't like crisp edges, chewiness, icing, filling or cake-like texture. I love dense, dark chocolately, not too sweet, European style brownies. Nuts and chocolate chips are fine in the right proportions.  After trying many recipes and reading many more, I've determined the things you need to look for in a good brownie recipe (if you have the same brownie needs as myself, of course).

-Not too much flour. If the recipe calls for a ratio of more than 1 cup of flour to
5-7 oz. chocolate, then it's going to be cakey. Cakey = not good.
-Lots of chocolate. Calls for melted chocolate, not just cocoa powder.
-Calls for eggs but NOT baking powder or soda. Powder or soda makes them too fluffy and cake-like.
-Calls for butter, not oil.

Here they are!

I cut them small because I like my chocolate bite-sized and often.

The Brownies of My Dreams:
1 stick of butter
2 T. of strong, brewed coffee (Is there any other kind, really?)
6-7 oz. of bittersweet or semi-sweet baking chocolate or a combination 
2 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350, grease a piece of parchment paper (or foil) to line an 8x8 baking pan.

Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan, add cocoa powder, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Continue stirring over low heat until sugar mostly dissolved. Remove from heat.

Lightly beat 3 eggs in a separate small bowl or cup, slowly add about a cup of the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs stirring constantly, then add eggs back into the saucepan, still stirring. (This is called tempering the eggs and it's a really important step, nobody likes scrambled egg curls in their brownies.) Add salt then whisk in flour a little at a time until smooth. If you want nuts or chocolate chips, stir them in now.

Pour a bit of batter onto the parchment (helps weigh it down while you fold corners like wrapping a package so that you'll end up with a nice square edge). Add the rest of the batter. The good thing about baking with parchment is you can just lift the whole pan of brownies out and onto a cutting board after they cool. It would be great for cakes and things too!

I used foil because I'm out of parchment, but parchment is best.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick or fork comes out with crumbs stuck to it. If the stick comes out clean, then they are overdone.

Delightful, delectable, brownies of my dreams...I think I'll have one now.