The Baked Brownie

Firstly, I want to thank you all for your well wishes and kind words in my last post. I was amazed at the amount of support I received in the comments and I have come to realize that I have the BEST blog readers ever! :)

Now, let's talk brownies. I know what you're thinking - "another brownie recipe? Doesn't this girl get tired of chocolate, like ever?". The answer is "No. I don't." I am on a mission to find the best brownie recipe, even if that means baking a new batch every month and posting about them. A few weeks ago, I made the highly coveted King Arthur Flour brownies, and although I really enjoyed the texture of these - dense and fudgy, I felt they were a bit lacking in chocolate flavor. But since so many of my favorite fellow food bloggers love this recipe, I blame myself, and not the King, for their shortcomings. I will definitely try these brownies again, with a few changes, but in the meantime, I wanted to share another brownie recipe.

This one is the famous Baked brownie, created by the people at Baked bakery in Brooklyn, New York. These brownies were AMAZING. I brought one of these to work for an after lunch treat; one bite and I almost fell out of my chair - they were that good. They are rich, dense, and fudgy, and the brown sugar and espresso powder give them an unbeliveably delicious chocolate flavor. If you are looking for the perfect brownie, I highly recommend you try this one. You will not be disappointed!
Baked Brownie (from Baked – New Frontiers in Baking)
*1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
*11 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
*1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
*1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
*1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
*1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
*5 large eggs, at room temperature
*2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 glass or light-colored metal baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt and cocoa powder. Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
3. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
4. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve. Tightly covered with plastic wrap, the brownies keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.