Hildy's Brownies

Brownies - made February 15, 2014, recipe from Hildy's friend

My friend Hildy posted on facebook about some awesome brownies her friend had given her. Like a moth to a flame, I was compelled to ask, "do you have the recipe?" Trying out new brownie recipes is a compulsion that takes no conscious thought. Like breathing and blinking. Hildy's friend was kind enough to share the recipe when Hildy asked and Hildy passed it on to me.

When I first saw the recipe, I have to admit I was a little skeptical on how it would turn out. The recipe was geared for commercial production so I halved it to fit into a 9 x 13 pan. But there was an inordinate amount of dry ingredients and I couldn't see how the brownies wouldn't turn out dry, especially with that much cocoa in them. Cocoa as a dry ingredient sucks moisture out of any batter and you usually have to compensate with extra liquid ingredients. I was even more leery when I actually mixed the batter together because it was difficult to mix that amount of dry ingredients into the batter and have it become fully incorporated. I ended up with a very thick batter, almost like dough. Nevertheless, I forged ahead with the recipe as is.

As you can tell from the pictures, these brownies were not dry at all. In fact, they were the opposite, almost more like dark chocolate baked fudge. They're very dense and chewy so if you're more a fan of cakey brownies, this isn't the recipe you want to make. However, if you're a dark chocolate lover, this is the ultimate brownie for you. This brownie wasn't sweet as much as it was rich dark chocolate. That was due to the high quality cocoa I used (from Penzey's). With this much cocoa in the brownie, you definitely want to use the good stuff to get the best brownie flavor and texture.

2 1/2 sticks butter (10 ounces)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (64% - 66%)
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups cake flour
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees.
2. Line a 9 x 13" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray
3. Melt butter and semisweet chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
4. Whisk in eggs slowly.
5. Add dry ingredients. It's easier if you incorporate them gradually, 1/4 at a time, mixing them in before adding more.
6. Bake for approximately 40 minutes until center is not jiggly and not wet.