My Go-To Brownie Recipe - Valentine's Day version

My Go-To Brownie Recipe - Valentine's Day version - made January 10, 2022 (original recipe)

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt the butter, unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate until completely melted, whisking until well combined and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in granulated sugar and mix until well combined; mixture will appear grainy.
4. Add eggs, mixing until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined; mixture will be glossy.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add to butter-chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Stir several times until batter is glossy and comes together. Batter will be thick.
6. Pour into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a corner comes out clean and one inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting and serving.
7. If adding mix-ins to the batter, you can either fold into the batter before spreading into pan or spread half to two-thirds of the batter in the pan, add the mix-in and cover completely with remaining batter. Sprinkle with any toppings, if desired.

This is the brownie recipe I created and have alluded to in the past as the one that's become my favorite go-to recipe over the past year. Considering I've made possibly hundreds of brownies, if not thousands over the years, and tried hundreds of recipes, that's saying something. 

Everyone has their own favorite qualities in "the best" brownie and not everyone is the same so one person's best may be another person's "meh". Here's what I like in a brownie and you can decide for yourself if that speaks to you or not:

• Thick - something you can sink your teeth into
• Fudgy
• Dense, not fluffy or cakey
• Dark or rich chocolate flavor, not milk chocolate or sweet
• None of that flaky, crackling stuff on top

This makes a thick batter and the beauty of it is you can keep it plain or stir in add-ins or sprinkle on a topping and it'll hold up just fine. It also has the ease and simplicity that it can be made in one bowl or even in the top half of the double boiler you use to melt the butter and chocolates in. Less to clean up and no mixer needed, just a wooden spoon and a strong arm.

For this particular one pictured, I added milk chocolate covered caramels into the brownie itself and sprinkled Valentine's Day sprinkles on top before baking. I did that for Valentine care packages but you can leave out the mix-in and add-ins and it'll hold up just fine plain. I had the caramels left over from a Christmas gift and I wanted to use them so I spread about 2/3 of the brownie batter in the pan first, dotted it with the milk-chocolate-covered caramels then covered them completely with the remaining batter. For the Valentine's Day touch, I had won these sprinkles from a baking contest from Soldiers Angels and I used some of it to sprinkle on top of these brownies. Voila, fudgy, delicious, Valentine's Day-ized brownies ready to be packaged up and mailed out to the troops.

This is one brownie I wouldn't advise underbaking by too much. It's such a thick batter that it can survive an extra minute or two in the oven without getting dry. You want the texture to be soft and fudgy but not mushy or raw. From the pictures, I can tell I could've left this another minute in the oven and it might've been a tad better. Still okay though, especially as I'm mailing it overseas and it needs to survive a 2-4 week mailing time. Hopefully they'll arrive before Valentine's Day.