Dark Chocolate Brownies from 12 Tomatoes

Dark Chocolate Brownies - made August 26, 2022, modified slightly from 12 Tomatoes 

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional

1 cup dark or bittersweet chocolate chips

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt espresso powder (if using), butter and chocolate chips, whisking together until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and cool for several minutes.
4. Whisk in sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until completely combined.
5. Stir in dry ingredients and mix until combined and mixture is glossy. Do not overmix.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top evenly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

This is a good, basic, fudgy brownie. It's a bit soft, partly because I underbaked it but also because it has less flour/dry ingredients compared to the amount of butter and liquid ingredients (sugar is considered a "liquid" ingredient because it melts during baking).

I did include the espresso powder in these and the flavor came through nicely. I rewrote the ingredients so that if you do decide to include espresso powder, melt it with the butter and chocolate step. That way you'll be sure the espresso flavor will evenly incorporate throughout the batter and there won't be any grit from partially melted espresso powder or granules, depending on what you use.