Robert's Absolute Best Brownies -- another keeper from David Lebovitz
from David Lebovitz
Made these brownies back in March with the leftover chocolate from Tom's cookie baking for the grandkids, which were David Lebovitz's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies.
This is an equally good recipe from his book, Ready for Dessert, My Best Recipes. I sent them along with Tom for his parents when he was visiting and they thought they were really good.
The secret to making these excellent brownies is to follow the steps carefully --- including stirring the batter vigorously for one full minute.
Robert's Absolute Best Brownies
(from David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert cookbook)
Makes 9 to 12 Brownies
6 T. (3 ounces/85 g) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces
8 ounces (225 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup (35 g) all purpose flour
1 cup (about 135 g) walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the inside of a 9-inch square pan with 2 lengths of foil, positioning the sheets perpendicular to each other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of the pan. Or use one large sheet of extrawide foil or parchment paper. Lightly grease the foil or parchment paper with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the chocolate and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and stir energetically for 1 full minute, until the batter lose its graininess, and becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. Stir in the chopped nuts.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the center feels almost set, about 30 minutes. Don't overbake.
Let cool completely before lifting from the pan, and cutting into squares.
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