Chocolate chunk brownies recipe

First, mow the lawn. Don't have a lawn? Walk for an hour, go to the gym, work in the garden. You need to bank a lot of worked-off calories before you bake these chocolate chunk brownies, because once they come out of the oven and cool down enough, you're going to want to taste. And once you taste, you're going to eat more than one. (I know. I ate two. I mowed a lot.) One thing you need to know: when these brownies first come out of the oven, they look soft, undercooked, and just plain unattractive. Let them cool completely, however eager you are to taste. The top will get crusty and the bottom blissfully chewy. Just be patient, and keep mowing.

Chocolate chunk brownies

From the pantry, you'll need: cooking spray, all-purpose unbleached flour, baking powder, instant espresso, unsweetened cocoa powder, kosher salt, granulated sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract.

Adapted from this recipe on marthastewart.com. Makes 2 dozen brownies.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp instant espresso
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2-5/8 sticks (10.5 oz) butter, cut into small pieces (I use Kate's sea salted butter)
11.5-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks (I use Nestle's Toll House chunks), divided
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare an 11x17 rimmed sheet pan: Spray the pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, and spray the paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, instant espresso and unsweetened cocoa. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In a heatproof bowl (glass or stainless steel work well) set over a pot of simmering water, heat the butter and 7 oz of the chocolate chunks, until almost melted. Remove from heat, and whisk until the mixture is smooth and cooled slightly.

Transfer the chocolate mixture to the bowl of a Kitchenaid-type stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the sugar, and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth (it will still be grainy; don't worry). Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes (set a timer).

Reduce mixer speed to low, and slowly add the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a rubber spatula stir in the remaining chocolate chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan, and use the rubber spatula to spread as evenly as possible. Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes. The brownie will have just set, but will still look and feel soft.

Set the pan on a wire rack, and cool completely, 1 hour or more. Cut into 24 large squares. Give away as many as you can, because you will eat the rest. I know.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Quick and easy fudge mocha brownies
White chocolate brownies
Chocolate cake in a mug
Chocolate spice cookies
Chocolate chocolate chip waffles

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Grilled brownie sundae panini, from Panini Happy
Chocolate puddle cookies, from 101 Cookbooks
Low sugar and whole wheat brownies with walnuts, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Dark chocolate brownies (gluten-free), from Gluten-Free Goddess
Chocolate Nutella cookies, from Two Peas & Their Pod

Chocolate chunk brownies

From the pantry, you'll need: cooking spray, all-purpose unbleached flour, baking powder, instant espresso, unsweetened cocoa powder, kosher salt, granulated sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract.

Adapted from this recipe on marthastewart.com. Makes 2 dozen brownies.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp instant espresso
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2-5/8 sticks (10.5 oz) butter, cut into small pieces (I use Kate's sea salted butter)
11.5-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks (I use Nestle's Toll House chunks), divided
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare an 11x17 rimmed sheet pan: Spray the pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, and spray the paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, instant espresso and unsweetened cocoa. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In a heatproof bowl (glass or stainless steel work well) set over a pot of simmering water, heat the butter and 7 oz of the chocolate chunks, until almost melted. Remove from heat, and whisk until the mixture is smooth and cooled slightly.

Transfer the chocolate mixture to the bowl of a Kitchenaid-type stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the sugar, and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth (it will still be grainy; don't worry). Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes (set a timer).

Reduce mixer speed to low, and slowly add the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a rubber spatula stir in the remaining chocolate chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan, and use the rubber spatula to spread as evenly as possible. Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes. The brownie will have just set, but will still look and feel soft.

Set the pan on a wire rack, and cool completely, 1 hour or more. Cut into 24 large squares. Give away as many as you can, because you will eat the rest. I know.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Quick and easy fudge mocha brownies
White chocolate brownies
Chocolate cake in a mug
Chocolate spice cookies
Chocolate chocolate chip waffles

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Grilled brownie sundae panini, from Panini Happy
Chocolate puddle cookies, from 101 Cookbooks
Low sugar and whole wheat brownies with walnuts, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Dark chocolate brownies (gluten-free), from Gluten-Free Goddess
Chocolate Nutella cookies, from Two Peas & Their Pod

Comments

I love chewy brownies! Off to weed the yard!

oh my. I wish I hadn't looked at this because now I have a huge sweet tooth!! And nothing seems nicer on a rainy Tuesday night than laundry, TV and a fresh batch of brownies!

I love, love, love a good brownie recipe :-)

Pam, I love them, also. Too much. These were just the right balance of chewy and crusty for me.

Carol, you are so right! The rain makes it a great day for baking. Unfortunately, it's not a good day for mowing!

CJ, same here. Nothing better than a good brownie.

I've gone completely over to the dark side: I'm adding chopped pecans and skipping the workout.

Lorna, that sounds like a plan. But don't say I didn't warn you about how good these are!

I went for a run - does that count? I hope so, because I find chewy brownies to be utterly irresistible. These look wonderful, Lydia!

Cookin' Canuck, running definitely counts, and you deserve a chocolatey reward for all of the running you've been doing! So proud of how fantastic you look.

You made me laugh out loud, mainly because brownies are a weakness of mine. I hesitate to bake them because I know I have no will power and will eat too many. Just eating two would be an accomplishment for me!

Donna, I worked hard to give those brownies away for just that reason. I knew I couldn't keep them in the house! And although they freeze well, I'm not above eating a frozen brownie when the craving strikes.

I made brownies for the first time in years a few weeks ago - I need a bigger lawn (just joking, it takes me 6 hours to mow as it is....) They look beautiful! - and, yes, I would eat them frozen.....

Katie, I can't bake brownies too often, because I just can't stop eating them. These were particularly tempting, with a nice crust and gooey brownie below. Worth every minute of mowing!