Chocolate brownies are easy to make, even from scratch, any time of year.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
TL test cook makes brownies from scratch
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The ingredients included, clockwise from left powdered sugar, flour, salt, granulated sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, eggs, and chocolate morsels. Not shown are the 1/2 cup of oil and the 2 tablespoons of water that get whisked in with the eggs and vanilla.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
“Wow! Are these homemade?” news editor and taste tester Liz Baumeister said after her first bite of a brownie from the Times Leader Test Kitchen.
“Yes,” I said. “They’re not from a mix.”
“They’re great,” she enthused. “So much chocolate-y goodness.”
I told her how a reader, who ran into me last week when I was working at the flea market at the St. Nicholas – St. Mary Parish, had suggested I make some brownies. And it seemed like a wonderful idea.
After my struggles with gnocchi last week, why not make something simple? Like a brownie?
So I whipped up a batch from scratch on Tuesday morning and, after they cooled, brought them to the newsroom.
Columnist Bill O’Boyle accepted a sample, “as long as they don’t have nuts,” which they didn’t. He gave the brownies a thumbs up, even though he’s “not a brownie person.”
As for page designer Ashley Bringmann, she said they tasted good, even though she would have preferred something more on the fudge-y side. I think you could achieve that quality by using less flour in proportion to the fat and cocoa.
At home, Mark pondered his first bite of a brownie for quite a while before giving a verdict. “Did you use regular flour?” he asked.
“No,” I admitted.
“You used whole wheat,” he said. “I can taste it.”
“It’s still good,” he said.
The recipe came from a website called Love and Lemons, and swapping out the flour was my own idea to “healthy it up.”
Brownies (from scratch)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoons sea salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish (not a 9 x 9-inch dish or your brownies will overcook) with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, water, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the dry mix over the wet mix and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it’ll be thick – that’s OK) and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached (note: it’s better to pull the brownies out early than to leave them in too long). Cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. These also freeze well.
