Most Decadent Brownies Evah!

[hippywife]

Of course, from the Smitten Kitchen. And yes! They're made with cocoa. It's alla that butta' baby!

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/01/best-cocoa-brownies/

I've made these numerous times because they have become, from the very first time, the husband's hands down favorites.

[dem in texas]

1. Yes, I used cocoa too

I wanted to make brownies and always use the recipe from my old Joy of Cooking. I was out of chocolate squares so I used cocoa and increased the butter. They were perfect, halfway between fudge and cake, that's how I like my brownies. So that has become my favorite recipe and I have made it quite a few times. I then made it with a cream cheese swirl. I grated some orange rind into the cheese mixture. So rich and so good! A big hit.

Then I tried a peanut butter swirl and it was good, but not the right texture. The recipe I used for the peanut butter mixture called for powdered sugar and it made the peanut butter swirl too heavy and dry. I have a recipe for peanut butter brownies and I though I'd use that and half it then adjust to be a little softer. Haven't done this yet. We ate too much cake and too many chocolate eggs for Easter, so no sweets for a few weeks. But the second try on the peanut butter swirl is high on my to do list.

I haven't written the recipes down yet, still tinkering with them.

[hippywife]

4. I love to tinker with most recipes, too.

And do it very frequently. I've met few recipes I couldn't improve the flavor of with my own ideas.

But I rarely do this with baking where results really do depend greatly on a specific formula. Except for the occasional addition of ingredients such as nuts, raisins, etc. or the great addition of the orange into the cream cheese that you suggest for extra flavor, where the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients isn't adversely effected, I usually bake according to the recipe.

The only manner in which I 'tweak' this particular brownie recipe is that I heat the butter/sugar/salt/cocoa mixture in a large glass bowl in the microwave, a very old and huge Pyrex measuring bowls, rather than over water on the stove top. Makes it that much easier because I can continue to add the other ingredients in the same bowl once the mixture has cooled slightly.

[fizzgig]

2. that's been my go-to recipe for a few years

i can't keep chocolate in the house (even baking chocolate) because the husband will eat it, so i tried the recipe out of necessity and we love it. super simple, too.

[hippywife]

6. You're right, fizz.

It is super simple. As I mentioned to dem in texas above, I make it even more simple by heating up the butter/sugar/salt/cocoa mixture in a large glass bowl in the microwave (it doesn't take long at all), allow it too cool slightly and then add in the remaining ingredients. One bowl, one spatula, one pan and done.

It's also difficult to keep any kind of chocolate in our house for long for the same reason as you cited and per serving, the cocoa is also less expensive (when I'm able to refrain from stirring it with a little sugar and milk into my coffee very often.)

[MrMickeysMom]

3. You are SO GOOD to have shared this...

I couldn't sleep for coughing (week long awful upper respiratory hack)… and I've printed off something to make on my day off. It could just bring me back to life, hippy wife!

[hippywife]

5. Oh, so sorry to hear

that you've not been well, MMM. Hope this respiratory thing you're dealing with is short lived as it sounds you've been dealing with it long enough. Very frustrating.

Enjoy those brownies as a get well treat to yourself.