The Best Cocoa Brownies. Ever.

This week, I keep thinking of the first line from Little Women, in which Jo says “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” except that I keep substituting the word “tree” in place of “presents.” I’m a little short on Christmas spirit so far this year. I think it’s a combination of the move (Although finally getting our own place is a relief, it’s a small apartment and there just isn’t room for all our stuff. Thus, I’m still surrounded by boxes, and I’m at a loss for what to do with their contents. I can’t seem to get to a place of feeling truly unpacked and settled). Maybe it’s because working at home means sometimes I don’t leave the house for four or five days at a time, so I’m not out there being barraged by all the seasonal kitsch. But more than likely, it has to do with the fact that my Christmas décor is in our storage unit 650 miles away in Michigan. That, and the fact that we’re leaving for Michigan in two weeks, where we’ll spend the rest of the holiday season, makes putting up a tree seem like a silly idea (Even though I desperately want one. I teared up at Costco last week when I passed the outdoor display of freshly cut Fraser Firs. Pathetic, I know).

I did buy a Frosted Gingerbread candle from Bath and Body Works a couple of weeks ago, and some holiday flavored K-Cups for the Keurig, so the apartment is smelling a bit Christmassy. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing some Christmas baking, but in the absence of the usual slew of holiday get-togethers and the family cookie exchange (which seems to have become extinct), I can’t make up my mind about what to bake.

And so, I made brownies tonight.

I needed something comforting, and brownies always are. And I was thinking of Deb’s brownies, because her cookbook finally arrived in the mail yesterday. Her brownies are my absolute favorite. But tonight, when I wanted brownies, I found I was out of unsweetened chocolate.
 

At first I was dismayed, but then I recalled that Jenny Rosenstrach had blogged about a Bon Appétit cocoa brownie recipe recently, and the thought had crossed my mind that it might be a good idea to have a cocoa brownie recipe around – you know, for those times when I’m out of unsweetened chocolate.

I had some dark cocoa (70%) in the cupboard, and so I whipped up a darker version of those brownies. They came out moist and chewy, and were the perfect balance of bitter (from the dark cocoa) and sweet. I like a dense, chewy brownie rather than a cake-like one; if I want chocolate cake, after all, I’ll make chocolate cake.

I made them after Lili was in bed, while Eli hammered away at his final paper of the semester. We washed them down blissfully with ice cold milk that I poured into glasses inscribed with the word “happy” that I’d picked up at Crate & Barrel to celebrate our new home and this season of our lives.

 

adapted from Bon Appétit

1-1/4 cup evaporated cane juice or granulated sugar

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted sweet cream butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, and spray with oil.

In a glass bowl or measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave, about 20 seconds at a time.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

Pour in the melted butter and vanilla, and add the eggs. Stir together until just combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs stuck to it.

Cool briefly and lift the foil from the pan. Cut into squares.

Makes about 12 brownies.

To print this recipe, click here.

Happy brownie-making!