Cooking Confidential

It was my usual hectic day, replete with unexpected details that got in the way of getting dinner off to an early start for our dinner guest. I’d planned on something American for dessert (he’s German) that he had enjoyed when he stayed with us, but somehow it just didn’t happen. So… we finished dinner (late) and my dear husband leaned back from the table and drawled, “Now what’s for dessert?”. Feeling a little desperate, I was about to suggest coffee and chocolate, when I saw four pair of expectant eyes upon me (yes, my two brand new boarders are already hopelessly spoiled). “Brownies!” :  came to me in a wild surmise. But brownies with cocoa to make it fast and easy– I knew my old friend Mrs. Heatter had at least one fabulous one in her book of Great American Desserts. But there was a second one that I had missed before, brain-freeze simple and the perfect level of richness after a solid meal. Here’s my version, the chocolate bar raised a couple notches, and a new and, I’m convinced better, wrinkle on the traditional brownie nut treatment.

Grease and flour a 9″ square pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1/2 cup flour (fluff up the flour with a fork and then measure lightly into the measuring cup)

1/2 cup cocoa: the original recipe calls for Dutch process but I used SACO brand “premium cocoa, a special blend of natural and Dutched cocoa”–it is excellent

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 unsalted butter (I only had salted, so I reduced the salt to 1/8 teaspoon)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 extra large eggs

1 heaping cup of walnuts —left in large chunks

As I assembled the brownie batter, I toasted the nuts in the oven on a cookie sheet for a few minutes, then set them aside to be added at the last minute.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, melt the butter in the microwave– or in a saucepan large enough to accommodate the rest of the ingredients.

Stir in the sugar, salt, vanilla, and the 2 eggs (one at a time). Then mix in the cocoa.

Finish with the flour and baking powder. If it’s a damp day and/or the flour looks a little clumpy, I shake it into the bowl through a sieve to make sure it will amalgamate quickly and easily–easy does it with brownie batter.

Scrape the batter into the pan, and arrange the toasted nut meats over the top as evenly as possible.

The original recipe says to bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center just barely come out clean. It took a little over 10 minutes in my convection oven. Moral of the story: watch carefully and check early– every one’s oven is a little different, but overbaked brownies are positively demoralizing….

These were splendid served then and there hot right out of the pan, and properly cool the next day for breakfast with a steaming cafe au lait…..