Best Cocoa Brownies

I love brownies. I didn't love that my previous go-to recipe required me to buy a bar of unsweetened chocolate (but damn, they were fudge-y.)  Sometimes you just want to make brownies with the big ol' jar of cocoa powder you have on hand.

After massive googling, I discovered the best cocoa brownies recipe from smitten kitchen. It had simple ingredients that I had on hand, and came together relatively quickly.  The only thing that was frustrating was that every time I inserted the toothpick tester, I couldn't really tell if it was "done" - the tester is supposed to come out "slightly moist with batter" and every time I poked it I was convinced it was undercooked.  However, even baking it an extra 10 minutes (meaning I went 40 minutes instead of 30), the brownies still taste soft, moist, and thankfully, unburned.

best cocoa brownies from smitten kitchen

Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies (this is the 16 larger brownies)
Ingredients:

•  10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, cold
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Directions:

1. Position rack in lower third of your oven and preheat to 325.  Butter and line a 8x8 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
2. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium heatproof bowl.  Set it over a pan of barely simmering water.  Since I am convinced I'll make every pyrex bowl I own explode when I do this, I simply put the ingredients in the microwave for 1 minute at 50% power.  You do not want the mixture to get hot - just warm.  Stir until the butter is melted and smooth-ish - the mixture will look gritty - the important thing is to make sure everything is combined.
3. Stir in vanilla.  
4. Add eggs one at a time. (Lazy me added both at the same time.)  Stir vigorously after each egg addition.
5.  When the batter looks thick and shiny, add the flour until combined.
6. Beat batter vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or spatula.
7. Stir in nuts, if using.
8. Pour and spread in prepared ban, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tester emerges slightly moist with batter.  (note: it will always emerge moist with batter.)
9. Allow to cool in pan completely on the rack, and then remove from the pan. Transfer to a cutting board.  As you can see, my edges are not perfect (seriously, it's close enough, I tried to clean it as much as I can) and I used a very sharp ceramic knife.  You can try freezing them for a little while to get the brownies to set even more and it may cut cleaner.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Who the hell am I, to show up after four years and to post again?

A lazy bum, that's who, but hey, when you make a new cookie and actually remember to take a photo of it, blog you must.

There is a baking competition at work, and I also wanted to pass some cookies along to a group I work with, so I said "let's try these out." I had them bookmarked from the Cook's Illustrated Nov/Dec 2014 issue, and it has been a while since I actually baked a new cookie. (by the way, did you read Christopher Kimball is leaving ATK/CI? They've filmed the upcoming season, but it's like I'm losing one of my favorite parts of my weekend. I hope the company can keep it up after he's gone.)

(Life Pro Tip: Check your local library's online offerings. My local library offers a lot of great magazines available for free through the Zinio app. I can read Food Network, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart Living, Bon Appetit and Saveur. I promptly ended by Bon Appetit sub when it was added.)

I made the first batch a little large - I can't measure to save my life - so for Christmas, I would like a #30 cookie scoop.  Using a tablespoon to scoop a dough that's kind of sticky is not easy. I also took one picture and no glamour shots.

My notes about this recipe:
1. it tastes like a brownie in cookie form.
2. it is so rich.
3. literally, it's my brownie recipe in cookie form.
4. wearing gloves when forming the balls help.
5. I really like powdered sugar and really doused the balls in them.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Yields 22, or if you're like me and terrible at measurements, 11 huge cookies and 7 normal sized ones.
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's, that's what I have on hand.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I use Ghiradelli's, because I'm from California)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup powdered sugar 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  I personally didn't do this until the 10 minute resting part, to try to keep my kitchen from turning into a sauna.

2. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Combine the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Combine the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a small bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. (it only took me about 2 minutes. Chop the chocolate into really small bits to accelerate the melting process.)

4. Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Fold in the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

5. Place the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in separate shallow bowls. Working with 2 tablespoons dough (or a medium cookie scoop) at a time, roll into balls. Drop dough balls into granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer dough balls to powdered sugar and roll to coat evenly. Evenly space the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets.  CI recommends 11 cookies per sheet, in rows of 4-3-4.  I didn't dome the cookies - I slightly flattened them, because I do that.

6. Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, about 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cool completely on the sheet before serving.

The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. If they last.