I’ve been looking for the perfect brownie recipe, one that is nice and fudgey and dense. I think this may be it. I found it on Smitten Kitchen, where Deb adapted the recipe from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet. I used a combo of brown and white sugar because the brown gives it a deeper flavor. Either way, once you make these you won’t make any other brownies.
Fudgey Cocoa Brownies
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar, or 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Put the rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan (or whatever you have handy that has similar dimensions) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugars, cocoa, and salt in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl on top of a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl and allow to cool a bit.
Stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks well blended, add the flour and stir until incorporated, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes is Medrich’s suggestion but it took me 40 minutes. Let cool, remove with parchment, and cut into brownies.
