- Hey guys, today I'm going to share with you
one of my favorite all time recipes
for my foolproof fudgy brownies.
Now brownies as a recipe are pretty easy to do,
however, getting the texture right
and getting the flavor right of an awesome brownie
can sometimes take some doing, but not to worry.
You are in for a treat because I'm going to give you
my seven foolproof tips for getting
a classic, chocolatey, fudgy brownie.
So, tip number one has to do with the chocolate,
the most important part of this recipe.
Now, for me I have found
that it really makes a big difference
if you mix up the chocolates.
The perfect ratio is 12 ounces of bittersweet
and four ounces of semi-sweet.
Now, the reason that this is important is
the semi-sweet chocolate is going to give you
a nice sweetness and a little bit of chocolate flavor.
So most semi-sweet chocolates have about 35% cacao in it.
So, cacao is the bean that actually makes the chocolate.
So it's really more sugar to chocolate.
However, the bittersweet chocolate,
a good bittersweet chocolate will have
anywhere from 60% to 70% cacao in it,
so you're going to get a lot more chocolate flavor
and not as much sugar, but that's okay,
because we're going to add
a little bit more sugar as we go through.
So I think this is the perfect ratio.
Now tip number two has to do with
getting the right ratio of chocolate to butter.
That's really what's going to give you a nice texture,
and I find that really a cup of butter
is what you have to do.
I know, but this is not dietary food, people.
These are brownies.
So unless you eat the entire pan,
you don't have much to worry about.
So, in a saucepan you're going to melt together
your chocolate and butter
just until completely melted and combined.
Now here's tip number three.
The flavor of chocolate is really enhanced
by the flavor of coffee,
but rather than add liquid coffee to our mixture,
which could dilute it a bit,
we are going to add coffee granules.
This is the instant coffee that you buy at the store,
that you can put a few teaspoons in a cup and add hot water,
and you have coffee.
It's not the coffee grounds.
The coffee grounds are not going to dissolve
the way that the instant coffee will.
So make sure you get the instant coffee.
Go ahead and stir that up,
and the heat from the chocolate will actually
melt that coffee down into a nice smooth mixture.
You're going to allow that to cool slightly,
and then in a separate bowl you're going to add
four eggs and a cup of sugar.
Go ahead and wisk that up,
just until it's a pale yellow color and nice and smooth.
Now, the biggest enemy of a fudgy brownie is flour.
If you use too much flour,
you're going to take your brownie from fudginess
to cakiness in a matter of minutes.
So, here is tip number four.
Don't use a lot of flour.
So we're going to take about three-quarters cup of flour.
Now, the other thing when it comes to flour,
in measuring, is I'm a big fan of the
just sort of scoop and settle method.
That is how I have developed this recipe.
So if you go in and you scoop and pack and scoop some more,
you're going to end up with too much flour.
So just gently scoop and level
until you get three-quarters cup.
Then you're going to also add half a teaspoon of baking soda
and a half teaspoon of salt.
Go ahead and just wisk that up and then set it aside.
Then we're going to go back to our chocolate mixture.
We're going to add it into our egg mixture,
whisking all the while, just until it's completely combined,
and then you're going to add
your flour mixture in two parts.
Take half of it, stir it up until it's well combined,
and then take the other half and stir it up
until it's well combined.
And you'll see you'll start to have a very sticky
shiny mixture on your hands,
and that's exactly what you want.
Tip number five has to do with the pan.
So, I'm a big fan of serving large brownies.
I don't know if it's because I'm a mom
or because I entertain a lot,
but any time you bring a large brownie to the table,
people get pretty excited,
and the best way to secure getting a large brownie
is just to use a large pan.
So the one that I like to use is 11 x 16, one-inch high.
Now the other trick here is to make sure
that you line this pan in parchment paper,
not wax paper but parchment paper.
The parchment paper is going to help
lift those brownies out of the pan when they're done
and cut them into squares.
Remember, these are some chewy, sticky brownies.
So even if you grease that pan and flour it,
they're still going to stick to the bottom,
whereas if you use parchment paper,
they're going to slide up very easily,
and you won't have that problem.
Now you're going to take your brownie batter
and pour it into the center of the pan.
This is going to help distribute that batter
through the pan in the best possible way.
Then you're going to take a spatula
and smooth it all the way to one side,
getting into all those corners,
then take your spatula and spread it on the other side,
again getting into all those corners.
Just go ahead and smooth out that batter,
making sure you're getting into all the sides
and nooks and crannies
and that your parchment paper is facing out.
If your parchment paper gets too crinkly
and starts facing inward,
your brownies are going to cook that way.
So you want to make sure you
just kind of gently bend it back,
so that your brownies will actually bake
in a nice straight line.
Now here comes tip number six.
If you want a nice chewy brownie,
you cannot overbake them,
and I have found that the perfect temperature
is 375 Fahrenheit for exactly 10 minutes.
So, make sure you set the timer.
As your brownies bake, especially as you near to
say the nine-minute mark,
you'll start to see them kind of bubble up,
and they may raise up a little bit on one side.
That's okay.
Do not be alarmed.
That is what happens, but as your brownies cool,
they'll all settle down.
And that brings us to tip number seven.
Allowing your brownies to cool.
So, once they're done, take them out of the oven
and allow them to sit on your cooktop
really for at least 30 minutes, if you can stand it.
An hour is even better.
Because as those brownies cool,
the chocolate and the butter, it starts to congeal together
and will actually make your brownies hold its shape.
If you cut into them right away,
they're going to get really crumbly and gooshy,
and they're not going to be as pretty.
Even better is if you're making this for a special event
or a party, you should make them the day before.
Allow them to cool completely,
then rest on your countertop covered in foil.
That way, when you cut into them in the next day,
you're going to get nice clean cuts.
And then what I like to do is
cut them into generous squares, put them on a platter,
and then dust with a little bit of powdered sugar,
and you will see you will have
one amazing brownie on your hands.
Now, considered yourself warned.
You do not want to be left alone
in the house with these brownies.
They are that good.
So definitely make them
when you have a bunch of people coming for dinner,
or if you're going to head off to school or work
and bring them to share.
I hope you guys give this one a try.
I think you'll find that chocolatey, fudgy brownie
that we all dream of is definitely in your future.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
I'll see you next time.