SMS: Chocolate Brownies

This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays selection is Chocolate Walnut Brownies. Funny, I didn’t even think about the fact that we were making brownies for both SMS and TWD until I started making these yesterday. There have been a few other times when the two groups’ selections collided and making both seemed a bit problematic, but with something as simple and guaranteed to be eaten such as brownies, I didn’t consider skipping either recipe. The proportions of ingredients in this recipe seemed a little different than other brownies recipes (low on chocolate and high on both flour and butter). I was tempted to reduce both the flour and the butter, but decided I’d try the recipe pretty much as written. I did add two ounces of 71% chocolate in addition to the four ounces of unsweetened in order to ensure a chocolaty brownie. I’m not a crazy chocoholic who adds extra to everything; four ounces just didn’t seem like quite enough. I mean, when you bite into a brownie, you want to taste the richness from the chocolate, not the butter. The walnuts were listed as an optional ingredient and I opted not to use them (as Josh put it when he tried them, “why would you interrupt the deliciousness of chocolate with nuts?”).



The recipe said to bake the brownies for 45-50 minutes, and in my experience, my oven usually bakes things a lot quicker than the times specified in The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, so I started checking at 30 minutes and pulled them out of the oven at 35 minutes. I thought they turned out excellent: fudgy and rich, and I loved the sturdy structure and texture of the brownies. I passed some on to Josh’s parents and they liked them a lot, and we’ve been enjoying them here, too. I made David Lebovitz’s vanilla ice cream to pair with the brownies, because seriously, what is better than homemade brownies and ice cream? I guess in Josh’s case, brownies, ice cream, and a vanilla cupcake.



Josh gave this recipe a 9 for Deliciousness and I gave it a 2 for Effort, for a very good EDR of 4.5. I guess I know which of the two brownie recipes I tried this week may see a repeat performance in this kitchen. Many thanks to Tiffany of A Spoonful of Laughter and a Heap of Fun for a yummy selection. You can find the recipe here on Tiffany’s site and visit the SMS site to see what the other bakers thought of this treat.