Sunday, July 18, 2010

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.

13 comments:

Katiecakes said...

Your brownies look perfect!

Katie xox

spike. said...

Mine didn't come out chocolaty enough- but yours look perfect. Jealous!

Tiff said...

Your brownies look delish. Great idea, adding a bit more chocolate! I am going to give that a try next time I make these!

Hanaâ said...

Yum yum yum! That's a lot of yumminess in one bowl!! Your brownies look chocolatey and delicious!!

Tessa said...

I immediately thought of ice cream sundays when I made these too, and I'm with you - no nuts in my brownies =)

JoAnn Freda said...

I laughed out loud when I saw Josh's cupcake, ice cream, brownie creation. Who else would consider that a reasonable combination. Yet I have to say it looks summery and inviting and I'm sure if I had been there I would have given it a try.

Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl said...

Thanks for the tip on extra chocolate Margot. Your brownies look dee-lish and with a 9 rating on deliciousness they must have been yummy! I will give this recipe another shot with some modifications.

Love the ice cream pairing. I'm so impressed with all your homemade ice creams. :)

rebecca @ beurrista said...

Your brownies look delicious... and then with the cupcake and ice cream, MMM!

Glad they turned out so well!

Kathleen said...

Oh bring on the brownies! What a yummy week!!!

Anonymous said...

That brownie/cupcake/ice cream bowl looks awesome! I've made a lot of different brownie recipes in the past year and it's amazing how different each one is.

Anonymous said...

THIS is what a brownie should look like!! Perfectly crackled top, beautiful edges... simple elegance!

And I love Josh's comment about the disruption of chocolate. That's probably the best thing I've read all day :)

Julie said...

What a delicious ice cream treat! This wasn't my favorite brownie recipe.

Nina said...

Brownies are always great with ice cream!