You had me at chocolate.....if there is one baked good I cannot resist it is a good brownie. I would pass up every other desert for a good brownie. My favorite is a homemade brownie we make with loads of chocolate and just a touch of espresso. I even love brownies so much we bought one of those edge pans. Those who know that the best piece of a brownie is a corner piece need one of these pans. Those who love those interior pieces you might not enjoy this so 
much. I use the pan for other things as well, like chess cake and monkey bread but those are another post. For now let's focus on the National Day at hand.
Today December 8th is National Brownie Day!
Brownie lovers get further divided by the "cake" or "fudgy" brownie, iced or not add nuts or not. For us it is a fudgy no icing brownie, no nuts with extra edges and a shiny top layer.
It is said the first brownie was created in 1893 in Chicago and was a dense cakelike handheld dessert. Of course there are others who claim the first came from Bangor Maine in 1904 whose brownie was on the fudgier side. Suffice it to say it is an American creation that is over 100 years old that deserves the love. We should really be celebrating it like Europe celebrates the torte.
Here is one recipe we make on a regular basis. What's your favorite brownie recipe.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1-2 Tbsp of cacao powder
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter; plus some to coat the pan
- 1 Tbsp of espresso powder
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 5 ounces of semi sweet chocolate bar
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (we use dark chocolate)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the pan sides and bottom.
Sift together the flour, salt and cacao. Set aside.
In a saucepan, melt the butter with the espresso powder. Then stir in the semi sweet chocolate bar. Once melted remove pan from stove and stir in both sugars.
Once slightly cooled whisk in the eggs and vanilla into the chocolate. Add the sifted dry ingredients and stir till combined. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into your prepared pan and bake for approx 25-30 minutes. Once a toothpick comes out of the center with moist crumbs. Do not overbake. Let cool, cut and serve.