I had offered to bring a dessert to a friend’s house this weekend (she was making dinner) and needed something that was both adult and kid friendly. In my drawer of recipes I rediscovered this one for “Supernatural Brownies” clipped from the New York Times in 2007. I made them many times in 2007 and then kind of forgot about them (either that or I’ve been in a chocolate coma and just woke up in 2012). Other than the fact that they’re not dairy-free (my friend Meredith can’t eat dairy–and I totally forgot that too) they seemed perfect.
To avoid being a total dessert jerk I brought Meredith some Mango Gelato from Ed’s Real Scoop (I know a pretty feeble gesture) while the rest of us enjoyed these brownies which turned out as moist, chewy and chocolatey as I remembered them. So I thought I would share the recipe or rekindle your memories of it if you too had once loved–and lost– it.
This recipe originally come from a piece in the New York Time by Julia Moskin which included 3 brownie recipes (French Chocolate Brownies and New Classic Brownies). I stopped trying alternate recipes after I tried the Supernatural recipe as it seemed there was no point in exploring further.
This is the NYT’s recipe, as adapted from “Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers,” by Nick Malgieri (Morrow Cookbooks, 1998).
I got chocolate on the dish. Messy picture. Sorry!
1. You need to butter a 9 x 13 ” pan and then line the bottom with parchment, and butter that. Now preheat the oven to 350 °F.
2. In a double boiler or a stainless steel bowl set over a wide pot, melt 8 oz bittersweet chocolate with 2 sticks of unsalted butter. You can give it a stir once in a while. then when melted and combined set aside to cool slightly. (you can melt theses in the microwave as well)
3. Now you’re going to put your eggs in a large bowl and whisk them lightly with a hand blender and then add in 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 tsp vanilla.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg batter and whisk the two until combined.
Brownie worlds collide.
5. Now add 1 cup all-purpose flour and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Don’t over mix.
6. Pour the batter into the greased dish and bake for about 35-40 minutes. Until the top is just cracking and becoming glossy. Remove and allow to cool before slicing.
I prefer to cut the pieces smaller as they are very rich. And it sounds better to allow your self two rather than one, or a dozen rather than just six. (Once you eat more than 6 you should consider it a meal.)
The final brownies will be shiny and cracking on top with a rich, mist and chewy middle.
And here is your shopping list of ingredients:
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, plus extra for greasing pan
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
Other than the baking and cooling, preparing this is fast and simple. A good one for potlucks, birthday parties or Apocalypse planning sessions.
cheese and toast 