Bakery style brownies? Decadent and deadly?

[CalicoSkies]

I have searched for a brownie recipe that produces those very heavy, moist, dense style brownies that you get at bakeries. I have yet to find a recipe I want to make a second time. Well, one of my Xmas gifts is a new cookbook "Welcome To Junior's" by Walter and Marvin Rosen. Its a diner thats been famous in Brooklyn for decades. Anyhow, their brownie recipe reads:
4 sticks butter
10 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 1/4 C flour
2 tsp salt
9 extra large eggs
4 C sugar
2 T vanilla
4 C chopped walnuts

Now, my question is, can this be the recipe I have searched for? It seems way too rich with all the butter and eggs. It uses just a 9x13 pan. Before I invest the small fortune to try out this recipe, those of you who know baking...does this recipe sound right?

Btw, the cookbook is a very fun read and has many recipes that sound fantastic. Its not a culinary masterpiece, but then I tend to enjoy cookbooks with stories and history.

[coolJ]

only thing is, your recipe doesn't call for baking powder, I would think that brownies would need some sort of leavening agent, other than that, it doesn't look like it will steer you wrong.

[W.DeBord]

This recipe is for 2- 9"x13' pans....no matter what the recipe says...thats too much ingred. for that size pan (it could probably make a full sheet pan).

Honest? I don't like the looks of it. It's got way to much flour, no soda ......and way to much batter for the pan size. It's pretty far from my recipe (mine has almost 4X that amount of chocolate (not bittersweet, I use semi-sweet), 1/2 the amount of flour to that much butter, plus 1 t of soda and I'd bake it that quanitity in a full sheet pan).

Personally, my opinion is: to acheive that moist dense brownie your searching for almost/almost any brownie recipe will give you it, the TRICK is underbaking! (also don't over mix in your flour, you don't want any gluten to work....put it in like a muffin batter)

Watch you batter, as it goes from raw to rising in the pan (just like cakes do)...you give it alittle more time but you pull it out of the oven just before it begins to settle back down into a completely cooked cake. Watch...you don't pull it when the batter still looks raw on the pick, you wait until it's only moist crumbs
(but not clean!).

The best advice I can give you: Don't play around with this recipe. Go to hersheys or nestles online (Mrs. Fields has a couple good brownie recipes too) and both of them have perfect brownies recipes (stay with a tested recipe). Then underbake it just a bit.

[CalicoSkies]

W.Debord, thank you for backing me up in my summation that this recipe is quite odd if not inaccurate. I reviewed the recipe to be sure I had it correct, NO baking powder called for and yes, only ONE 13x9x2 pan. I will continue searching around for a good brownie recipe, and not mess with this one from the Rosens. By the way, the recipe says it yields 12 3-inch brownies! All those ingredients and only a dozen brownies? Huh?

If you have a good brownie recipe, would you post it here for me to try? I have tried a few from Hershey's, the Ghiradelli ones, as well as several from cookbooks and they were only ok. I have never made a "bad" brownie, just still havent made that really dense, fudgy one that I love. Do you have a Brueggers Bagels in your area or a Chic-fil-A? Thats the type of brownie I like, heavy and lots of nuts. I will definitely heed your advice for underbaking next time I bake a pan. That might be the key.

[W.DeBord]

I really don't buy baked goods....I should to keep up with what's happening but my wasteline can't take any more sweets then tasting my own products (which I have to, but shouldn't anymore).

Dense and fudge are definately a bit under baked batter!

My original recipe called for 12 oz. melted with the butter plus another 12 oz. chocolate chips folded into the batter with the nuts. But I often found myself in such a hurry to get the pan in the oven (at work) that the extra chips I put in would melt into my batter too.

SO... I really believe you can double the chocolate amount in any(standard) brownie recipe and that also will push it into the dense fudgie catagory (don't change any other ingredients). I've also done that with a Mrs. Fields brownie recipe and had great results....

[Jock]

I have a recipe for Kalua Fudge Brownies that is to die for. It has all the characteristics that you describe in your perfect brownie. The quantities are smaller than your recipe but the proportions of butter and chocolate are about the same. There is a 1/4 cup of Kalua in the batter and another table spoon or two of "raw" Kalua is brushed on top of the finished product as it comes out of the oven.
So where is it? you want to know. Well, I'm at work (bummer) and the recipe is at home. I will dig it out tonight and post it tomorrow. Tune in, same time, same channel.

Jock

[CalicoSkies]

Thank you, Jock...I will be back tomorrow for the recipe.

[marmalady]

this is a recipe I adapted from a huge restaurant recipe where I once worked;

3/4 cup melted cooled butter 3 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla
1 scant cup flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup dutched cocoa
1/3 cup hot espresso 3T. Kahlua
1/3 cup hot fudge topping 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 - Butter a 9 inch square pan.

Blend together butter, sugars and vanilla; add eggs and beat well. Add kahlua, hot fudge topping and espresso and mix well; add all dry ingredients (sifted together) til well blended. Spread in pan, bake for 40-45 minutes; toothpick will come out still a little moist - these are 'underdone' brownies.

PS - I like the idea of kahlua on top - I'll have to try that next time!

PPS - Re the recipe from Junior's; I have the book, too - haven't tried the brownie recipe, but have tried lots of others, and they're all okay.

[Jock]

OK, here goes for Kalua Fudge Brownies:
You will need:

1 1/2 cups sifted APF
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Kalua
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Kalua for brushing on top

Method:

Resift the flour with the baking powder and salt
melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler
Beat the eggs and sugar until light
Add the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and the Kalua
Fold in the flour
Stir in the nuts if you are using them
Pour the batter into a buttered 9" square cake pan (parchment on the bottom)
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Dont over bake!!! (Follow W.Debord's advice)
Remove from the oven and brush with Kalua
Let it cool in the pan before cutting

Enjoy.

[CalicoSkies]

Thanks for both the brownie recipes, I have them copied and as soon as we all come down from our Christmas sugar high, I will whip up a pan of both and post a taste test.

[marmalady]

Hi, Calicoskies,

I got adventurous this morning, had leftover ingredients (namely butter and eggs) from holiday baking, and made the brownie recipe in Junior's. In the intro to the recipe, they say the brownies are not only 3 x 3 inches, but 3 inches high! re everyone's comments about no leavening - the recipes calls for beating the eggs on high for 3 minutes - Thus, they provide the leavening - ? like a genoise?

The only alterations I made were - 11 large eggs, instead of 9 X-tra large ones; 12 oz. of chocolate instead of 10 (still wasn't enough chocolate for me); and I baked them out in one 9 x 13 and one 9 x 9 (we're a nuts/no nuts family anyway, so it was no big deal!).

results - The eggs do the leavening - the brownies rose from 3/4 full to the top of the pans (I use Wilton pans) in both pans. Not nearly enough chocolate to my taste! I'm going to frost with a wicked chocolate frosting to satisfy my choco-cravings! The texture is more cakelike than I prefer - although I've only tasted around the edge of the pan - haven't gotten to the center yet! I'm a dense and chewy fan!

All in all, not the worst recipe i've ever tasted - but I still like my Chocolate-O's I posted earlier! The guys at my husband's office will get some goodies tonight when he goes into work!

Good luck, hope this helped. Jackie

[CalicoSkies]

Marmalady, thanks for the update on the recipe from the Junior's cookbook! It wasnt exactly a ringing endorsement though, lol. I am still sugared out from Christmas, but in about a week or 2 I will try your brownie recipe.

I am not what I call an accomplished baker. I have a few baking recipes that I stick to, namely cheesecakes and cream puffs. Outside of those, I am never happy with my results. I think technique must play a much larger part in baking, since I can master about any recipe for an entree or side dish.

I have stayed busy reading thru archives here, picking up some tips as I go along. Thanks again for the test drive on Juniors! I am going to make the spaghetti and meatballs first. I like the "read" of that cookbook, I just cant attest for the recipes yet. I also got Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen and it too is a great "read" but I dont think I will be making anything from it. He claims the recipes are easy and for a novice, but in reading...I dont think so. And maybe I dont like true Mexican cooking as I thought I did.

[marmalady]

Oh, Calico - Rick Bayless is my hero! Worked with him at a cooking class once and was totally enchanted! He is one of those people who dive into a culture/cuisine and pull it out. Don't be afraid to try some of his stuff - tell me what you like to eat, and I'll recommend some of his recipes that are a littler simpler. Also a list of suppliers for Mexican ingredients.

Mexican cooking looks intimidating because techniques are a little different than what we're used to; once you learn those basic techniques, then it's a breeze, just like anything else.

By the way, the brownies get better after they sit a day or two! The Junior's pecan pie recipe is awesome and I like their pie crust recipe, too.

Jackie

PS - My cheesecakes crack, and my cream puffs turn out like hockey pucks - so be proud of what you CAN do!

[AlwaysCookin']

The best Brownie recipe I have ever found came from Gourmet Magazine. They are fudgy and rich and chewy and wonderful.

Triple-Chocolate Fudge Brownies

6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1+1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1+1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweep chocolate chips

In a metal bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the bittersweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate with the butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and the vanilla and add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the salt and the flour, stirring unitl the mixture is just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. (I like to stir in 1 cup of chopped pecans also)

Pour the batter into a well-buttered and floured 13x9 baking pan. Smooth the top and bake the mixture in the middle of a preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes (33 min in my oven). Let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack and cut it into 24 bars.

Yield: 24 brownies
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Difficulty: Easy