Posted in Baking/Cooking, Family/Relationships, tagged Baked Goods, Baking, Brownie, Butter, chocolate, diet, family, Food, husband, marriage, processed food, Recipe, unprocessed food on October 24, 2012|
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In the process of becoming unprocessed I’ve come up against a bit more resistance than I thought I would. Mostly from my husband. With the three year old it’s simply a matter of telling her No and offering her something else enthusiastically to sway her. I’m talking about treats/dessert in particular. As a self proclaimed choc-aholic I’ve come to appreciate the term ‘die-hard’ when it comes to converting him. So, I’ve slowed things down a bit and have taken more baby steps than leaps and bounds with the process and have treaded very lightly when it comes to chocolate treats!
I made these brownies the other day but it called for a pan size I didn’t have so I guess-stimated and was ok with the results. I own a baking bracket the lines the edge of the pan – I use it specifically for brownies but you can use it for sheet cakes too. I first used the bracket in pastry school – you can find them at restaurant supply stores. It just makes the edges way cleaner and there’s less waste when cutting which I think is important given the amount of butter and chocolate involved – those more expensive ingredients. Because there are so few ingredients in brownies there’s not much to make less processed. I swapped out the AP flour with Whole Wheat Pastry flour in equal parts with no problems. It’s also my opinion that because of the simplicity of the ingredients list trying for a lower fat/fat free alternative will result is something so different from a true brownie that it’s just not right to even call it tha,t rather, one should simply stick to a trusted original recipe and eat in moderation. I put mine in the freezer after cutting them which slows my husband down a tad. I did manage to eat a couple before they were all gone and I have to say these brownies are(were?!) damn good and I rarely swear when it comes to food – that’s how good they are. The original recipe is the Barefoot Contessa’s Outrageous Brownies. I find it laughable that she sells these in a boxed version. Brownies are about the simplest baked good you could make!
Here’s the original recipe. The changes I made were cutting it back to about 3/4 measurements (give or take) to fit a half sheet pan AND the 1:1 swap between AP flour and WW pastry flour. Otherwise follow the recipe word for word and you won’t be disappointed. Oh, and I cut mine into about 2 inch square serving sizes. They’re super rich so you’ll be more than satisfied with this size. They also turned out a little on the thin side for my liking but that’s just my aesthetic taste. I would definitely include the walnuts, it helps mellow the richness a bit.
Outrageous Brownies
Oh, PS: I forgot that instead of the semi-sweet chips mixed in at the end I chopped the equivalent weight in bittersweet chocolate. I think that’s what took the brownie to the next level. Chopping chocolate isn’t one of my favorite things to do but I’ve never been disappointed with the results. Try it!
This was my second attempt with photographing the brownies. I had plated two more earlier, then Jon came home and promptly ate them!
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pickahling 