First episode of the new series!! I am so excited that it’s here and I can finally share it with you. Mondays will be sweet again. 🙂 I think it’s good to start the week off right and what better way than do it with chocolate?
I am starting off with David Lebovitz’s recipe, as I did with CCC Mondays series. I thought it might be good luck. 🙂
What I did not expect is how much we will love these brownies! It will be hard to top them off. They have everything we are looking for in the best brownies: crunchy top and fudgy gooey center. And they taste absolutely divine!
Just like the name says: absolute best!
But then, it’s from David so you know it’s a good one.The original recipe was shared by David Lebovitz on Leite’s Culinaria. You can also find them in his book, Ready for Dessert.
Few notes on the recipe:
– As soon as I pulled them out of the oven, I was dancing in my kitchen! If you follow me on Twitter, you saw my tweets 🙂 The top looked exactly how I wanted it to look like. Crackly! Crunchy! It was like a golden gate to heaven….
– …. a ooey gooey fudgy heaven! The center is so chocolatey, it melts in your mouth!
– You really need to let these babies cool completely before cutting or you won’t get nice squares. But then, hey, I won’t judge you if you just dig in and eat them straight out of the pan. Just let them cool at least a little bit – you can enjoy these brownies with a burned tongue… Just sayin’…
– The original recipe calls for whisking the batter vigorously by hand. I usually hold my baby on my hip when I’m in the kitchen so I poured the batter into my KitchenAid‘s bowl and let my turquoise beauty do the job. And it worked great!
– You can add nuts to these brownies, but I don’t like nuts in mine so I skipped this step. But apparently, this recipe is great for add-ins, so you can go with your likings.
– So what’s with the name? David Lebovitz shared a recipe he got from Robert Steinberg, an American physician who was also a co-founder of Scharffen Berger chocolate. Can you imagine a better source for a truly decadent treat?
- 6 Tbsp unsalted or salted butter cubed
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped ( I used semisweet chocolate chips )
- 3/4 c sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/4 c all-purpose flour
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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Line a 8" x 8" baking dish with parchment paper, making sure to leave an overhang to make lifting brownies out easier. Lightly butter the paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
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In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
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Add sugar and whisk until combined.
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Add eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
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Add vanilla and whisk again.
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Sift the flour through a sieve right over the chocolate mixture.Whisk until incorporated. At this point you need to whisk the batter vigorously for 1 minute. I poured the batter into a bowl of my standing mixer and let it do the work. Whisk until the batter becomes smooth and glossy and there is no graininess from sugar. It will start to pull away from the sides of saucepan or bowl.
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Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes, until the center is almost set. Do not overbake.
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Cool completely before cutting.
Cool completely before cutting into squares.
If you like nuts in your brownies, you can add them to the batter right before pouring it into the dish.
The original recipe calls fore baking these brownies in a 9" square pan, but I used 8" square dish without problems.
Have you tried this recipe? What’s your favorite brownie recipe?
xoxo,
Anna
Barb says
I made two batches of these for my Christmas baking tins. Extremely good! I used half semi sweet choc chips and half Lindt dark chocolate. I also added some walnuts to one of the batches,,,,,excellent. Instead of whipping it by hand, I put the eggs and the sugar melted chocolate into my Nutribullet and let ‘er rip. It gets very thick, but it did the trick. Brownies came out with nice crunchy topping. I’m keeping this recipe for next year’s Xmas tins as well.
Nami says
Oh yes, the center is really fudgy and delicious!! The best brownies always look great from the side shot! 🙂
Amanda says
I am a brownie purist too, no nuts! Looks like a great start to the series!
Sues says
Mmm nothing better than a crunchy top and fudgy center!!
Zoe says
Absolutely divine! Will bookmark this recipe 😀
Ramona says
I think I dribbled a little. I love that crackled top… and I can see how moist and fudgy it is! Okay, this is a little torturous. I want/need a brownie BAD now! 🙂 Great way to kick off the series!!
Rachel @ My Naturally Frugal Family says
Oh I am so excited for this series…more so than the cookies. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE brownies.
These look divine by the way.
Happy Monday Anna!
RavieNomNoms says
That brownie looks outrageously good!! WOW. There is nothing better than a crunchy top and fudgey center!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I am too a fan of DL’s recipes. These brownies look AWESOME, Anna.
Jessica says
These brownies would be a fabulous start to my week, Anna! I love that crunchy top! My qualifications for a perfect brownie are the same as yours, so I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the perfect brownie!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Yay! I am so glad you like them, Jessica! Thank you!
Jen @ Savory Simple says
You always know a David Lebowitz recipe is going to be spectacular. I love how rich the photos are, they really compliment the brownies!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Aww, thank you so much, Jen! xo
Terry says
Yummm!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
🙂 Thanks, Terry!
Kristen says
Those do look like fantastic brownies. I am a big fan of the ooey, gooey, fudgey varieties. Seems like the less flour in the recipe, the better they are. What a great new series!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
You are absolutely right, Kristen! Thanks for stopping by!
Danielle says
I can’t think of a better way to start a Monday! These remind me of those perfect brownies my mom used to put in my lunch bag. Perfect at lunch with a glass of milk. Delicious!
Happy Monday!
Danielle xo
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Yay! I am so glad they bring some memories too, aside from sweetness. 🙂 Thank you, Danielle! xo