[Recipe] Ghiradelli Classic Brownies (Walnut Remix)
Recently, I asked an acquaintance for baking requests. I like baking (if that hadn't already been abundantly clear *grin* ) and I'm always curious to find out new recipes and new ways of putting things together. So when she suggested brownies with walnuts and chocolate chips in them, I started looking around for new recipes to try out. After all, just grabbing a box of instant brownie mix off the market shelf isn't any kind of cooking challenge!
Fortunately, I'd bought a handful of Ghiradelli baking chocolate bars a while back, and on the back of the foil wrapping was a recipe for brownies. I adapted it slightly, and this is what I came up with.
Ghiradelli Classic Brownies (Walnut Remix)
Ingredients:
* 4 oz. Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bar (1 bar)
* 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 1 cup brown sugar, packed
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon cloves
* 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle's mini chocolate chips)
* 1/2 cup shelled walnuts, crushed to relatively small pieces (I just ended up crumbling the walnuts in my hands after I'd measured out the amount I wanted)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour an 8" x 8" pan. In a heavy 1.5-quart saucepan, melt chocolate bar and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove pan from heat; cool to room temperature.
3. While chocolate is cooling, in a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
4. Stir brown sugar and vanilla into cooled chocolate-butter mix. Add eggs, mix well. Slowly fold in flour mixture (I added about a quarter of the flour mixture with each fold-in, and stirred it fully before adding more); mix well. Stir in chips and crushed walnuts.
5. Pour batter in pan (making sure to scrape the saucepan with a wooden spoon to get as much of out of the saucepan as you can -- the batter will be viscous enough to want to cling to the saucepan you melted the chocolate in). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a test skewer/toothpick comes out clean. Makes about 16 pieces.
My batch just got finished baking, so I haven't tasted the finished product yet -- but the batter alone tasted absolutely amazing!
Aaaaand... wow. They're light and fluffy, with an incredibly rich chocolate flavor and very subtle spices. I'll definitely be making more of these in the future. (This recipe makes the brownies turn out rather cake-like in texture -- for a fudgier, denser brownie I'd recommend omitting the baking powder or substituing baking soda instead.)
Originally crossposted from http://kitchenklutz.dreamwidth.org/16860.html. Please comment here if you first read the post here.
Fortunately, I'd bought a handful of Ghiradelli baking chocolate bars a while back, and on the back of the foil wrapping was a recipe for brownies. I adapted it slightly, and this is what I came up with.
Ghiradelli Classic Brownies (Walnut Remix)
Ingredients:
* 4 oz. Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate baking bar (1 bar)
* 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 1 cup brown sugar, packed
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon cloves
* 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle's mini chocolate chips)
* 1/2 cup shelled walnuts, crushed to relatively small pieces (I just ended up crumbling the walnuts in my hands after I'd measured out the amount I wanted)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour an 8" x 8" pan. In a heavy 1.5-quart saucepan, melt chocolate bar and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove pan from heat; cool to room temperature.
3. While chocolate is cooling, in a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
4. Stir brown sugar and vanilla into cooled chocolate-butter mix. Add eggs, mix well. Slowly fold in flour mixture (I added about a quarter of the flour mixture with each fold-in, and stirred it fully before adding more); mix well. Stir in chips and crushed walnuts.
5. Pour batter in pan (making sure to scrape the saucepan with a wooden spoon to get as much of out of the saucepan as you can -- the batter will be viscous enough to want to cling to the saucepan you melted the chocolate in). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a test skewer/toothpick comes out clean. Makes about 16 pieces.
My batch just got finished baking, so I haven't tasted the finished product yet -- but the batter alone tasted absolutely amazing!
Aaaaand... wow. They're light and fluffy, with an incredibly rich chocolate flavor and very subtle spices. I'll definitely be making more of these in the future. (This recipe makes the brownies turn out rather cake-like in texture -- for a fudgier, denser brownie I'd recommend omitting the baking powder or substituing baking soda instead.)
Originally crossposted from http://kitchenklutz.dreamwidth.org/16860.html. Please comment here if you first read the post here.