Rococoa Kitchen: FUDGY Brownies

Fudgy vs. Cakey Brownies. It's a very touchy subject. Personally, I like them somewhere right in between. But in my quest to find that perfect balance, and with a contingency of friends and family who feel rather passionately about one or the other, I shall endeavor to create both extremes. These obviously fall into the Ultimate FUDGY camp. Literally, I don't think they could be any more rich, melty and solidly chocolatey.

There are two keys to fudgy brownies: fewer eggs (these have 2) and a small ratio of flour to fat and chocolate. Since the batter of fudgy brownies is so dense, it's also important to beat it vigorously to ensure that it is nice and smooth.

The last time I made brownies I was a very greedy girl and tried to turn them out from the pan far too early. Literally the entire half top of the brownies fell onto the counter, and I pathetically tried to piece it all back together. Thank god brownies are all about delicious chocolateyness and it doesn't really matter how pretty they look. But you really should wait that hour for the brownies to cool so they are easier to cut and the flavor has a little time to set (and so you aren't that sad puppy frantically scooping up every last crumb from the counter trying to make sure no ounce of brownie was wasted)

Recipe Adapted from {http://www.marinmamacooks.com/2011/12/roberts-absolute-best-brownies/}

Ingredients

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped - I recommend Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet baking chocolate
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 c all-purpose-flour
1 c semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips - I recommend Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop up the dark chocolate baking squares. (it's easiest to do this on top of a piece of parchment paper - it makes cleanup easy, and ensures you get every little shard of chocolate into the pot)

Line the inside of an 8 or 9-inch square pan with 2 lengths of foil or parchment paper, positioning the sheets perpendicular to each other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of the pan. Then lightly butter the foil or parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the chocolate and stir constantly until it's melted and smooth. Remove from heat and pour the chocolate and butter mixture into a bowl.

Add the sugar and the 1 teaspoon vanilla to the melted chocolate and mix until combined.

Then beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.

Add the flour and stir the batter vigorously for 1 whole minute (it will be the longest minute of your life) until the batter loses it graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the bowl (work those arm muscles!) (This ensures that the batter will be rich, thick, satiny smooth, and glossy and that the brownies will be rich and fudgy.)

Pour the batter into the pan and pop it in the oven Bake until the center feels almost set and the edges are a bit firm, about 30-35 minutes. (it will appear molteny don't worry!)

Let the brownie cool completely in the pan (wait for about an hour - don't be a greedy bear!) before lifting the foil or parchment paper with your delicious brownie out of the pan. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or milk!

Makes 16 dense, moist, delicious brownies!