Maple Cranberry Pecan Breakfast Cake

Are breakfast baked goods desserts? Well, they are in this blog! They're also my biggest food weakness. I probably get more satisfaction from a fluffy, chock-full-of-something-tasty muffin than almost any dessert. However, such indulgences are not practical - so, I usually settle on cereal or Greek yogurt. Unless it's a week when I do a lot of running...

...or there's a potluck brunch at work.

A year ago, we had work brunches fairly regularly. All team members contributed something, and we'd have "team meetings" while noshing on all manner of morning treats. An ideal meeting scenario, correct? I was so excited when my manager put a brunch back on the calendar in 2013. I jump at any opportunity to try another Flour recipe, so I thumbed through my baking Bible, hoping for inspiration. Inspiration came in the form of a maple cranberry pecan breakfast cake.

The recipe is in Joanne's cookbook, so I won't copy it here. This post's title lists its flagship ingredients, and Joanne's instructions, though verbose, are easy to follow. That said, I have two suggestions.

• Thaw, then chop, the cranberries. The frozen fruit rolled out from under my knife, which nearly sliced the fingers holding the fruit in place. Next time, I'll either thaw the fruit to room temperature before chopping, or I'll use fresh cranberries. The chopping is necessary to keep the fruit incorporated throughout the batter; the whole cranberries floated to the top of the loaf as it baked.
• Line the loaf pan in parchment paper. As the berries floated to the top, the caramelized pecans sank to the bottom. I was not prepared for how sticky they'd be, frustrating all efforts at removing the cake from the pan. I finally got the cake out in chunks, with the base of the loaf separated from the crown; fortunately, it wasn't too hard to reassemble, and it held fast once set. Still, none of that would have happened if I had lined the loaf pan in parchment paper for easy removal. Lesson frustratedly learned.

Here is the reassembled cake, ready to go in its glazed glory! (Yep, that's a drizzle made of powdered sugar and maple syrup. Whoa.)

Inconsistent distribution of contents aside, I was really pleased with this cake. First of all, it looks extremely festive. Secondly, it has a taste to match! It has a syrup-soaked flavor without a syrup-soaked texture; just the right amount of syrup, apparently, goes in the batter. Its texture varies from top to bottom; you start with something fluffy and buttery, and end with something dense and moist. The overall effect is like a buttermilk pancake, stuffed with tasty fruits and nuts, that has been exposed to varying degrees of maple syrup. Another way of saying that is that it's a Friendly Toast pancake, in actual-cake form. (Cantabrigians and New Hampshirites will understand the praise in that analogy.) The cranberries provided pleasant bursts of tart juice that cut through the sweetness, and the caramelized pecans enriched the batter with their dense chewiness and earthy flavor. Oh, and that maple glaze? It was literally icing on the cake!

The baked good went over well at our potluck brunch, alongside the chocolate chip pancakes, French toast casserole, miniature quiches, maple sausage meatballs, donuts, bagels, and fried chicken with waffles ( ! ) that rounded out the spread. But really, would you have expected a lesser reception for anything from Flour? I hope not.

Here's to the next brunch, whenever it may be!

Things In Things: Oreo Peanut Butter Brownies

I'm seeing a trend when baking recipes surface on social networks. Everyone's combining multiple mass-produced treats into any number of uber-desserts - or so I've seen in friends' recipe suggestions, culled from Facebook and Pinterest. Think of them as homemade via premade. One colleague is particularly good at sharing these ideas with me, so that a small part of each workday is spent salivating over [insert CANDY NAME plus SOMETHING TASTY AND SPREADABLE plus BAKED GOOD TYPE here] rather than, say, project management. I baked the most tempting of Shannon's recommendations just the other week.

The treats in question were Oreo and peanut butter double-stuffed brownies. If there's usually a correlation between name length and difficulty of recipe, these are an exception to the rule. You will need:

• Cupcake liners. Spray their interiors with cooking spray before you start. Doing so will keep your treats from sticking at the end.
• 1 box of Oreos. You could be ambitious and use Double Stuffs, but they're probably too thick for the cupcake pan.
• Creamy peanut butter
• Brownie mix, prepared as directed on the box. I normally make brownies from scratch, but that effort's not worth it when the brownie is just one of many "things" in the "thing".

And now, the process!

Take an Oreo, and spread one side with peanut butter. Do the same with another Oreo. Stick one on top of the other, and place them in a cupcake liner. Repeat until your cupcake pan is full.

Prepare the brownie mix according to the package's instructions. Then, pour some over each Oreo.

Bake the treats for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven, and let them cool in the pan on a cooling rack FOR A WHILE. I tried removing them too soon; they remained gooey well after the cooling limit for cakes and muffins.

The finished product tastes exactly as you would expect. There are a lot of soft Oreo crumbles, and not enough Oreo filling. (This is when I wish the Double Stuffs would have fit!) There's gooey peanut butter oozing between the layers, which flows like fudge after being heated. Lastly, there's a thin coating of brownie around it all. I was very pleased with the fudgy and flavorful Ghirardelli mix, but there isn't enough of it per treat to really satisfy a brownie craving. That said, the dessert in its entirety satisfies any sweet, and a hint of savory, craving that you might have had due to its size.

These are so easy to make, and they go over so well, that I highly recommend making them if you ever need a quick, tasty crowd-pleaser. Thanks, Shan, for the idea!

New Orleans, New Desserts

I know, I know. It's been 3 months since my last post. Let's imagine that, in those months, you read about:

• the German chocolate cake I made for Christmas,
• Flour's maple cranberry pecan bread, and
• the 2013 edition of this wintry vacation.

You might still read about them, but for now, you get to read about your blogger's first trip to New Orleans! I traveled there for a conference, which didn't leave much time for Julie-style exploration. What little taste I did get of the city, outside of the mile-long convention center (no joke), came in the form of nightlife and restaurants. I learned a few zydeco dance steps. I listened to live jazz on Frenchmen Street. I walked through the French Quarter on a balmy evening. I had the best pulled pork sandwich. And I discovered Boucherie. 

As soon as my coworkers and I set foot in the restaurant, I had an idea of what the experience was going to be like - and said idea came to be true. Bostonians will understand when I describe Boucherie as "the Craigie of New Orleans". I'm a huge fan of Cambridge's Craigie on Main, and Boucherie has a similar friendly welcome, casual yet refined feel, appreciation of local gastronomic traditions, and pride in its food that made me question for a moment - before the warm night air and accented speech brought me back - whether or not I was back home. Think: smiling staff; simple, modern, yet rustic decor; snout-to-tail menu items; herbal cocktails; wine, wine, and more wine; and a groaning table ready to hold 16 eager eaters. In other words, Boucherie is a slice of restaurant heaven.

My group sampled most of the small plates on the menu, which gave me a wide insight into creative Louisiana cooking. I researched more terms on this menu than any other restaurant's, and as a result I can confidently tell you what boudin is as well as how it tastes! (Pork rice sausage; fantastic. And I don't even like sausage!)

We also split several entrees to maximize our tasting options. Here is the Wagyu beef brisket with parmesan fries. I can't think of another piece of beef, or any gastropub's fries, that are better than this.

We ended the meal with desserts for the table. It was a good decision.

I rarely order bread pudding, since bread's taste and texture is too savory and rough for a satisfying dessert. However, there's an easy way to get around that issue: use a sweeter bread or cake in the pudding. Boucherie implements that workaround with a Southern level of excess by replacing the bread with Krispy Kreme donuts. That's right - this is a Krispy Kreme bread pudding.

It would be hard for me to not love this, considering the ingredients and process - donut pieces, an abundance of sugary glaze, and caramel, all baked into a square of deliciousness. My few forkfuls were very happy ones.

Next up was a type of dessert I had never seen. Wikipedia defines it as a single crust filled with a mixture of eggs, butter, white and brown sugar, vanilla, and cornmeal. I'm sure Boucherie honors those ingredients, but they add hot spice and chocolate to their spin on the Southern classic. Behold the Thai chili chocolate chess pie.

The pie's texture was very strange, somewhere between brownie batter and a (fully baked) buttermilk muffin. The exposed part of the filling had crusted into something resembling a dense, dry brownie; thinking back on it now that I know the ingredients, I wonder if it had a hint of cornbread flavor. The chocolate wasn't as strong as I would have liked, but the Thai chili sure poked through - especially a few seconds after starting to chew a bite! You can see that whipped cream was on hand to help with the heat, and the actual crust provided a nice, mild, buttery base. I'm not sure if I'd order a chess pie again, but I'm glad gave the regional specialty a try.

Who knows when I'll be back at Boucherie, and if they regularly change up their desserts to entice repeat visitors. Perhaps a meal at Craigie will suffice until then?

Several folks suggested I try the cafe au lait and beignets at the French Quarter's famous Cafe du Monde. I had every intention to do so, really - but I didn't get up in time before my departing flight. (The alarm was already set to an unseemly hour!) I'll make them a priority if I'm ever back in town.  

POSTSCRIPT

I connected through Chicago's Midway airport when heading back to Boston. It wasn't until I was looking for lunch that I remembered - I could find Fannie May candy here! As a Chicago-born daughter of Midwestern parents, I grew up on this regional chocolatier's sweets. Heck, it's still such a part of the family candy consciousness that I get a Fannie May chocolate bunny every Easter. So, I had to come back with something. None of Midway's convenience stores had the boxed assortments I was hoping for, but I did find a row of colorfully-wrapped chocolate bars! (Please excuse this promotional image in lieu of a photo taken while hauling luggage.)

A bit later, I got on my plane with a few raspberry dark chocolate bars! My family and I enjoyed the bars the following weekend. Fannie May, at least in this range of bars, does not buy into the irritating "percent cacao" trend. (Phew!) They use a simple, solid, and delicious dark chocolate that has an extremely smooth texture and just a hint of sweetness. A raspberry bar has 6 sections, and each section is filled with chocolate raspberry fudge. This surprised me, as I usually see bars filled with raspberry jam or glaze; the different medium ended up being just as tasty. It had a smooth creamy texture, sans seeds (a definite win over jam!); the raspberry flavor was tart and assertive. It held its own against the similarly strong chocolate, resulting in a satisfying flavor combination.

Each section melted in my mouth, and when I saw the empty wrapper, I wished I had another one to open. Still, I shouldn't get too mopey. Easter's right around the corner!

Cupcakes (and a Berliner Weisse) Take the Cake

This post tells of truly fabulous cupcakes - cupcakes that live up to their name, or have thoroughly earned the hype surrounding them.

I remember when Kickass Cupcakes opened a few years ago. How great for Davis Square to get a cupcakery, I thought - and how fun for a bakery of any sort to project a hip, in-your-face identity in place of the usual saccharine, frilly one! Unfortunately, Kickass' first few weeks of cupcakes did not kick ass. I dismissed them outright after having too many dry, flavorless cakes with stiffened, flavorless frostings. Years passed. I saw no reason to revisit - or retaste? - my opinion.

And then there was Brewberry Fest.

Night Shift Brewing brews an amazing range of Berliner Weisse-style beers. I love that style's refreshing, mouth-puckering tartness, and I love Night Shift's ability to adapt and evolve it in various fruity and spicy directions. Last week's Brewberry Fest commemorated their release of Mainer Weisse, the standard Berliner base brewed with Maine blueberries and cinnamon. Here are two pours of the purple concoction.

Forget about the overdone sweetness one usually finds (and fears) in fruity beers. Mainer Weisse has a subtle, tangy blueberry flavor, and its cinnamon works well with the inherent Berliner flavors. I would go back to this sour over and over again if I could; unfortunately, it was a limited release that sold out in the days following the Fest.

Good beers at good Fests are even better with good food! We enjoyed Mei Mei Street Kitchen's indulgent mac and cheese, made with Vermont Cheddar and Night Shift's Fallen Apple ale, for dinner. Kickass Cupcakes had a table at the other end of the hall, where they were offering four total flavors of miniature and full-sized cupcakes. The mini cupcakes were free. I thought of Kickass' past fails as mentioned above, but I couldn't say no to free dessert. I'm so glad I took that chance, because WOW - they have improved so dramatically that their current cupcakes totally kick ass and then some! The flavors were:

• Spicy Chocolate - this flavor was made especially for Night Shift! (All subsequent flavors are from Kickass' usual repertoire.) A dense, flavorful chocolate cake was injected with peppery chocolate ganache; that ganache had been doctored with Night Shift's Viva Habanera ale! Rich chocolate frosting topped the cake, which itself was drizzled with sweet chili sauce and sprinkled with red pepper flakes. A delightful combination of heat and sweet, I kept on coming back for more of these mini confections.
• Berry Crumbly - sturdy vanilla cake was dotted with mixed berries and topped with Kickass' interpretation of crumble. Imagine oats that were lightly tossed with melted butter and brown sugar, and then toasted; the effect was pleasant, but not nearly as satisfying as a chunky, flour-based crumble. The frosting was a light, refreshing blend of creme fraiche and marscapone cheese, and a random berry crowned each cake's frosting dollop.
• Caramel Mochiatto - the same hearty chocolate cake was filled with an oozy nugget of sweet, translucent caramel. Rich mocha frosting was swirled on top, and chocolate-covered espresso nibs garnished that frosting and added explosive coffee bitterness to the dessert.
• Cookie Dough - the standard vanilla cake had a gooey scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough at its center. There was probably more cookie dough than cake! The cake and cookie doughs' formulations must have been similar, since simultaneously eating both demonstrated a surprising continuity of flavor. The frosting was a simple but solid vanilla buttercream that was drizzled with chocolate sauce for an engaging visual effect.

You can see the Cookie Dough cupcake, and yet another pour of Mainer Weisse, here!

I was so impressed with the moistness and heft of both cakes and frostings, as well as their rich, lingering flavors; I surprised myself by snacking on the free mini cupcakes throughout the night. There were more than enough to go around. Even with all that snacking, there were many cupcakes left when the festival started winding down. So, the Kickass folks let us take boxes of cupcakes to go! The offer even included the full-sized cupcakes we would have had to pay for earlier in the night. Behold my enviable to-go box; you will count 4 Spicy Chocolates and one Caramel Mochiatto, with a dramatic backdrop of the remaining Spicy Chocolates.

These treats kept for days following the event, so the dessert wealth was indeed spread! I must thank Kickass Cupcakes for leaning from their past and churning out incredibly delicious new products, and to Night Shift for being a ray of (sour) light in a world of lagers, IPAs, and stouts. 

Now, let's fast-forward a few days post-Fest. The to-go box had been emptied. What was I going to do for dessert?

Georgetown Cupcake - the DC cupcakery that rose to fame on the Food Network - opened a Newbury Street store this past summer! I walked by during its opening weekend, and was mollified by a line that extended down and around the block; I decided to come back another time. The perfect opportunity arose last weekend. The warm, bright store was a beacon on a sleety, gray afternoon, and I decided a cupcake could commemorate just having finished my Christmas shopping.

As my eyes adjusted to the store's blinding pink and white decor, I noticed the wall of cupcakes.

Countless cupcakes are arranged on tiered display stands, with two or three varieties sharing each stand. Since Georgetown's available flavors change daily, each day's display is unique. I could barely take it all in. Each pert cake is coiffed with a perfect swirl of frosting, which in turn is topped with a decorative garnish or fondant form. Crushed peppermint candies and fondant snowflakes were two particularly festive toppers.

(If you, like me, are curious about the Chocolate Squared, it refers to chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. The Chocolate Cubed [not pictured] is chocolate cake with chocolate ganache.)

The cupcakes weren't the only cute things I ogled at. Look at this adorable reindeer design on my cup of hot chocolate! The same design was also on stickers that decorated each bakery bag or box to go.

Speaking of the hot chocolate - it was good, but not mind-blowing. The cocoa was nice and sweet, with a hint of mint and a slightly oily texture. That last characteristic reminded me of British chocolate. (I wonder which cocoa Georgetown uses...) I think I'd try a mocha next.

I also got a chocolate peppermint cupcake. Here it is in Instagrammed glory...

...while this cleaner, minimalist image shows it one step from being eaten.

The cake had a great texture! It was super chewy for a non-fudgy baked good. It was also rather sturdy, not sinking under the weight of the dense chocolate mint frosting. Georgetown uses Valrhona chocolate in their baked goods, and the cake had Valrhona's signature bold flavor. It wasn't overwhelming, though, thanks to the cake's relative dryness. The frosting's consistency lay somewhere between buttercream and ganache. Its bold Valrhona flavor was spiked with a hint of mint. The peppermint candy dusting on top added crunch and a shiver of chilliness. Georgetown has a lot of tempting flavors to choose from, but this one would be worth choosing again.

Also, Georgetown's a great deal. My cupcake was only $2.75! (Compare that to any [smaller and less tasty] cupcake from Sweet, a local chain of 4 stores, which costs $3.25.) The hot cocoa was a steal, too, at $1.85. I think Boston has a new place to go for good, affordable treats.

~~~

I hope you have a chance to try some of these excellent cupcakes in the near future! I, too, want to go back for more. What are some good flavors to try?

Smitten with Blondies

I AM SO BEHIND IN BLOGGING, AND IT IS MILDLY STRESSING ME OUT. Let's pretend that you've read all about:

• Sportello's fantastic whoopie pies,
• a pie-making extravaganza at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts,
• the pumpkin-y treats at CBC's Great Pumpkin Festival, and
• desserts for Thanksgiving and tree-decorating.

Now that those are done, let's talk about rainy-day baking! Yep, today's weather provided the perfect excuse to stay indoors and make something cozy and delicious. I searched a favorite source for something easy, quick, and filling; needless to say, I found something I wanted to bake in less than a minute. Friends, meet the Smitten Kitchen's blondies.

Blondies are, in some ways, more challenging than brownies. The dough is so basic that it could easily turn out bland, and the quality of your chocolate - if you're like me, you always cram your blondies full of chocolate chips - is significantly more exposed in that dough. I expected to save some experimentation toward the perfect blondie by going with Deb's selection. As you'll see, that expectation wasn't really met. Here is the recipe, with my commentary in italics.

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 C brown sugar. Once you've used Whole Foods' light brown sugar, you can't go back to Domino's. I was pretty certain that this strong, molasses-y sugar was the key to a flavorful blondie dough.
• 1 large egg
• 1 t vanilla
• a pinch of salt
• 1 C flour
• 1 C chocolate chips. I used Whole Foods' organic semisweet chips, due to their past versatility in my (mom's) brownies.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8-inch pan. The buttering wasn't enough; the finished product still stuck formidably to the pan. Use buttered parchment next time!
2. Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the egg, and then add the vanilla and pinch of salt.
4. Stir in the flour and the chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, keeping in mind that under-baking the dessert will yield more of a cookie-dough-like result. I took the blondies out after 23 minutes, and they took hours to solidify. I wonder if the 25-30 minutes you usually see on brownie recipes would be a better timeframe here.

I admired the blondies' smooth, porous surface as I waited for them to cool. They really reflect my kitchen's garish light.

Now, behold them all cut up and ready to eat!

Don't they look appetizing?
 

Looks aren't everything. These look much better than they taste or feel. Let's start with the texture. Even after hours of cooling, they were more gelatinous than cakelike, as if cookie dough had been slightly melted, (UPDATE: The next morning, after sitting overnight at room temperature, they're as dense and hard as a cold stick of butter.) Odd. Also, they're very oily, thanks to an actual stick of butter that's mixed into relatively little batter. Neither of those characteristics are bad per se, but they weren't what I wanted when I set out to make blondies. Also, they could be tastier. The brown sugar's robust flavor came through, thankfully, but it would have been much more enjoyable in a properly chewy, cake-like substance than it was in mush. The chocolate chips' flavor also came through, which, I realized, was not as good as I had anticipated. I've used Whole Foods chips before, but I always melted them - and never dealt with them intact, apart from the token handful enjoyed while mixing batter. They're rather waxy, and the cocoa seems really flat. These blondies really brought those qualities - or lack thereof, ha - to the forefront. I guess there's a reason I've increasingly used Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Valrhona chocolates when I need chips to stay chips. I'll know to use such brands in my next blondie foray. Forgetting quality for a moment, I managed to get the quantity of chocolate right. One cup of chips guarantees this batter is nearly bursting with the stuff!

It's going to take a while to get through these.

I hope I have better luck the next time I make blondies - and whenever I next turn to Smitten Kitchen. Speaking of which, did you know there's a Smitten Kitchen cookbook? I haven't bought it yet, since I haven't come anywhere close to exhausting Deb's online repertoire. Also, I've never been able to perch bound cookbooks near work surfaces in a way that they stay open. Still, if any of you would like to gift me with said cookbook, I wouldn't say no. 'Tis the season, after all... ;-)

Lastly, I have a new social media obsession. I just started using Instagram! I've edited and posted many more photos than I would usually add to Facebook in the equivalent timeframe. You can probably tell that the above photo is from Instagram; follow @somuchdessert for more drool-worthy pics, as well as visual insights into your blogger's "real" life. Happy snapping!

Frozen Vegan Delights

I am an omnivore who enjoys the wide variety of food options before her. I'm thankful I don't have any allergies, etc, that prevent my enjoyment of the world's edibles - though if I were allergic to, say, dairy, I just learned that I could still enjoy ice cream!

Boston's Allston neighborhood has a wealth of eclectic foods, covering every possible ethnic and dietary niche. Several vegan establishments have popped up along the northern edge of Union Square, the most recent being FoMu Alternative Ice Cream. I was initially apprehensive of vegan ice cream; after all, what non-cream substance could approximate...cream...in a way that was authentic to texture and taste? Fear not, fellow skeptics. You can tell there's something different about FoMu, but it's not a bad difference.  The texture is similar to a thick ice cream, though a tad more crystalline. Also, some frozen desserts made from non-dairy milks are even better than traditional  ice cream, depending on the flavors involved. To illustrate that point, check out this Spiced Carrot Cake ice cream:

FoMu uses almond and cashew butter as the foundation of this "cream". Add a wealth of spices; large crumbs from incredibly moist, veg-filled vegan carrot cake, and voila - you have a rich treat that is just bursting with flavor. The almond and cashew butters don't impart too much nuttiness, but they create an earthier, heartier-tasting base than dairy cream. Carrot cake is an inherently nutty dessert, so the filling complements the base well. The vegan cake is also exceptionally moist, since wetter oils or fruit/veg purees replace eggs as the usual wet cake ingredients - and more moisture always means more flavor in baking. As for the spices? Well, spices and nuts have gone together, better, and more consistently, than spices and dairy ever have. This treat is one of the best combination desserts I've seen.

The Mocha Bean smoothie (shown here with Maple Walnut ice cream and a vegan cinnamon bun) is another example of nuts adding to the dessert experience.

This smoothie uses FoMu's espresso and chocolate ice creams, both of which have a soy base, and a milk of your choice - soy, rice, or almond. I've only had it with almond milk, since I find almonds' sweet nuttiness a good complement to coffee. Also, why be redundant by adding soy milk to soy ice cream? The resulting smoothie is a cool, creamy, and undeniably fresh concoction with milky chocolate, gentle espresso, and mild almond flavors. I'd say that freshness is a distinguishing characteristic of soy, which I love. I only tried a spoonful of the Maple Walnut ice cream, but I was struck by its strong, authentic maple flavor and its use of raw - as in, NOT toasted - walnuts. The cinnamon bun, on the other hand, was a waste. The pastry itself was stiff and airy, like a dried sponge. The glaze had an off-putting orange flavor, as if the zest flavoring it incorporated too much rind. FoMu should stick to their mock-dairy treats, and vegan cakes, instead of attempting other pastries. 

I highly recommend FoMu whenever you're feeling adventurous about ice cream. Also, it's the perfect thing to cap off a night whiled away at Deep Ellum or Lone Star!

Smitten with Brownies

I've sworn by my mom's Double Chocolate Brownie recipe for years. If we've ever been at a party together where guests bring food, you've probably had them. They have won renown, both in her circles and mine, for their bold chocolate flavor and dense, chewy texture. They're so good that I sometimes call them my Epic Brownies - if there has ever been a food that could anchor a great sweeping saga, it is these brownies. I never thought I would want to bake a different brownie recipe...

...until a few weeks ago.

I love the Smitten Kitchen food blog, and use it for specific recipes and general foodie inspiration. I ended up clicking through her "Bar Cookies or Blondies and Brownies" category one afternoon, which led me to this simply- yet effectively-titled post. It looked easy enough to make, and if Deb has a favorite, well, I'm more likely to consider her's than a lot of people's. I did my best to ignore any qualms I had about cheating on my mom's recipe, and baked them that evening. The recipe as published on SK makes an 8x8-inch pan's worth of brownies; I prepared that amount for the initial test round, but I've doubled it since to accommodate a 13x9-inch pan. Yes. I've baked this recipe three times and counting. It's that good - and my friends and colleagues would agree.

Here's the Favorite Brownies recipe with slight rewordings, and doubled ingredients to enable double the brownies. My commentary is in italics.

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped or broken. I used a combination of Ghirardelli chocolate and Baker's squares, since that's what was in my kitchen at the moment.
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 2/3 C granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t table salt
• 1 1/3 C all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment, extending it up two sides. Butter the parchment, or spray it with a nonstick cooking spray. The buttering is key - otherwise, the brownies will stick to the paper and you'll have a difficult time peeling them off.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together. The elevated bowl is unnecessary. Melt your butter and chocolate in a pot on the stovetop, stirring frequently so that the chocolate doesn't burn. Not only will this save you dishes, but it gives you enough room to mix in all following ingredients. My double boiler is NOT large enough for all the batter!
3. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, and then the vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan, and spread until it's even. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free. 27 minutes worked best for me.
5. Let the brownies cool before cutting into your desired size. These take a LONG time to cool, most likely because they're so dense. Give yourself plenty of time if you're baking them to bring somewhere!

Let's take a quick look at the gorgeous, deep, dark batter...

...followed by the shiny, textured surface of the fresh-out-of-the-oven treats! I love when the top layer of a brownie or bar cookie peels slightly away from the batter; this does that in abundance.

Lastly, behold the finished product! (Of course I put them in a Fortnum & Mason tin...but I wish I had chosen a better beer to join them.)

These brownies are easily the densest, fudgiest brownies I've ever had. If there weren't the cup or so of flour, they probably would be fudge. You should treat them like fudge, too - they get a little soft when eaten warm or at room temperature, so keep them chilled until you're ready to dive in. Also, a small piece goes a long way! I was initially concerned about all that unsweetened chocolate resulting in a bitter brownie, but the ample amount of sugar takes care of that. They're surprisingly sweet! The chocolate really shines in this setting, with the sugar to temper the bitterness and the butter to warm it up. (If I were ever to try making these with a lesser-percent-cacao chocolate, I'd have to cut back on the sugar.) In a word, phenomenal.

I'll still bake my mom's brownies. After all, the recipe's imprinted in my brain - I could go and make it in your kitchen, right now, if you wanted. And her brownies are beyond delicious! But if you're looking to be truly blown away by a baked good, or (dare I say it) smitten, I'd also want you to try Smitten Kitchen's.