Typically, I am a bit surly. It does aggravate me, this surliness. Why must I be so difficult to deal with? I am not like this with everyone…mostly Jon. Which is stupid, I know…but he lets me get away with it and loves me anyway. So, in an effort to become a better 50’s wife (or just a nicer wife in general, Hi, Honey) I spent Saturday making the Hubby some goodies to take with him on his out-of-town job.
He got home Friday evening in enough time to wash his work clothes (he does his own laundry), pack, and pick up a few things at Walmart before having to leave again Saturday night to pick up a sick work shift surveying for the railroad from 2am until 12 noon this week. It’s soooo cold here, people. I don’t even like walking from the house to my car. The thought of him out on those tracks in the bitter cold and wind all night makes me sad. He works hard and he doesn’t complain about it. I have a keeper here.
So Saturday. I made him some rotisserie chicken salad for lunch, which he seemed to enjoy as he packed up all that was left into his cooler. I also gave him the TWD goodies that I will be posting about tomorrow, as well as the leftover Quintuple Chocolate Brownies I posted about a couple of days ago. His favorite thing, though, is Mint Brownies. I have a recipe I typically use for those, but I remembered that Dorie had a recipe for what she calls Brrrrownies, so I decided to give those a shot. I changed the recipe a bit, though…I hate having to use the stove to melt my chocolate and dirty up extra pots and pans…and I also changed the chocolate up as well. So here is my take on Dorie Greenspan’s Brrrrr-ownie recipe.
Brrrrr-ownies
from Dorie Greenspan’s BFMHTY
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped *(I used Semi-Sweet Chips)
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 oz.) York Peppermint Pattie Bites (or an equal weight of patties), chopped into bits
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.*I used an 8 x 8 Silicon Pan
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Put the butter in the bowl, top with the chopped chocolates and stir occasionally until the ingredients are just melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water. *I just melted the butter and chocolate in the microwave, taking care not to over heat it. It worked great heating it for 30 seconds and stirring, then repeating until it was all melted.
With a whisk, stir in the sugar. Don’t be concerned when your smooth mixture turns grainy. Whisk in the eggs one by one. Add the vanilla and whisk vigorously to bring the batter together and give it a shine before gently stirring in the salt and flour; stir only until incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the peppermint pieces. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula.
Bake the brownies for 30 to 33 minutes, or until the top is dull and a thin knife inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. (The tip of the knife may be a touch streaky.) Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.
When they are completely cool, turn out onto a rack, peel away the foil and invert onto a cutting board. Cut into sixteen 2-inch squares.Makes 16 brownies.
Verdict? These were a hit. They are very rich and super fudgey, just the way I like a brownie. They could really use a scoop of ice cream – even Dorie agrees with me – and I think next time I will use less unsweetened chocolate (maybe an ounce less) and replace it with milk chocolate. I think I will also add a splash of mint extract, just to amp up the cool factor a bit.
Ohhh – I heard from Jon yesterday…the brownies are all gone.
Told ya, this one’s a keeper. (the recipe AND the man!)
