My Quest for the Best Brownies Volume 1: Super Fudgy

Brownies rank high on the list of perfect desserts, second only to chocolate chip cookies (and closely followed by its delicious cousin, the blondie).  I am always on the quest for the ultimate brownie.  I have a recipe folder bursting with yet-to-be-tried recipes that I’ve ripped out of magazines or printed from websites.  Today I opened the folder and came across a recipe I printed from Everyday Food in May 2008 for "Super Fudgy Brownies."

The recipe is wonderfully easy to make, and it uses minimal ingredients.  I didn’t have semisweet baking chocolate, so I used chocolate chips instead.  Chocolate chips are alright to use in a pinch, but are best suited to cookies because most chips contain stabilizers to retain their shape.

Alas, this recipe didn’t fulfill my hope of finding the best brownie recipe.  So my quest continues.  These brownies were rather thick and cakey, and didn’t quite live up to the title of Super Fudgy.  At best, I'll consider these Moderately Fudgy.  They crumble easily and didn’t taste very sweet, despite the 1.5 cups of sugar.  But for those that prefer a cake-like brownie with a deep chocolate flavor, this may be a good choice for you.

Super Fudgy Brownies
8 tbs butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a large heatproof bowl, add the butter and chocolate.  Place over a saucepan of gently simmering water.  Heat, stirring frequently, until smooth.

Remove the bowl from pan.  Add the sugar and mix well.  Next, add the eggs.  Finally, add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.  (I wrote about the downside of overmixing in my post about muffins.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.  Let cool, slice and (if you like a cakey brownie) enjoy!