Chocolate Brownies

Americans love chocolate brownies. Brownies are classified as a bar cookie. The trick to making good brownies is not overcooking or undercooking the batter. There is a fine line between perfectly cooked brownies, overcooked dry brownies, and gooey undercooked brownies.

Since oven temperatures very use the cooking time range provided as a guide. A tooth pick inserted in the center should have a slight chocolate residue. If the toothpick comes out clean the brownies are overcooked. Brownies will continue cooking after the pan is removed from the oven, and must remain in the pan until fully cooled.

Chocolate brownies are not low calorie. Super-sized restaurant brownies topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce are fast track fat calories to your hips and abdomen.

Thirty brownies (about 2×2-inches) cut from a 13×9-inch baking pan have about 150 calories each. Eating a 4×4-inch brownie doesn’t double the calories it quadruples the calories. A 4×4 brownie has about 600 calories before adding ice cream versus 150 calories for one 2×2 brownie.

A 2×2-inch homemade brownie with 1/2 cup (65 g) of ice cream has about 300 calories. That is a significant savings without totally giving up this popular dessert.

Cook’s Tip

You can combine the butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a microwave proof bowl and heat in a microwave oven 1 minute on medium power. Stir and heat for another minute on medium power. Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is uniform consistency. Heat another 30 to 60 seconds if necessary. Cool to about room temperature before using.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Information includes nuts. Subtract 30 calories when nuts are omitted.

Substituting Cocoa Powder

The days of an 8 ounce box containing eight 1-oz. squares of baking chocolate are history. Market pressures forced downsizing from 8-oz. to 4-oz. You pay about the same for 50% less. What a deal. As a result, I’ve started substituting cocoa powder for baking chocolate. An 8-oz. container of cocoa powder costs about the same as 4-oz. of baking chocolate. The formula for substituting cocoa powder for 1 ounce of baking chocolate is printed on the container. It is

• 3 tbsp. (15 g) cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) shortening or oil

Change Note:

9-28-2015: Decreased quantity from 28 to 24. Assume 9″x13″ baking pan and 2.2″ x 2.25″ brownies. Most brownie mixes assume 2″x2″ which makes the nutrition values less than actual unless you cut 2×2 brownies leaving 1″ along 2 sides (1×2 brownies).

Ingredients

• 4 oz. (113 g) butter or margarine
• 4 oz. (113 g) unsweetened baking chocolate
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cocoa
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoons (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (130 g) all purpose flour
• 1 cup (240 ml) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• Nonstick cooking spray

Method of Preparation