Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies

It's generally believed that the best brownies must be made from chocolate.  Chocolate, not cocoa powder, which was the one thing that Sally and I did not have this weekend.  Luckily, the First Lady of Chocolate came to our rescue with this rich and fudgy cocoa brownie recipe.

 These brownies are reputed to have the taste and texture of box brownies, which I would not know, as every pan of box brownies I have attempted to make has hardened/burnt/generally been inedible, regardless of how early I take them out of the oven.  These, on the other hand, did not burn, have not yet hardened, and are delicious.  Not too sweet (in fact, Sally thinks they could use a bit more sugar!), very chocolatey, and extremely dense.

Best Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet, or online here 
Ingredients
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)
Directions
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
2. Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl and microwave for about 1 minute. Stir until the butter is melted and microwave another 30 seconds.  The mixture should be relatively smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Set the bowl aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using.
4. Spread evenly in the lined pan. Bake in oven until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.
5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. (or random shapes, as I did above.)

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

Happy St. Patty's Day!  Here are some cookies for you:

Aww, don't they look delicious?  They are.  Very delicious.  So fudgy and chocolaty, with just a hint of mint.  All for me and none for you.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
adapted from Annie's Eats here and Une Gamine dans la Cuisine here
Ingredients
1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips (I threw in some mint chocolate chips too)
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together until well combined, light, and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the peppermint extract and mix until well combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. The dough is very thick, so you might need to use your hands to work in the last streaks of flour.
4. Using a large spatula (or your hands), fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten and shape (they don't spread very much).  Press into granulated sugar until evenly coated.
8. Place onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. (Note: There really is no visual clue as to when these cookies are done, just don't over bake them.)
9. Allow them to rest on the cookies sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Makes about 40 cookies.

Sally Lunn Bread

Life's been having its way with Sally and I for the past month.  We've honestly been too busy wrapped in our own little worlds to contemplate baking anything.  Except, we did make cookies.  Once.  Though there's no evidence left of them, so it's like it never happened at all...

Since I took the time to bake this bread, I figured I might as well take the time to photograph it (with my awful phone camera, in the horrible lighting of my kitchen) before we scarf it down.  Because it is just that good.  Luckily the recipe is quite simple and perfect for days when you have tons of work to do.  You can find it here, on Smitten Kitchen's blog, and I'm not going to take the time to write it all out myself because I'm lazy this girl's got tons of work to do and not much time to do it in.  I did make some modifications, but none of them were particularly life-changing or awe-inspiring... at least, not enough to convince me to type out the directions.

I will say one thing.  Yes, you can make bread in a 9" pie pan.  Yes, that is what I did.  Yes, I did cut the recipe in half just in case it overflowed (which it obviously is nowhere close to doing).  If you don't have a bread pan and would still like to make this bread, please don't let a silly little thing like not having a bread pan stop you. Just remember to adjust the baking time and check often.