Robert’s Absolute Best Brownie Recipe
Cakey on the outside, fudgy on the inside, and absolutely the best through and through.
Ingredients
Cakey on the outside, fudgy on the inside, and absolutely the best through and through.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup pecans, toasted coarsely chopped
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
- 2. Line an 8-inch square pan with 2 long lengths of aluminum foil or parchment paper, positioning the sheets perpendicular to one other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of the pan. Lightly butter the foil or parchment.
- 3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir by hand until it is melted and smooth.
- 4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs by hand, 1 at a time. Add the flour and stir energetically for 1 full minute—time yourself—until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. [Note: There are two crucial elements in the making of these brownies. One is throwing yourself into the making of them by stirring them “energetically. The second is making certain you stir the batter for a full minute. I’ve also used a hand mixer and set the microwave timer. It may appear to separate a few seconds into stirring, and it may appear grainy midway through, but when you stir with vigor for a full 60 seconds–and we do mean a full 60 seconds, along the lines of “One Mississippi, two Mississippi…”–you’ll end up with a batter that’s rich, thick, satiny smooth, and glossy as can be. Therein lies the difference between dry, crumbly brownies and the world’s best brownies.] Stir in the chopped nuts.
- 5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center feels almost set, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake!