Dark Chocolate Brownies

I wanted brownies.  But you know, sometimes it's hard to find a good brownie recipe.

There was a banana brownie recipe in my latest issue of Fine Cooking that involved banana-infused cream for ganache.  Too much work. 

There was the recent article in Midwest Living on add-ins to turn box brownie and cake mix from drab to decadent.  But I was shooting for homemade this time around.

And there was the classic recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens red and white plaid cookbook.  But I dunno, I wanted something stepped up a little.

In the end, I decided on Joy.  Joy the Baker, that is.  And I'm so so glad I did.

Joy the Baker has such a bright, happy blog space - you just want to be her friend.  In fact, by reading her, you feel like you already are.  A crazy fun tattooed L.A. resident friend who I'm sure is much cooler than I could ever hope to be in real life, but in our virtual bloggie world, she's my buddy, even if she doesn't really know that.  But if we were real-life buddies, I bet she would teach me how to take pictures like this.  Then we'd eat cookies.  Under an orange tree.  Because California is like that.

But the brownies.  The dark chocolate brownies.  Sometimes I'm confused when you are instructed to purchase unsweetened chocolate, only to dump half a bag of sugar in the batter anyway, or use unsalted butter, only to add salt later.  But I'm not questioning it.  These babies are rich.  Be sure to have an extra jug of milk on hand to wash 'em down. 

Thanks Joy!

Dark Chocolate Brownies
From Joy the Baker - original recipe here.  Please line the pan with foil and butter it as instructed in the recipe - you'll be so glad you did when you don't even need to wash the pan, it's so spankin' clean.

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with foil and butter the foil. This will make brownie removal much easier.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Place butter and chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, being sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted. Use pot holders to remove the bowl from over the boiling water. Lets mixture sit for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and espresso powder. Whisk until pale and thick. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until completely incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.