Brownie Competition - and the Winner Is . . . .

In February 2011, the cover of Bon Appetit magazine pictured a stack of fudgy, moist brownies accompanied by the headline:  "Best-Ever Brownies - Warning:  You Will Eat the Entire Tray!"  This headline sent Food Snob on a two-year quest to determine whether the brownies featured in Bon Appetit magazine were, in fact, the best brownies ever, or whether she could find another brownie recipe that was even better.

Now, brownies are a very personal thing.  Some people like their brownies dense, chocolatey, and fudgy.  Food Snob falls into that category.  Others like their brownies lighter and "cakier;" these types of brownies work well in brownie sundaes, but in Food Snob’s opinion are not so great eaten on their own.  Some folks prefer their brownies with nuts (that would be Food Snob); others prefer theirs with no nuts.  Some prefer their brownies with frosting, chocolate chips, coffee, liqueur, or toffee filling.  The variations are endless.  Food Snob was attracted to the Bon Appetit brownie recipe because it was advertised as dense, chocolatey, and fudgy, and the brownies contained nuts.

The first step was to MAKE the brownie recipe to see how good the brownies really were.  The recipe, entitled Brown-Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies, calls for very simple ingredients:  butter, cocoa, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, walnuts, vanilla, and a small amount of flour (small amounts of flour and the absence of milk make the brownies fudgy not cakey). You have these ingredients in your kitchen right now, don't you?

Of course, Food Snob never makes a recipe exactly as written.  EVERY recipe gets adjusted a little to reduce the saturated fat, sugar, and calories without sacrificing the flavor.  Brownies are especially challenging because, let's face it, not much about them is healthy.  However, a LOT about them is delicious, so Food Snob believes in adjusting what she can and then savoring the results in moderation.  If the brownies turned out to be the best she had ever eaten, moderation was going to be difficult.  After all, the headline had warned her that she would be eating the entire tray!

The brownie recipe, even with Food Snob's adjustments, was all it promised it would be.  These brownies are fantastic.  It IS hard not to eat the entire tray.  The secret is to freeze them and take them out one at a time and savor them slowly.  The pleasure lasts longer that way, and you can still indulge without feeling guilty.

Over the next two years, Food Snob tested the brownies against other favorite brownie recipes to see which recipe was better – in every taste trial, the Brown-Butter Cocoa Walnut Recipe was the winner hands down.  Food Snob made side-by-side comparisons with her own favorite brownie recipes, brownie recipes published in the newspaper and on the internet, and even the Classic Fudge-Walnut Brownie recipe first published in Cooking Light in September 2011.  The Cooking Light recipe, which is very good, was featured as the best chocolate recipe ever during the magazine’s 2012 anniversary year.  Still, the Browned-Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownie recipe from Bon Appetit was better.  You can view the winning recipe from Cooking Light at this link: Cooking Light Brownie Recipe. 

This past week, and just in time for the Super Bowl, People Magazine and the Denver Post featured John Elway’s favorite brownie recipe, served on the menu at Elway’s restaurant.  See John Elway's Brownie Recipe.  Since she was planning on featuring her brownies in this week’s food blog, Food Snob dutifully baked both recipes:  John Elway’s brownies and the Browned-Butter Cocoa Walnut brownies.  Family and friends who compared the two brownie recipes nixed John Elway’s recipe, and the Brown-Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownie was the runaway favorite from 100 percent of testers hands down (okay, Food Snob only asked five people to test the brownies).  In fairness to John Elway, his recipe does state that the restaurant serves the brownies with ice cream and caramel sauce.  Food Snob’s family had them for dessert one night with ice cream and caramel sauce and we agreed that the brownies were better that way.  Still, we weren’t inclined to “eat the whole tray.”   

So, were you thinking about bringing brownies to a Super Bowl party tomorrow?  Do you want to treat a loved one to something more special than a box of chocolate for Valentine’s Day?  Try this brownie recipe and Food Snob promises that your brownies will be more interesting than the Super Bowl.  Wrap them up in a pretty box and your Valentine will be thrilled with a treat that tastes better than truffles.

A word about brownie mixes.  Do not even THINK about making your brownies from a brownie mix!  Brownie mixes contain all sorts of artificial ingredients to make them shelf stable and they do not taste anywhere near as good as the Browned-Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies.  The Cocoa Walnut Brownies are fool-proof, require only one pot to mix the batter, and can be in the oven almost as quickly as a mix.  Food Snob refuses to eat brownies from a mix EVER; when she goes to a pot luck she can tell just by looking which brownies are made from a mix and which are not and she stays away from the ones that are made from a brownie mix.  They are not worth the fat and calories. 

There are several secrets to success when making the brownie recipe that follows.  First, the recipe calls for browned butter – browned butter is what gives the brownies such an amazing flavor.  Do not skip this step.  Food Snob has already reduced the amount of butter in the recipe – to reduce it more compromises the flavor.  Second, the recipe asks you to line your pan with foil – leaving several extra inches of foil on each end.  This amazing technique allows you remove the brownies from the pan after they cool, while still in the foil, and after peeling back the foil, create absolutely perfect squares. No sticking to the pan!  Finally, Food Snob has reduced the sugar and the nuts, and cuts the brownies into 24 squares instead of 16 squares.  Smaller brownies are just as satisfying as large brownies and have fewer calories.  These brownies weigh in at 120 calories each, with 2.4 grams saturated fat and 8 grams total fat. 

Browned-Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies – makes 24 pieces

Browned-Butter Cocoa Walnut Brownies are on the left;
Classic Fudge-Walnut Brownies from Cooking Light are on the right 

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325 degrees.  Line a 9 inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving a 2 inch overhang.  Coat foil with cooking spray. 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, place:

5 Tablespoons good quality butter

Melt butter and continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at the bottom of pan, stirring often about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add, stirring until melted:

5 Tablepoons trans fat free spread for baking, such as Smart Balance

When melted, immediately stir into pan:

7/8 cup sugar (3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons)

¾  cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spoon into measuring cup, then level)

2 teaspoons water

¼ slightly rounded teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Let mixture cool about 5 minutes.  Then add, one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon after each addition:

2 eggs

When mixture looks thick and shiny, add

1/3 cup flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled

Stir until blended.  Beat vigourously 60 strokes.  Stir in:

1 cup walnuts, measured and then chopped coarsely

Once combined, transfer batter to prepared pan.  Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes.  Do not overbake  Cool in pan on rack.  Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan.  Cut into 4 strips.  Cut each strip into 6 brownies.  Can be frozen for several weeks – if they last that long!

Now Promise Food Snob that you won't eat the whole tray!  When you try these brownies, comment and let Food Snob know what you think. If you have a favorite brownie recipe, please share!

Next week's blog - skip the restaurants and cook a quick and elegant dinner for your Valentine!  Food Snob supplies the menu; you supply the wine and the candles!