Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

“Holy crap brownies!” – my first-bite-reaction. They weren’t kidding when they said “Warning: You will eat the entire tray”. I ended up stashing these as soon as they were cool into an airtight container so that I wouldn’t have to smell them anymore, while I ate just one. That took some serious restraint…

I’ve never made/cooked with browned butter, but whatever the difference is I am loving it! Incredibly fudgey and moist, I am not sure I can ever go back to boxed brownie mix. Especially since it was so easy to make! All brownies should be this fabulous and the walnuts are a must.

My walnut pieces were not as photogenic as the image on the cover of February’s issue…

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

10 Tbsp (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1-1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)

2 tsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs, chilled

1/3 + 1 Tbsp flour

1 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

1. Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325 degrees.
2. Line 8 x 8 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. (I used a 9 x 9 x 2-inch Chicago Metallic Slice Solutions brownie pan instead)
3. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at the bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, water, vanilla, and salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot).
4. Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
5. Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 16 brownies.

Source: Bon Appétit magazine, February 2011