It’s not often that I make brownies with no additions. No nuts, peanut butter, coconut… you get the picture. However, plain brownies are Quinn’s favorite. I hesitate to call these “plain.” They are far too good for such a description.
This recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s Cookies, a recent addition to my cookbook library. It’s from the editors of Martha Stewart Living, and includes some of their best cookie recipes. They claim these brownies to be one of their most popular recipes. After trying them, I can understand why that is.
These brownies are packed with two kinds of chocolate – semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder. When something is all about chocolate, I like to break out the good stuff. For the semisweet chocolate, I used Guittard’s semisweet chocolate wafers. The Dutch-process cocoa I used is from Schokinag. I ordered a huge container of that cocoa from King Arthur Flour’s store, but apparently they no longer stock it. So, if anyone can recommend a good alternative, I’d be forever thankful.
So, back to the brownies. They have a light texture as opposed to the dense and compact variety. With all that chocolate, they are quite rich, although we didn’t find them overwhelming. It’s definitely one for all of you chocolate addicts to try.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 8″square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches hanging over the sides. Butter parchment paper.
In a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir together butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder. Set aside to cool slightly.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly with spatula. Bake about 35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet. Let cool in pan about 15 minutes.
Lift brownies out of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
They look like quite a good brownie. Can’t really go wrong with a MS recipe. I really need to pick up that book sometime soon!
April 10th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
sometimes all you need is a good ole chunk of brownie without any additions. you just want a nice big bite of pure unadulterated chocolate. that picture is mighty enticing too!
April 10th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
These look great! As for the cocoa question, I just posted a double chocolate clafoutis recipe and I happened to put a link in it to my favorite cocoa that I found last year. It is a dutch process by a division of Callebaut. 100% Extra Brut Cocoa. It is very dark with a reddish tint. It tastes awesome every time I use it and I love the deep color. Anyway, you could google that name or just go to my blog for one of the links. I buy mine locally at a restaurant supply store that stocks it. Good luck!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:23 am
What can I say? I’m just hungry…. I want brownies and I want them now!!
Thank you very much for sharing. I’m a fan of “bake or brake”. I don’t understand english completely well because it’s not my language but recipes are easy to read and make and your photos are great. (A so close approach to the brownie is… wow, amazing)
Kisses from Spain.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:25 am
It’s not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let’s face it, far more reliable than a man.
“I love chocolate. Have you ever seen a chocolate fountain? It is
wonderful! Check this out..”
http://www.sarahs-sweet-fountains.co.uk
April 11th, 2008 at 3:14 am
I bet these are good. .. The photos are amazing! I bought this book too but I haven’t made anything from it yet but I love the photography and food styling. The wedding cakes book is also stunning. and in regards to cocoa powder…I love valrhona cocoa powder. It is the best I have ever tried.
April 11th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Ooooh…my eyes just bugged out of my head when I saw that pic! You know, like the wolves in the old cartoons when they see a pretty girl? hehehe.
Those look perfect.
April 11th, 2008 at 6:48 am
I have to agree with Quinn. A plain ole brownie is one of my fave’s, too. These look wonderful!
April 11th, 2008 at 9:37 am
RecipeGirl, I think this book is definitely worth it. I’ve got several recipes marked to try.
Thanks, Amanda! Yes, sometimes only chocolate will do.
Holly, thanks for the cocoa recommendation. I’ll be on the lookout for it.
Morgana, thanks so much for visiting! I suppose food is a universal language.
Alex, that’s certainly an interesting theory.
Aran, I’ve looked at that cocoa powder before. Thanks for the recommendation!
Elle, I know exactly what you mean! Thanks!
Thanks, Cindy!
April 11th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Have I ever mentioned that I want to marry you? Because I do. Many, many times over. Or perhaps you could adopt me? I could be your pet, even. I’m completely house-trained, and can fetch slippers for you, or, you know, spatulas.
Just think about it.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I guess yesterday was a brownie kind of day.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Jen, I want to bake something for a friend and have been thinking of what to bake. I think I’ve just made up my mind!
April 11th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Oh dear…I’ve made and seen some good brownies before but THESE. LOOK. AMAZING!!!
April 11th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Indigo, I’ll certainly take all of that into consideration.
Anna, I guess it was. Great minds, right?
Patricia, I hope you and your friend like the brownies!
Hillary, thanks so much! They are really quite good.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Oh… I haven’t made brownies in a while. Yours look delicious! So crispy on top. Hope mine will still taste ok without any of that premium chocolate!
I love fancy chocolate, but all I have right now is plain ol’.
April 12th, 2008 at 1:22 am
…drooling! These look yummy and the perfect mix of fudgey and squishy.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Sarah, I’m sure they’ll still be delicious with whatever chocolate you have. I think I’m a bit obsessed with all these premium chocolates!
Thanks, Katie! A very apt description.
April 12th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Those are the most perfect brownies I have ever seen! Gorgeous! I’m going to try these out as soon as I can. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect brownie, and I am thinking this is it!
April 12th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
okay, so these are now added to my list of must trys. Besides, I’m also a fan of the just plain brownie. Actually, I think I should just be your taste tester.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Oh … you need to change your tagline, too. You’re no amateur.
April 13th, 2008 at 4:34 am
what a torture is to look at your brownie. It looks fantastic.
April 13th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Ahh those look so good. The perfect chocolate fix. I wanted to get Martha’s new cookie book but I have some of her Christmas cookie magazines that have a lot of those recipes.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Is Martha Stewart up to it again? Wasn’t it a Martha Stewart recipe you shared last that I went crazy for–a combination brownie/cookie? I believe it was the Outrageous Chocolate Cookie recipe, and now double chocolate brownies?! How much more can I bake before I have to break out “the Bean” to help work it all off?
April 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I love a good brownie with a cold glass of milk. This sounds like that kind of brownie. …mmm!
April 14th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I love how rich and almost gooey/creamy these brownies look! This is a great picture, it definitely captures what a classic brownie should look like. I would’ve taken a bite out of it before photographing it too, by the way! Definitely adds to the yumminess
.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Those brownies look nice and moist and dense and good!
April 14th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Yep, thats me! Will be trying most defintely!
April 15th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Those brownies look divine! Wish I could take a bite of my computer screen right now
April 15th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Cafe Johnsonia, thanks! I hope you like them.
Bakerella, I appreciate the compliment. Might I remind you that *you* are the one who appeared on Martha’s show.
Joanna, I certainly don’t mean to torture you! Chocolate is love!!!
Ashley, I think most of that book’s recipes are recycled from other Martha sources, but I like having them all in one place.
Sandie, those cookies were also from Martha. She knows her chocolate!
Gigi, you might be on to something!
Thanks, Sophie! Taking that bite was purely for artistic purposes. Sure, it was.
Thanks, Kevin! They were indeed all of those things.
Sathya, I hope you like them! Let me know what you think.
Thanks, Stacie! Definitely one of my favorite all-chocolate brownies.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I tried making these today – taste was out of this world, texture awesome – but I found that mine turned out a little thinner. I love a thick brownie. Do you think it safe to double the recipe or is that messing with perfection? Love the website!
April 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
So I tried out the recipe today…the taste is out of the world, texture is awesome but mine turned out a little thin. I love a thick brownie. Would doubling the recipe be messing with perfection. I am a big fan of the site.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Laura, did you use a different size pan? I’m not sure why yours would have been thin. I think doubling the recipe would be fine, but you’d definitely have to use a different size pan. Maybe an 8″x 11″ if not a 9″x13″.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
OMG! That looks so moist and decadent!
I’m a certified chocoholic and can never get enough of chocolate.
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:41 pm
TBC, thanks! I don’t think getting enough chocolate is conceivable.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:59 am
PLEASE could we have real quantities, not these vague “cups” and things. How can one possibly measure butter in a cup, even supposing one knew what size cup is meant? Even ounces would be better, at least one could convert to metric. it’s so tantalizing to see all those delicious-looking cakes and biscuits but to be foiled by the way the quantities are given.
September 13th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I made this recipe and i absolutely loved how it came out…. deliceous.
i did combine this recipe with the idea of cooking the brownies in a muffin pan like you did for the peanut butter brownies (mostly cause i was mailing them and i knew if i had the cut them they would crumble)
the brownies did not last long at all in my house so i definately have to make more. I am thinking of piping them into the pan for easier dispensing of the chocolate batter, and i also am thinking of maybe filling them with either a strawberry or orange marmalade
i also really liked the semi cake-ey texture of the batter but it was still moist and delecious!
thank you so much for posting these delecious recipees i absolutely love your blog
ps. if you like my idea of marmalade filling you are more than welcome to take it i do not have a blog or any other way in which so share my ideas.
lastly if you want to make this in the muffin tins i found the time to be aprox. 16 minutes for cook time.
September 13th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Jayme, I’m glad you liked them! I bet the small sized bites of them went really fast. The addition of marmalade sounds interesting! Thanks for the info!
July 29th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
this looks good. haha(: im only** years old!!
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am
Could I make these with regular cocoa powder??
November 24th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Elizabeth, you might be able to substitute regular cocoa powder by adding more baking powder. If you Google for how to adjust the baking powder, you’ll find various suggestions. However, I highly recommend not interchanging the two kinds.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:44 am
Miam, it seems very good, you make me hungry! ^o^
January 27th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
all i can say is: WOW. they are FABULOUS. no joke, go and make them right now. fudgy, rich, chocolate-bliss: i am in heaven.
December 14th, 2011 at 6:06 am
Did you know that I love any brownies without nuts.
May 1st, 2012 at 1:29 am
Nice recipe. I love a simple brownie recipe which is easy for the kids
I also like the below brownie recipe.
http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/perfect-chocolate-brownie-recipe/
Thanks for sharing,
Jane