Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Max Brenner’s new book, Chocolate: A Love Story. Having enjoyed visiting one of his shops in New York, I was anxious to try out some recipes. Actually titled “A philosophical highly concentrated fudge brownie,” this chocolate extravagance cried out from the book’s pages to be made as soon as possible. Who am I to argue?
I’ve never understood why most brownie recipes are made in a tiny square pan. They’re brownies. Less is definitely not more. I am proud to say that these aren’t made in one of those small pans or even in a 9”x 13” pan. No, they’re made in a nice, big half sheet pan. That, my friends, is how brownies should be made.
Take the size of that pan into consideration when you read through the recipe. Don’t panic. Sure, it has two pounds of chocolate (I highly recommend Guittard’s 72% bittersweet chocolate) and a couple of sticks of butter, but the end result is a gigantic pan of brownies destined to make everyone you share them with your new best friend. I took the majority of these to work, where they were thoroughly enjoyed. Be warned that these are very rich – quite the adult brownie.
My only alteration to the recipe was using pecans instead of walnuts. First of all, I adore pecans. Secondly, walnuts? Ew. I’m sure there are some of you who have no objection to walnuts, so go right ahead and use them. Or, use hazelnuts or whatever kind of nut you prefer.
It is recommended that these be refrigerated overnight before cutting and serving. That definitely helped the firmness of these extra-fudgy brownies and made the cutting much simpler. So, don’t give in to your impatience and eat them as soon as they come out of the oven.
I feel confident that this is the first of many recipes I’ll try from this book. There are cakes and cookies and puddings and such that are already bookmarked for future baking. I just so happen to have an extra copy of this book that I would love to send to one of you lovely readers. If you’re interested and live in the U.S., just leave a comment on this post between now and Tuesday, November 10, 10am CST. I’ll pick one of your comments at random and send it your way!
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November 7th, 2009 at 10:13 am
pls random # generator, choose me. I love chocolate and 9 times out of 10 when I bake, it’s chocolate something. And never doubt your judgement in the debate over pecans or walnuts. Pecans win that one hands down! thanks for the opportunity, karen
November 7th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Yum City! I went to Max Brenner’s once… DIVINE! (Pick me, por favor! I’ll put this cookbook to good use!)
November 7th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Swoon! I love me some chocolate brownies. Heck, I love me some chocolate. Period.
November 7th, 2009 at 11:37 am
oh, my. Those look absolutely delicious!
November 7th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
The brownies look great– yummy
November 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Max Brenner is amazing and I didn’t even know he had a book out. I would absolutely love to win this book. Your blog is also truly awesome. I love what you write and your photographs are great.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I love chocolate and I love books. Unfortunately the random number generator usually hates me
November 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
The brownies look amazing.
November 7th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Ooohhh.. a half-sheet of brownies, that’s just right! I’ll have to try them side by side with the Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies.
Thanks for posting this,
Babette
November 7th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
wow… that looks good!!!
November 7th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
An adult brownie is something I could love. I have never seen a brownie recipe with cream!
November 7th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
What’s not to love! I’m a pecan fan is well. Perhaps it’s my Texas roots!
November 8th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Those look sooo good.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:26 am
omg i want this book so badly!
November 8th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Mmmm, brownies! One of my favorite treats! I kind of like pecans better, too. Another fun, yummy book I need!
November 8th, 2009 at 7:15 am
I am always looking for the perfect brownie. This may be the one!
November 8th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I have never been fortunate to visit Max Brenner’s but all the treats I make have some chocolate components so I would LOVE to win his book!
Thanks for a great blog- keep up the good work!
November 8th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Can’t wait to try the brownies and hopefully a few more recipes when I win!
November 8th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Hhmmm I had never thought about baking brownies in a huge pan before – what a great idea! They look delicious, and I can’t wait to bake them.
November 8th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
These look so delicious! Would love to see what other treats are in the cookbook.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Those look incredible. The only problem with a half-sheet pan of brownies is that I would probably eat the whole pan myself. I adore brownies.
P.S. I usually don’t comment unless I have tried the recipe, but I want that book!
November 8th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I’ve never had good luck with brownies, they almost always stick to the plan but I am definentally going to try these because they dont bake in a typical brownie pan!!
check out my blog cookteen.blogspot.com
with love and cupcakes,
cookteen
November 8th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I visit your blog to drool every so often. Sadly I rarely get sugar or treats but when I do…..they are Bake/Break worthy.
Great blog!
B
November 8th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
These look phenomenal (and I concur with the choice to use pecans!) I’ll be waiting with bated breath to hear the verdict about the extra cookbook.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
These look fab! Would chocolate chips instead of nuts be overkill?! ; )
November 8th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
These look wonderful! Would love to see what cakes are in the book too.
November 8th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
2 pounds of chocolate, really? Wow. That’s intense. What do you like about Guittard’s 72% bittersweet chocolate versus other brands? Have you tried many in your search for the best baking chocolate? I never know what to buy and whenever I venture outside of the normal Baker’s Chocolate or Nestle morsels that my mom uses, things don’t turn out as well. I’ve tried Valrhona and didn’t like it much. I’d love to hear your opinion on the subject, thanks! =)
November 8th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
aylin, I’ve tried many chocolates, but I just like the taste of Guittard. It’s a personal preference, I suppose. The best advise I can give you is just to try different ones until you find what you like. Then, try some more! I love trying out different brands. You never know when you’ll find something fabulous.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
These brownies sound divine. Can’t wait to try them!
November 8th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Delish!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:12 am
I love fudgy brownies! I haven’t made them in a while so I might actually make these soon.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Those look awesome. I don’t think I do the overnight waiting though!
November 9th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Ooh, I’d love to own that book! Just in time for holiday baking
mrgxfincher@gmail.com
November 9th, 2009 at 9:53 am
This would be an awesome book for holiday treats!
November 9th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Mmmmm brownies….
November 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
OOh pick me!! Sounds amazing, and delicious!!
November 9th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I would love a copy! Yum! Those brownies look amazing, and I just happen to have a half sheet cake pan waiting around to get some use…
November 9th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I’ve been looking for the perfect brownie recipe for my holiday gift baskets… definitely think I just found it. Thanks!
November 9th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Um….shyeah!! memememememe ME ME ME!
November 9th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I love brownies, but I will admit that I’ve never made THAT many at once! However, one can never have enough dessert!
November 9th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Oh sweet baby Jesus. These look fantastic! Always love seeing what recipes come out of your kitchen.
November 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
For something as decadent as these, I’d bet that even a small batch would still be enough! But more is always better.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Brownies! Don’t know if I’d have the willpower to give them away.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I’d love to win, I’m such a fan of the shop and would love to try this cookbook
November 10th, 2009 at 5:59 am
I too would love to win. I love the shop and would love to try my hand at the recipes.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:23 am
Yay more brownies! I have you to credit for starting to make brownies from scratch! My husband is a huge fan of the dense fudgy brownies, so he’d love these.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Sounds wonderful! I might have to make these for our playgroup gathering this week!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Yum! These look great! Thank you!
November 10th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Oh my are these ever calling my name!
November 10th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I’d love to sink my teeth into one (or four) of those!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Those look fabulous! I may be making them this weekend!!!
November 12th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Those look so good!
November 12th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
And the winner is… Lili! This fun, yummy book will be on its way to you soon. Congratulations!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
These sound like they’d be the perfect brownie to crumble over vanilla ice cream…yummmy!
November 15th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
These brownies look wonderful. I am just wondering what kind of chocolate to get. Baking bars now come in a 4 oz. size, so I would have to get eight of them at $2.24 a piece (Walmart). Pretty steep for a pan of brownies, even though they sound like they would be worth it. Can I use dark chocolate chips? Nestle Toll House chips? Giradelli chips? No grocery store around my area carries Gittard. Where do you buy that from? Thanks for any help you can give. I would love to make these for Thanksgiving
November 15th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Wow does that look good. Is it possible to get the recipe because Id love to use it in my San Francisco catering business
November 15th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Wow does that look good. Is it possible to get the recipe because Id love to use it in my San Francisco catering business.
November 15th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
If there is a Whole Foods in San Francisco, they sell chocolate in 8 oz.bars and sometimes they are larger. Much better than 4 oz. bars and I would imagine there must be other markets selling the larger sized bars of chocolate – they are not marked “baking chocolate” but are semi-sweet, bitter-sweet and even unsweetened.
Now to find a copy of Max Brenner’s book and try the brownies – truth to tell I will only bake half a recipe which should be just fine for this brownie-freak.
I just found this site by googling Adult Brownies and I am so happy to have found it. Sounds very interesting to this NYC exile in NC.
November 15th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Valerie, of those you mentioned, I’d recommend Ghirardelli, but any dark chocolate should do. You can get Guittard chocolate at World Market. Someone has told me they buy it at Sam’s, but I never have. You can also buy it directly from Guittard as well as some other online places. Just Google it!
November 16th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I could not agree more with your opinion of a small pan of brownies, say 8×8 or 9×9, I always, always double that kind of recipe. We at the Palmer household almost never make a single batch of anything, even if we have never tried the recipe before, I suspect this would be the exception.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I tried these the other day and they were fantastic. I’m from Sydney, Australia and we have Max Brenner’s everywhere, but I didn’t know he had a book out!
November 20th, 2009 at 4:44 am
It is really more like a brownie. I am addicted and get this all the time. Brownies are my fave dessert and I can’t find good ones anywhere so I usually just bake them myself.
Regards,
November 21st, 2009 at 6:31 am
Jennifer, I made a batch of these last night for our Ole Miss tailgate today. I just finished cutting them into squares and of course, had to try one…for breakfast, y’know!
Divine!
I used walnuts, because Jeff doesn’t like pecans (yes, I don’t know how that happened, him being a southern boy and all) and thought the walnuts were pretty good. I think I’ll make another batch closer to Christmas and use pecans.
As for chocolate, since I didn’t have time for a trip to Tupelo, I used Hageland’s Belgian dark chocolate, which our Walmart Supercenter carries in 14 ounce blocks. This is only a 53% dark chocolate, but I thought it turned out good.
November 21st, 2009 at 8:12 am
Fudge brownies are the best…..:)mmmmm off to the kitchen I go….
Love your photos…
November 28th, 2009 at 3:10 am
Wow! these brownies look soooooo yummmy and sooooo tempting…
November 29th, 2009 at 8:40 am
These brownies look great!! YOu’re right, brownies must be made in larger pans!!
November 30th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Oh my! These are perfect!
December 1st, 2009 at 3:48 am
I love brownies..and these brownies looks so delicious! Yum, yum, yum!
December 1st, 2009 at 12:54 pm
No se hablar en Inglés. Te puedo decir en mi idioma que tus recetas son deliciosas y que me encanta tu blog. Un saludo desde España.
December 5th, 2009 at 8:38 am
These brownies look delicious!