sprinklefingers

did you read yesterday’s post?

a ‘recipe’ for brownies where you use a mix, throw out part of the mix, add in other ingredients and then call the brownies healthy. i don’t get it. why do all of that when you can make real brownies from natural ingredients in the same amount of time?

here’s my advice to you:

don’t buy boxed brownie mix. don’t mix other stuff in brownie mix and say it’s healthy. because it’s not. it’s not.

why? well, first of all, read the ingredient label from a box of brownie mix. taking away half of that mix and substituting in wheat germ or pureed blueberries is not going to make up for the fact that most of the mix is made up of ingredients developed in a chemistry lab.

second of all, you’d be better off to steer clear of all those chemicals and just eat one (or two) real, true, satisfying brownies. sugar. butter. cocoa. salt. baking powder. vanilla. eggs. flour. literally almost as simple as dumping them all in a bowl and mixing them up.

i realize having a 9x13 pan of brownies hanging out on the kitchen counter is difficult for most people. if you’re like me, the entire pan is gone in a matter of hours. i get it. BELIEVE ME, i get it.

but using weird methods to make your brownies ‘healthier’ just so you can eat the whole pan and feel less guilty is, well, complete and total bullshit. you are only fooling yourself.

so, in the interest of cutting out some of the bullshit, i’ve developed a plan. a brownie plan. it involves real ingredients. it involves portion control. it involves your freezer.

interested? read on…

basic brownies

• 15.5 oz granulated sugar
• 8 oz (two sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 3/4 oz cocoa powder
• 1 t salt (you can use fancier salt here like, say, grey sea salt, for great results.)
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t instant espresso powder (optional, but adds great depth of flavor.)
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 6 oz flour

1. melt the butter in a larger saucepan over medium heat. do not let it bubble.
2. once melted, add the sugar. let the two hang out while you stir until they form a shiny looking mixture. you don’t want it to bubble, instead, you want to whip it off the heat as soon as it warns you it’s about to bubble. this step will take only a few minutes and is easier than it sounds. you’re basically melting butter, stirring in sugar and letting the two cook until it ALMOST bubbles around the edges. two minutes-ish.
3. remove pot from heat and add cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder (if using) and vanilla. stir until combined.
4. add all 4 eggs. stir until the eggs disappear.
5. stir in flour until it disappears.
6. now you have brownie batter.

when i tested this recipe & method out, it took me just under 11 minutes to make the batter. and i made it while wrapping up dinner time for the family, tracking down favorite stuffed animals for the kid and answering questions about work. a lot less time than it would have taken me to throw out half a box of brownie mix and add in wheat germ and pureed blueberries.

now that you’ve got your batter, here’s what i want you to do with it.

get out a muffin tin. line the cavities with paper liners. using a 2 oz scoop or commercial disher, fill each cavity with brownie batter. (be sure to use a flat scoop, not a rounded scoop - meaning, scrape the top of the batter off the scoop on the side of the pan - and do it for every scoop - so that your brownies are uniform in size.)



next, take a piece of plastic wrap and tightly cover the top of the muffin tin. if it’s tight enough, it should not dip down and touch the batter in the cups.

next, put this tray in your freezer for 24 hours. once the cups of batter are completely frozen, remove them from the muffin tin and carefully store in either a freezer container or freezer bag.

when the brownie cravings hit, remove one (or two) frozen brownie cups from the freezer and plop them into your muffin tin. bake at 350 for 30 minutes, checking on them at 25 minutes and perhaps testing with a toothpick for doneness. you want a few moist crumbs on the pick. because you’re starting from frozen, it may take a bit over 30 minutes for your brownies to bake.

so, there you have it. real brownies with real ingredients. AND a way to force yourself into portion control. please do not ever let me hear (ever again) of you adding ‘purple puree’ to partially hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup to make a ‘healthy’ end product. ever. again.

you can thank me later.