Best Cocoa Brownies Recipe Epicuriouscom

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8x8x2" glass baking dish with foil, pressing firmly into pan and leaving a 2" overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray; set baking dish aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let cool slightly. Whisk sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl to combine. Pour butter in a steady stream into dry ingredients, whisking constantly to blend. Whisk in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. Add flour and stir until just combined (do not overmix). Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
• Bake until top begins to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely in pan. Using foil overhang, lift brownie out of pan; transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.

Steps:

• Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. 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. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1⁄4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). 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.
• 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 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
• In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
• Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
• Spray the pan and lining with cooking spray.
• Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water.
• Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth, though it will appear somewhat gritty.
• Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not at all hot.
• Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon.
• Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each one.
• When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well-blended, add the flour and stir until all the streaks of flour disappear, then beat vigorously for 40 more strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
• Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 25 minutes.
• Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Set the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes (it will make for clean cutting of the brownies).
• Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.
• Cut into 16 squares.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F with rack in middle. Lightly grease or butter pan and line with crisscrossed sheets of parchment or foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang.
• Melt chocolate with butter in a large metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove bowl from pan and let cool 5 minutes.
• Add sugar and whisk well.
• Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition, and whisk mixture vigorously until smooth and cohesive.
• Whisk in vanilla and salt.
• Add flour and cocoa and stir with whisk until incorporated and batter is smooth.
• Fold in nuts with a rubber spatula.
• Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until a wooden pick comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
• Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack.
• To remove them easily from the pan, use the parchment overhangs to lift the brownies, still on the parchment, from the pan. Cut brownies into serving pieces.

Steps:

• Get prepared
• Arrange the oven racks so one is in the center position. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper 8 inches wide and 15 to 16 inches long. Lay the paper in the pan so it travels up and over two of the sides. Spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
• Make the batter
• Pour 1 to 2 inches of water into the bottom of a small saucepan and choose a bowl that fits over the saucepan to make a double boiler. Make sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl; if it is, pour some water out. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Unless you are using chocolate chips, roughly chop the chocolate. Put the butter and chocolate into the bowl of the double boiler and melt them, using a heat-proof rubber spatula to stir and scrape down the sides of the bowl so the chocolate doesn't burn.
• Remove the bowl from the double boiler and wipe the bottom of the bowl so no water drips. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk them in. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk until the batter is shiny and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir with a rubber spatula until no flour is visible.
• Bake the brownies
• Using a rubber spatula, transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Use the spatula to smooth out the top of the batter.
• Place the brownies on the center rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool on a cooling rack. The tops will appear dry, but the insides will remain fudgy if you poke the center with a toothpick or cake tester. Holding the sides of the parchment paper, lift the brownies out of the pan and place them on a cutting board. Using a large knife, cut the brownies into 16 equal pieces.
• Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.