Walnut Brownie Squares

I do not like the boxed brownie mix and I always make them from scratch.  I bake brownies a lot and I'm always looking for a good brownie recipe.  Last Sunday, after an endless day doing chores, I was looking for something to satisfy my chocolate craving and this was the cure.

For me, excellent brownies are made with stuff you have around all the time.  What I love about this recipe is that it's cocoa-powder-based instead of melted-chocolate-based, so if you don't have a huge amount of chocolate chips on hand, you can still throw together some brownies.  The recipe turns out great as it is, but I like to make a few small modifications to make it even better.  I usually add about 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter and 2 tbsp of Hershey's chocolate syrup, which enhance the dark chocolate flavor.  Well, getting little pieces of chocolate in your brownie definitely heightens the YUM factor.  I even ate half the pan that night J

This is perfect for a late night chocolate craving and an urge to bake as they go into and out of the oven quickly.  DO NOT over bake!  Be sure to remove these when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, and NOT getting to the point where the toothpick would come out completely clean.  You will have a super fudgy and moist brownies.  The only thing I would change next time is to make a double batch J  Give this recipe a try, and you can impress people by claiming that you even make a 'brownie' from scratch! ◕‿◕

For recipe in Indonesian click HERE

Ingredients:

·         ¾ cup unsalted butter

·         1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

·         ¾  cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·         ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

·         ¼ tsp salt

·         2 tbsp Hershey’s chocolate syrup

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         2 large eggs, chilled

·         1/3 cup all purpose flour

·         1 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).  Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil (or you can use a 9x13 inch).

2.       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.  (You can also melt the butter in microwave)

3.       Remove from heat.  Immediately add sugar, cocoa, salt, chocolate syrup, and vanilla.  Stir to blend.

4.       Let cool for 5 minutes.  Add eggs to 1 ad a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition.  When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended, mix well.  Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.  Transfer batter to prepared pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

5.       Bake  for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean.  Note: Some have found they need to bake an  extra 5-10 minutes, so keep an eye on the doneness of the brownies and use the toothpick test  as your guide.

6.       Cool completely, then remove from pan.  For the cleanest lines when cutting, place into freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.  Cut into squares and serve.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         ¾ cup mentega tawar

·         1 ¼ cups gula pasir

·         ¾ cup coklat bubuk

·         ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

·         ¼ sdt garam

·         2 sdm sirup coklat Hershey's

·         1 sdt ekstrak vanila

·         2 butir telur ukuran besar, dinginkan

·         1/3 cup tepung terigu serbaguna

·         1 cup walnut, cincang kasar

Cara:

1.       Panaskan oven dengan suhu 325 derajat F (160 derajat C).  Siapkan loyang ukuran 8x8-inch  (atau bisa juga ukuran 9x13 inch) yang telah dialasi kertas roti atau aluminium foil. Olesi dengan minyak, sisihkan.

2.       Lelehkan mentega di atas api kecil-sedang.  Biarkan di atas kompor sampai mentega berhenti berbusa dan berwarna kecoklatan tanpa berhenti mengaduk selama sekitar 5 menit.  (Bisa juga dilelehkan dengan menggunakan microwave)

3.       Angkat.  Segera tambahkan gula pasir, bubuk coklat, garam, sirup coklat, dan vanilla. Aduk rata.

4.       Biarkan dingin selama 5 menit.  Tambahkan telur satu per satu, aduk dengan kuat hingga bercampur. Ketika adonan mulai kental, mengilap dan bercampur rata, masukkan terigu dan aduk sampai betul-betul bercampur.  Tambahkan walnut dan chocolate chips.  Tuang ke dalam loyang yang telah disiapkan, taburi permukaan dengan chocolate chips.

5.       Panggang selama 30 menit dan lalukan tes tusuk. Catatan: Beberapa orang memerlukan waktu memanggang 5-10 menit lebih lama, jadi perhatikan tingkat kematangan brownies Anda dan gunakan tes tusuk sebagai penunjuk.

6.       Dinginkan, keluarkan dari loyang.  Untuk mendapatkan irisan yang rapi, masukkan brownies ke dalam freezer selama 10 menit.  Potong sesuai selera dan sajikan.