Best-ever Brownies From Baking With Julia Child

Total Time: 37 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 22 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 18
• 1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature

Recipe

• 1 center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. i bake them at a lower oven temp of 330°.
• 2 sift the flour and salt together; set aside.
• 3 melt the butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently and keeping a watchful eye on the pot to make certain the chocolate doesn't scorch (alternatively, you can melt the ingredients in the top of a double boiler over, not touching, simmering water.) add 1 cup of the sugar to the mixture and stir for half a minute, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• 4 pour the mixture into a large bowl.
• 5 put the remaining 1 cup sugar and the eggs into a bowl and mix or whisk by hand just to combine.
• 6 little by little, pour half of the sugar and eggs into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently but constantly with a rubber spatula so that the eggs don't set from the heat.
• 7 fit the whisk attachment to the mixer and whip the remaining sugar and eggs until they are thick, pale, and doubled in volume, about 3 minutes.
• 8 using the rubber spatula, delicately fold the whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture.
• 9 when the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.
• 10 pour and scrape the batter in to an unbuttered 9-inch square pan.
• 11 bake the brownies for 22-26 minutes, during which time they will rise a little and the top will turn dark and dry.
• 12 cut into the center at about the 22-minute mark to see how the brownies are progressing: they'll be perfect if they're just barely set and still pretty gooey.
• 13 they're still awfully good on the other side of set, so don't worry if you miss the moment on your first try.
• 14 cool the brownies in the pan on a rack.