Once Upon a Brownie – Chapter 1

My mother, a business woman, rarely baked, but when she did, I remember her throwing together the brownie recipe from the Mystery Chef Cookbook. As a matter of fact, that was her turn-to cookbook on the rare occasions that she did bake and, although I did have to watch how many I ate. My yearbook quote at high school was: "she can resist anything but temptation". I did love those brownies downed with a tall glass of milk. Overtime, however, I decided that a brownie needed to be a little less sweet and more chocolatey. Over time, I revised the recipe until it got to where it is at Rosie's. Little did I know that my brownie exploration would evolve many different recipes over the years.

Rosie's Award-Winning Brownies

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/12 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus tablespoons chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan with butter or vegetable oil.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Cool the mixture for 5 minutes.
3. Place the sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix until blended, about 25 seconds. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition until the yolk is broken and dispersed, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl after the last egg and blend until velvety, about 15 more seconds.
5. Add the flour on low seed and mix for 20 seconds; finish the mixing by hand, being certain to mix any flour at the bottom of the bowl. Stire in 1/2 cup of the nuts.
6. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of nuts over the top.
7. Bake the brownies on the center oven rack until a thin crust forms on the top and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a moist crumb, 25 to 30 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a rack to cool for 1 hour before cutting the brownies. Serve the next day (it takes a day for the flavor to set) and don't forget the tall glass of milk.

Makes 9 to 12 brownies