Brownies Make Everything Better

A best friend will be there for you no matter what. 

No, this is not the start to a Judy Blume novel (side-note, if this was it would be called "Are You There Bartender? I'm the Girl Who Left Behind My Cellphone, Clutch and Dignity Last Night"—and yes Nini, it would be historical fiction because I would never do something that irresponsible). Additional aside. If you're pining for a Judy Blume fix and share my adoration for her, go read this now, think good thoughts for her swift recovery and come back to my post later (I'll understand). 

But in all sincerity, in a crazy world, it's good to know there's someone a phone call away to talk some sense into you (or in Lisa's case, to bake you brownies). 

When you're a few drinks in and lose your footing on U street (I swear that girl pushed me), she's the one who comes to your rescue with a helping hand (and a fresh beverage). She talks you out of calling that boy that broke your heart and talks you into going out with her on a Tuesday when you are on cold meds. She'll bring her mother by your apartment at 10am on a Sunday morning for a tour, and you will return the favor by promptly alerting the mommy-alert system that there is a boy in the picture that someone hasn't heard about... 

She remembers when you learned how to swim, because she was on the kick-board next to you (and probably kicked you in the head), and she forgives you for cutting her bangs (at a rather heinous diagonal) on the day before picture day—no doubt inspired by Iman's sultry sweep on the cover of L.A. Style in April of 1987. 

Cover of L.A. Style, April 1987 

And best of all she will be there for you at a moment's notice (okay maybe it's just because she lives around the corner). 

So when my bff (the one who upon entering my apartment never fails to make a beeline to my freezer for "chocolate morsels") called to say she was standing at a bus-stop in the pouring rain during a tornado warning after a crappy day, you better believe I dropped everything I was doing (reading a Judy Blume book while waiting for the season premiere of The Mindy Project to be uploaded to Hulu), whipped her up a pan of brownies and met her at the bar down the street. 

With no chocolate "morsels" on-hand to make my go-to recipe and a tornado warning still in effect I took to my cupboard and the interwebs for some inspiration. The forks at Epicurious assured me I could in fact undertake brownies with the ingredients I had, but Smitten Kitchen's enthusiasm for this recipe sealed the deal (she had me when she confessed to not knowing if the recipe would work in the microwave because she doesn't have a microwave *swoon*). 

While I may have been swept up in my desire to get to the bar to meet my friends, I followed the directions to a tee. Minus the part where in my haste I forgot to line the pan (whoops). But the brownies accepted my injury with grace and aplomb (I did generously grease the pan with unsalted butter). They may have even better than my go-to recipe which I just realized, I may never have shared with you and lives in a Betty Crocker chocolate cookbook at my parent's house. Blind taste test anyone?

Best Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet

Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks, 5 ounces or 141 grams) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (9 7/8 ounces, 280 grams) sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 7/8 ounces, 82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (mailed from Texas by way of Mexico if you're lucky enough to have an aunt as awesome as my Aunt Sally)
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup (66 grams, 2 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional, I did not use this time around)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Here comes the part I forgot: "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." If you are in the mood to forget this step, feel free spray pan with non-stick butter spray or grease with 1/2 tablespoon butter using a clean paper towel. 

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a saucepan or small pot small enough that the bowl does not touch the bottom of the water, with about 2-3 inches of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pot and set aside until the mixture has cooled slightly. Mine looked perfect even in the absence of a double boiler but Smitten Kitchen cautioned that if "it looks fairly gritty  at this point, don’t fret —it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added." 

Double boiler free since 2003!

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 thoroughly incorporated, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan (or in the case of yours truly, pour into a well greased pan if you're not paying attention to directions).

Unlined but just fine!

Bake until a toothpick poked into the center emerges slightly moist with batter. It took my brownies 25 minutes to set. Let cool completely on a rack. 

If you actually lined the pan (overachiever), at this point you'd lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. 

Finally cut up the brownies (16 or 25 squares or whatever your heart desires), dust them with powdered sugar and deliver to Stoney's before closing time. Take an adorable picture of said bff opening up the tin of brownies capturing the sheer joy and surprise on her face in real-time. Then somehow erase picture between bar and your apartment and frantically call her boyfriend to take another picture so that you can post something first thing in the morning. 

Brownies (like bff's ) always make things better.