Dark Chocolate Brownies

These are our absolute favorite brownies. They are rich and chocolately with a definate bite. Pair them with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce and in you're in for a real treat!

In a large pot over medium heat melt butter, semisweet (the first 12 oz), unsweetened, and bittersweet chocolates.  Stir consistently and don’t leave unattended, chocolate can burn easily. 

When everything is melted remove from heat and cool five minutes or so.

In a separate bowl add eggs, sugar, and vanilla. 

Stir roughly. 

Add to the melted chocolate.  Stir.  Let mixture cool to room temperature about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325. Butter and flour a jellyroll pan. Set aside.

In a separate bowl add 1 ¼ flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir completely to distribute ingredients evenly and to get rid of any lumps of flour.  Set aside. 

In another bowl mix the last 12 oz of the semisweet or milk chocolate chips with the ¼ c flour.  Set aside.  Add the first flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. 

Stir until flour is just incorporated. 

Add the chocolate chip and flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes. 

Open the oven and hit the pan against the oven rack to settle the bubbles.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

The top should be crackly and the middle (1)just set.  Do not (2)overbake!  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Cool completely. 

You can slice and serve at this point or continue on with the glaze.

Melt chocolate in microwave for one minute. Stir and microwave 30-60 seconds more. Add butter and stir until smooth.

Cool until slightly thickened. Spread on brownies.

It will be a very thin layer.

Slice and serve.  Refrigerate extra brownies up to one week.  Freeze up to six months.

Problems

Overbaking - Chocolate is easy to overbake, and it can completely ruin it. When I have overbaked them even slightly they quickly lost their flavor and tasted like a mediocre brownie.

Spilling over the sides - If the oven is too hot the brownies cook too quickly and will spill over the sides. They will also do this if you don't hit the pan against the rack as instructed twenty minutes into baking.

Adding ingredients too early - When preparing the batter follow the instructions exactly. Adding the eggs when the mixture is too hot can cook them too much. Adding the flour too early will produce a denser brownie, and adding the chocolate chips too early will melt them.

Substituting - I was short on unsweetened chocolate once and used the recipe on the cocoa box (a mixture of cocoa and oil) to substitute in. They were awful. I have also made them with salted butter and they just weren't the same.

Brownies

I grouped the ingredients to help avoid confusion and mistakes while making them.

First Bowl
4 sticks (1 lb) unsalted butter
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips (Hersheys)
6 oz unsweetened chocolate (Bakers)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (Ghiradelli)

Second Bowl
6 extra large eggs
2 1/4 c sugar
2 T vanilla

Third Bowl
1 1/4 c (6.4 oz) flour
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 t salt

Fourth Bowl
12 oz semisweet or milk chocolate chips (I prefer semisweet, but both are great)
¼ c(1.4 oz) flour

Glaze
4 T (2 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (Bakers)

Melting
In a large pot over medium heat melt butter, semisweet (the first 12 oz), unsweetened, and bittersweet chocolates.  Stir consistently and don’t leave unattended, chocolate can burn easily.  When everything is melted remove from heat and cool five minutes or so. 

While the chocolate is cooling
In a separate bowl add eggs, sugar, and vanilla.  Stir roughly.  Add to the melted chocolate.  Stir.  Let mixture cool to room temperature about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour a jellyroll pan. Set aside.

While the mixture is cooling
In a separate bowl add 1 ¼ flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir completely to distribute ingredients evenly and to get rid of any lumps of flour.  Set aside.  In another bowl mix the last 12 oz of the semisweet or milk chocolate chips with the ¼ c flour.  Set aside.  Add the first flour mixture to the chocolate mixture.  Stir until flour is just incorporated.  Add the chocolate chip and flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.

Baking and Storing
Pour into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes.  Open the oven and hit the pan against the oven rack to settle the bubbles.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes.  The top should be crackly and the middle (1)just set.  Do not (2)overbake!  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Cool completely. You can slice and serve at this point or continue on with the glaze.

Glaze
This is an unsweetened chocolate glaze giving the brownies a great kick. Make sure the brownies are (3)at room temperature before adding the glaze.
Melt chocolate in microwave for one minute. Stir and microwave 30-60 seconds more. Add butter and stir until smooth. Cool until slightly thickened. Spread on brownies. It will be a very thin layer. Slice and serve.  Refrigerate extra brownies up to one week.  Freeze up to six months

Notes
1. The middle should be solid, but just barely so.  If it is still wobbly after the allotted time, bake an additional 3-5 minutes. 

2. These brownies lose their flavor if even slightly over-baked.  Be careful to avoid this. 

3. If the brownies are hot the glaze will melt into them making them a gooey mess. If the brownies are cold the chocolate will harden too fast and be hard to spread.