Sweet (Brownie) Dreams

I rocked the baby to sleep for an extra long time tonight. While adoring her sleeping face, I reflected on how she ate mostly raisins today, repeatedly said, "Thanks you're welcome" when I gave her more raisins and then nibbled on a lapis lazuli colored pencil.

Another part of my brain was thinking about the brownies I had made before dinner. That was when she was reigning free with the colored pencils and learning to write on the wall. (Life is always about trade-offs.)

You'd think that after a week of sneaking mini-Snickers, Reece's and Tootsie Rolls from the 4-year-old's Halloween stash, brownies would be the last thing on my mind. I needed an antidote to all that mediocre milk chocolate, and sixty percent dark chocolate sounded like just the thing. (Is that anything like the "hair of the dog"?)

Since it's a Friday and I wasn't having any wine, I needed some way to celebrate the weekend. (Full disclosure: I'm not drinking because I need to run 20 miles tomorrow, the peak of my training for the Seattle marathon on November 29th--my first and no, I have no idea what I was thinking or if I'll make it.)

Usually I'd go straight to my standard fudgey-cakey brownie recipe adapted from the good folks at King Arthur Flour. Instead, I tested out the famous Baked brownie by way of the Brooklyn bakery and their way-cool cookbook of the same name.

I'll admit that after putting the baby down I didn't stop at 1 brownie serving. But I did learn something about myself: My tastes are more restrained than I thought.

At least when it comes to brownies 11 ounces of dark chocolate is a lot richer than I like. That may explain why I've never abided by chocolate chips in brownies or frosted brownies. Over the top brownies give me a stomach ache.

So, I'm back to my stand-by, and if you like a very moist and tender dark chocolate brownie that's just a little bit reserved, I recommend these to you--no marathon required.

Very Tender Dark Chocolate Brownies
I use Ghirardelli cocoa powder and Sharffen Berger chocolate.
Makes 12

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, cut into 6 pieces
5 ounces good quality dark chocolate
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Grease a 8-inch square baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Set a heat-proof mixing bowl with the butter and chocolate over a pan of simmering water until melted. Whisk in the sugar and let it sit until room temperature.
3. Whisk in the cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder and eggs until well-blended.
4. Fold in the flour and pour in the prepared baking pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.