25 April 2008

rendezvous at midnight brownies •




Maybe it was the weather; the thunderstorms that rocked the house at 3:00 a.m. and woke me up. Maybe it was the fact that it was still raining this morning, and that the temperature outside was warmer than inside our home. Or that I had to take a darling to the doctor...again. Maybe it was the $400.00 bill down at Joe’s Auto Repair waiting for me. For whatever reason I needed something chocolate...and fast! I initially thought I would bake a batch of peanut butter brownies. As I pulled out the ingredients, however, the chill of the house really started to get me down. I changed my mind midstream, dreaming of warmer spices and heat. So I came up with this recipe—dark, seductive, and subtly spicy. Just like a rendzvous at midnight.

Rendezvous at Midnight Brownies •

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a microwaveable bowl melt together:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Hershey’s® Cocoa Special Dark

Microwave on high for one minute, stir and set aside to finish melting. After this mixture cools down a bit, mix in 1 cup wet okara* (this is referring to the okara straight from your machine), 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 teaspoons chipolte pepper in adobo sauce (smooshed well with a fork). Is that a cooking term, “smooshed”?

In a large mixing bowl sift together:

1 cup white unbleached flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sweetened whipped cream and chili powder for garnish (optional)

Add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing well. Spread into a foil lined (grease the foil) 8" x 8" square baking pan. Bake for approximately 35 - 40 minutes. Do not overbake! Cool completely before removing the foil and cutting into small squares. Split brownies in half and spread a layer of whipped cream in-between layers. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top and sprinkle with chili powder.  

*Note: You can substitute 2 large eggs, beaten, for the wet okara.

10 comments:

grace said...

first of all, i love cinnamon in my brownies!
secondly, wowza. dark doesn't even begin to describe that hunk of deliciousness. i'll bet one of those puppies could improve even the worst day. :)

Pixie said...

I feel like I've died and gone to chocolaty heaven. You are quite a baker!

Elle said...

Oh how you torture me! Those look fantastic!

Emily said...

Oooh, I love that name. So creative! And mysterious.

They look very tasty. Chocolate comforts me too. I can't go without it.

Lidian said...

Those sound fantastic - love the cinnamon and spiciness and all the chocolates, yum!

Anonymous said...

Definitely sounds comforting and these brownies sound awfully good, too -- cinnamon always wins me over! Thanks!

Sarah said...

After all that, you definitely earned the right to veg out and eat some delicious homemade brownies! If this interests you, try eating one straight from the freezer. That's how I like my brownies...they're not too hard, but the cold really brings out the flavors. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Tempered Woman said...

wow~ if these brownies and my cupcakes got together, we'd have little baby desserts all OVER the place. heh
What is up with food bloogers and their sexy desserts? Maybe we should try cooling off our kitchens or soemthing. ;-)

toontz said...

Grace, Pixie, Elle, Emiline, Lidian, jj, Sarah, Tempered Woman: Thank you for your comments. They were delicious and very dark chocolatey. Next time I will wait until the house is empty so I will get more than one!!

Unknown said...

Just thought I would let you know, I made these brownies yesterday and WOWZA! Chocolatey goodness!

I think I was a little too heavy handed with the chipotles though ("Two peppers, hmm that looks like about two teaspoons"...umm, not), when you take a bite of my brownie, chili heat rises up through your nose!

I found I didnt even need to grease the foil/pan because the butter took care of any stickage.

Thank you, thank you! This weeks okara buildup has been conquered!