Fudgy Brownies

My friend asked me to find her a fudgy brownie recipe. She's one of those chocoholics. Searching and testing recipes takes work. The first recipe I tried was made with just cocoa powder and it was a little too cakey for my taste. The second recipe (this one) was WAAAY better. (made with baking chocolate)

When I was starting to cook and bake, one of the first things I tried to do were cookies and of course, brownies. You don't even need too many gadgets to make brownies. You just need a spatula and a bowl. (maybe a whisk too)

FUDGY BROWNIES

You'll need

8 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate (about 1 cup)
1 cup butter             

5 eggs           

3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped walnuts


Frosting: 

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
5 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Place 8 ounces of baking chocolate with 1 cup of butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High until the chocolate is soft and the butter has melted, about 2 minutes. Stir to mix. (make sure you don't over heat the chocolate or this will become bitter. Maybe heat it 20 seconds at a time to make sure you don't burn the chocolate, OR you can melt the chocolate over a vowl of hot water... but this will take a bit longer)

2. Place the eggs, 3 cups of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat in the melted butter-chocolate mixture. Beat in the flour until just combined (do not overmix), and stir in the chopped walnuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. (notes: I usually put wax paper with the edges hanging over the pan before pouring the batter, this way, I can remove the whole brownie easily when it's done)

3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan before frosting.

4. To make frosting, combine 1 1/4 cup of sugar with the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer for 7 minutes without stirring. (its like making caramel)

5. Remove the cream mixture from the heat, and stir in 5 ounces of baking chocolate and 1/2 cup butter, stirring to melt and blend the chocolate. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; whisk until smooth. Place the frosting in the refrigerator and stir every few minutes until the frosting is chilled and thick, about 30 minutes. Frost the cooled brownies, and cut into squares.

The brownies (original recipe) was good even without the frosting. It was chocolatey and fudgy. Really very good. The frosting was kind of too sweet for my taste though. My in laws were diabetic so I tried it a second time using coco sugar (good for diabetics). The said it was not as sweet as the regular brownies. I, however found the texture kind of dense and not as fudgy as when you make them with real sugar. The in-laws loved them. (yey)

For Christmas, this is one you can package and give to friends. They would surely love you for it.