super bowl - ina garten's "outrageous brownies" - the name doesn't do the brownies justice

Back in October when I first started learning how to cook/bake, I bought a box of Duncan Hines Brownie Mix (yes, I used to consider that baking) to make something special for my boyfriend. I baked the brownies in a glass pyrex (second mistake; the first one being that I used a box brownie mix in the first place), and then I cut them into football shapes with a knife (third mistake- they looked horrible). I then got a can of Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting (fourth mistake) and piped the laces for the footballs. I know- it was a valiant effort on my behalf to create such a cute little surprise for my boyfriend while he watched Sunday Football. But- it just will not do for me now. As the date of the Super Bowl approached, I knew I had to redeem myself.


I have read such great things of Ina Garten's "Outrageous Brownies" all over the Internet. I was so intrigued because first of all I love Ina, and second of all, the photos looked delicious. As I read through the ingredients for the recipe, I was startled to see I needed 1 pound of butter and more than 2 pounds of chocolate. I mean, that does sound delicious and all, but definitely a tad bit fattening. Luckily for me, I noticed that it was for a 18x12 inch pan (which is huge, by the way, and also only sold at specialty stores so I don't even own one), so I decided to halve it and put it in my 9x13 inch pan.


The directions said to use a double boiler to melt the butter and chocolate. Okay- too bad I don't own a double boiler. I went to look for my 9-inch pyrex dish to place over a pot, but then I realized my friend still has it from the time I made him the pumpkin pie. The next best thing I had was a loaf size pyrex (which I do not recommend using because it does not fit and it will take forever).


Because the pyrex didn't completely cover the circumference of the pot, it took forever to melt everything. And reminder for next time- chop up the Baker's chocolate. By the time the butter melted with the chocolate chips, the 1 ounce chocolate squares were still in the same shape.


Meanwhile, I prepared the rest of the ingredients. Once the chocolate was melted (more than a freakin' half an hour), I mixed everything, then added the semi-sweet choclate chips and the white chocolate chips (not in the recipe- but we knew I would for my boyfriend).


The house filled with the delectable aromatic smell of chocolate and at that point I knew these were going to be delicious.


While cutting out the football shapes, I allowed myself to eat a few piece of the scraps. (Okay- maybe a little bit more than a few scraps).


I decorated them with the cream cheese icing I used for the (also) football shaped Brown Sugar cookies.


I was curious as to see what my boyfriend would think of these brownies. I obviously didn't bake them for him, it was more so for myself. Remember, he "doesn't like chocolaty things", and trust me- these couldn't get any more chocolaty if I tried.


Ughh- the little scraps I had earlier just wasn't satisfying enough. I knew I had to have an entire piece of brownie (or two) for myself to taste. I mean- look how thick and moist and enticing these bad boys look.


I don't think I even need to answer if I liked these or not- it's a given. These were beyond delicious- the most scrumptious and heavenly piece of yumminess I have ever tasted- I don't even think the word "outrageous" does it justice.


And guess what- my so called "chocolate-hating" boyfriend loved them just as much as I did. (Not to mention everyone else who tasted these.)


The entire batch was gone by the next day and I can proudly say that I will break my rule of baking things twice, just so I can get to taste these divine brownies yet again. (P.S.- I love you Ina Garten.)

---RECIPE---
Taken from Ina Garten.

ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound + 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts (omitted, I didn't want them to mess up the football shapes)

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet (I halved the recipe and used a 9x13 inch pan. I also used parchment paper so I could just lift the brownies straight out of the pan).
3. Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough (weird, but I did it anyways). Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

amount:
Makes 20 large brownie squares.

cream cheese icing:
See my football shaped Brown Sugar cookies for the recipe.

first attempts/projects

Compilation of my previous tries. These are from September-October. I’d say these were valiant efforts (:


Nostalgia- The first night I cooked dinner for my boyfriend, which brought me this strange enjoyment from cooking. So I guess I could blame this weird obsession I now have with cooking, on this fateful night.


Appetizer:
Pesto, garlic, butter toasted baguette.
Homemade ravioli (by homemade I mean dry won ton wrappers counts) stuffed with ricotta cheese, pesto, and mozzarella cheese.
Entree:
Pesto rotini with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
Ricotta and pesto stuffed chicken breasts, breaded and fried, topped with slices of mozzarella cheese.
Dessert:
Cookies from Dunkin Donuts (lol) because I got too tired to bake.
PS- Can you tell I’m a fan of pesto?


Pecan pie I made for my boyfriend. It turned out quite good. The only suggestion I got was to make more filling on the bottom with a layer of pecans at the top, opposed to mixing it all together. Simple fix.


Breakfast I made for my boyfriend (missing the actual breakfast part lol). It included: Scrambled eggs with cream cheese and fried hot dogs, cream cheese stuffed french toast, blueberry cream cheese muffins, football shaped brownies (fudge brownies with white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, walnuts, covered in chocolate icing with cream cheese frosting lining for the footballs).
-Once again, notice my affinity to cream cheese?


Delicious cookie I must say. These disappeared within a short amount of time. Semi-sweet chocolate chips with white chocolate chips in a chewy soft cookie. (I’m still on the quest for the perfect cookie- coming soon).


My boyfriend insisted I make him cookies with his two favorite things: white chocolate chips and coconut. I told him that the batter might not come out as well, because of the massive amount of coconut he wanted and because he didn't have any baking soda in his house. Needless to say, we worked our way around it, and came up with this beauty. It was actually very good, but a little too sweet for my taste. Based on the Cook's Illustrated cookie.


My first attempt at apple pie. It probably would have came out better if my boyfriend and I had some restraints on ourselves and waited the few hours of "setting" time the recipe stated. The second we cut into the freshly warm pie, oozing deliciousness of the apple pie filling seeped out, thus not allowing for proper "setting" time. Next time I’ll hold myself back. It was still good though, as long as it was microwaved and had a massive amount of vanilla ice cream along side.


Pate choux! A lot easier than it seems. Unfortunately I didn't manage to take a picture with them filled. They were pretty good, although next time I’ll make them a bit more rounded.