My dad was complaining this weekend about the lack of junk food in the house. The thing is, whenever I bake, I give away all of it. I don't let it sit in the house because if I did, I'd probably be quadruple my size. We try not to keep sweet things in the pantry since everyone in my family (with the exception of my father) has willpower the size of a flea's heart (Although if you want to get specific, flea's don't have a true heart because they have an open circulatory system. Also they don't have lungs, they breathe through these pores in their body called spiracles where the air then travels through their tracheal system and directly to their body cells - its so weird)
But I decided I wanted to indulge my dad, partially because I've had this new revelation that I should try and make as many people happy as possible in any given day, and partially because I was exhausted from college apps and wanted to give my fried brain a breather. Baking was my chance to recuperate, as per usual.
Usually when I make brownies, I do it straight from the mix, so this was my first time trying to make them from scratch. The ones I make from the mix are pretty darn amazing and I was a bit reluctant to try something new. I was certain I wanted to add alcohol (its my dad I was baking for - no brainer) so I did a combination of coffee flavored liqueur and whiskey. Also I upped the amount of chocolate added and reduced the amount of eggs by 1. (more eggs = cake like brownie, less eggs = dense, fudgy brownie)
The result: a rich, illegally chocolatey brownie with just enough bitterness to leave you wanting more. The whiskey flavor was quite strong so if you're not a fan of the taste of alcohol, I suggest cutting down on the amount. But don't forgo the coffee liqueur! It compliments the chocolate in a way that you have to try. My dad - who likes very few things I make - was pretty enthusiastic in his response and the friends I fed it to the next day in school were raving about them too! Even I, who swore the only brownies I would ever like would be the ones from the Costco triple chocolate chunk mix, was speechless after tasting these.
Sometimes, the things you make come out mediocre. But sometimes they come out astoundingly delicious and irresistible and THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES.
Some comments :
- Chopped pecans are hard to roast. Some pieces are smaller than others, and therefore roast quicker. So make sure you always have your eye on them when they're on the flame!
- Let the brownies chill for a sufficient amount of time before cutting. They're so dense and gooey that half of the brownie will stick to your knife if you try and cut them hot. Believe me, I've tried. I'm not the patient type.
- Alcohol cooks off when you bake it so no worries!
1 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 tsp espresso powder
1 cup chocolate (in fine pieces, or chips)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup kahlua
1/4 cup whiskey
2 eggs (if you like cakey brownies, add another egg for a total of 3 eggs)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Roast pecans in a small pan - and careful not to burn them!
- In a small saucepan, on medium heat, melt the stick of butter and add espresso powder.
- Mix in the chocolate chips and combine until smooth. Take the pan off the heat
- Stir in brown and white sugar - the mixture should become grainy.
- Once the mixture is lukewarm to the touch, add the kahlua, whiskey, and eggs. Incorporate thoroughly
- In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
- To the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients from the saucepan. Make sure you properly work the wet ingredients into the dry ones until there are no flour clumps visible.
- Add 1 cup of the roasted pecans.
- Pour batter into sprayed baking pan (8 x 9 approx)
- Bake for 25 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted into the center
- Let cool for 1 hour before cutting - otherwise your brownies will fall apart!