The South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors made the Best Cocoa Brownies for sales in a Christmas craft fair hosted at the South Arm Community Center. The proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Richmond Food Bank. It is a good course for the Senior Kitchen.
This Best Cocoa Brownies are not the dense type. It is light and cakey. The aroma of cocoa fills the kitchen when the brownies are being bake.
While there were 3 pairs of people working on the brownies, 2 other members made a Butternut Squash Apple Soup for lunch. Charlene also brought some bread to go with soup.
During lunch, we had an apple tasting and apple guessing game. It’s a fun way to know our apples. I can only distinguish Gala and Granny Smith. Can you name the apples above?
Click on the images above to review the name of the apples.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cold large eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
This recipe is taken from Alice Medrich and it makes 16 2-inch brownies.
Instructions
 Position the rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhanging on tow opposite sides for easy removal later.Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. |
 Set the bowl in a pot of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the pot and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.You can also microwave the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a microwave at interval of 30 seconds each time until the butter and sugar is melted. Stir at each interval. |
 Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. |
 When the butter looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in nuts, if using. |
 Spread evenly in the lined pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist with batter.Let cool completely on a rack.Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. |
Great post guys!! The brownies look divine.
have you tried using Pure Vanilla extract? I’m not sure if you used the artificial kind, but it might make a slight difference if you use the pure kind.
The batter looks so amazing, rich, and glossy!
Friends don’t let friends use artificial vanilla…. you can get real vanilla very cheap at Costco. If you are taking the trouble to bake, I wouldn’t use the fake-food variety.
If you want to lower the fat, you can substitute 1/2 of the volume of butter with a cooked, pureed sweet fruit or vegetable like apples, sweet potatoes or raisins. Brownies are so chocolatey that no one can tell that it contains the fruit. You can also sub whole wheat pastry flour (Red Mill makes this) for the white and no one will know either.
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