It's good to be home

Though I returned to the East Coast by Tuesday, I spent a few days visiting Philadelphia (not to mention not everyone came back by then either). So when I returned to my little Kips Bay apartment and my friend and cohort Madelyn had returned from her city reprieve in Boston, we rejoiced with the baking of brownies!


I grew up making this brownie recipe since I was maybe 13, still riding my bike to the store to pick up the missing ingredient. I believe it comes from the Mrs. Field's cookbook that mom had in the cookbook shelves of our bookcase. Anyways, as a budding baker, even then I found I could tinker with the parts and give it my own twist.

6oz unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp espresso grounds

1/2 cup AP flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate and butter together, then let cool to room temperature.

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and espresso on low speed until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved and the mixture is smooth.

Add the chocolate/butter mixture to the sugar mixture and combine thoroughly.

Add the flour and mix to combine, careful not to overbeat too much.

Pour batter into a greased baking pan (I like to save the butter wrappers from earlier for this exact purpose) and place into over for 45-55 minutes. A toothpick should insert easily and come out cleanly.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes (I know, brutal) and then enjoy! (we did with ice cream)

In full disclosure, I used to top these bad boys with homemade caramel:
Grr...I cannot seem to locate my original recipe (must be back in cali)
but this is a good approximation:

1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter (melted)
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

Combine ingredients and stir until uniform. Heat until boiling (approx 3 minutes), continuously stirring. Immediately remove from heat, continue to stir. Pour over anything and everything.