Black & Tan Brownies

Oh my, oh my.  I needed a dessert, but I wasn’t feeling too great, so I knew I wasn’t up to being too creative.  There’s where my fav ‘lil baker comes in; let’s here it for the boy:  King Arthur.  King Arthur Flour that is.  It’s my favorite foodie place of all great foodie-love places, and every time I try one of their recipes, it never fails me.  Plus, I’m a sucker for their flours.  I read their catalogs like a 16 y/o male reads Victoria Secret’s catalog.  If only I lived in Vermont and didn’t have to pay shipping costs.  Sigh…  Here is their recipe, but with my tweaks (in red) to change it from KAF’s Fudge Brownies to my Black and Tan Brownies.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1-1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa Black Cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups chocolate chips 12 oz. brick of 36% cocoa, coarsely chopped (pic below)
Homemade caramel sauce (click here for my earlier recipe)

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan

2) In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.  For tan chocolate to show yes, let batter cool.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9″ x 13″ pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

8) Drizzle caramel sauce over brownies.  Now sing its praises!

coarsely chopped chocolate