Brownies

There was a time when the word “brownies” did not imply a densely rich chocolate bar. And no, I don’t mean long, long ago when “brownies” meant some sort of mythical garden fairy or little people. I mean not all THAT long ago, when I was younger, when brownies didn’t necessarily involve chocolate.

I don’t mean “blond brownies” either. The brownies of my younger days were a warm, bright brown; not blond but also not the almost-black color of today’s chocolate based brownie. They were nearly as salty as they were sweet. They sometimes had chocolate chips in them, sometimes not. Chocolate was optional.

I remembered them, and I knew I was not making it up. But try to look for a brownie mix nowadays – good luck finding one without a chocolate batter. People seem to assume brownies are chocolate. Then I came across this recipe recently printed by the New York Times.

Vindicated! This is how brownies used to be. The author calls them butterscotch brownies, and we don’t mean those weird little light-brown chips that aren’t chocolate chips, we mean actual browned butter and brown sugar.

Here’s the recipe from the link above. The notes in (parenthesis) are the NYT’s author’s comments, the notes [in italics in brackets] are my own comments from when I made them yesterday.

Turn your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-9-inch pan. (A 9-by-13-inch pan works, too, though the bars will be thinner.) 

In a small saucepan, melt 1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks) [I used salted butter], letting the butter bubble and sizzle away noisily until, all of a sudden, it gets quiet, and you notice the kitchen smells like toasted nuts. The melted butter will look golden brown, and the bottom of the pot may be flecked with darker brown bits. The brown butter is ready. [This process took longer than I expected, but when the butter browned it was very sudden and it was not quiet – it was still cheerfully making boiling noises. It was foamy, and I couldn’t actually see the butter under the foam, but at one point I turned around and saw brownish-orange streaks in the foam and realized the butter was browning.]

Pour it immediately into a large mixing bowl, and add an entire 1-pound box of dark brown sugar (or about 2¼ packed cups). Whisk until smooth, then let the mixture cool for a few minutes, so you don’t curdle the eggs.

Whisk in 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (or a shot of bourbon or espresso) until smooth and glossy. [I used 2 teaspoons vanilla, not 2 tablespoons which I assumed was a misprint, plus I also added 1 tablespoon decaf instant coffee dissolved into 1 tablespoon water.]

Now add the dry ingredients, in this order, whisking between additions: ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and finally, 2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour [you cannot whisk the flour in, you need to change to a spoon or paddle; it gets very thick]. At this point, you could also fold in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup nuts. [I added 1 cup mini chocolate chips.]

Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if you like (I do), and bake until the top is firm, and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges without any wet batter clinging to it. (Crumbs are fine.) This will take 25 to 35 minutes in the 9-by-9-inch pan, and 20 to 30 in the 9-by-13-inch pan. [I did not sprinkle with flaky salt. If you plan to, and you also used salted butter, you will probably want to leave out the ½ teaspoon salt in the batter.]

They’re very rich and decadent! Give them a try!

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