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Brownie stack with crunchy crackly top and fudgy center

Brownies with a Shiny Crackly Top and Fudgy Inside

BurntPorkChops.com
Spend some time beating the eggs into creamed butter and sugar. Add the beautifully melted chocolate. Sift in the dry ingredients, stir, plop into a prepared dish and bake. 
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 1 c sugar (200 grams)
  • 1/2 cup + 2 T unsalted room temperature butter
  • 3 large room temperature eggs
  • 1 generous tsp vanilla extract or scrapings from one vanilla bean
  • 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels
  • 3 T cocoa nibs (they won't melt)
  • 2/3 c all-purpose flour (80 grams)
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

For Brownies just tinged with orange flavor

  • 2 "slices" of a milk chocolate orange (1/2 oz orange flavored chocolate)
  • 1 - 2 drops essential orange oil

Instructions
 

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8 x 8 x 2-inch pan or an 11-inch tart pan. Depends on how thick you like your brownies and whether or not you want the fluted edge that comes with the tart pan.
  • Combine the flour, cocoa, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
  • Cream the room temperature butter and sugar for at least 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. If you have a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
  • Change to the whisk attachment, add the 3 room temperature eggs all at once along with the vanilla and whisk on high 5 - 7 minutes until the mixture gets very fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
  • Melt the chocolate gently while the mixer is whisking the eggs. As Mary Berry of the Great British Baking Show says "Chocolate melts in a child's pocket." Bring an inch or so of water to boil in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and put the morsels in a cereal bowl over the hot water. Let the steam/heat melt the chocolate. Stir as needed. Add the 3 T of cocoa nibs to the melted chocolate. Cocoa nibs don't melt.
  • With the mixer running, add the melted chocolate to the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla mixture in 3 - 4 big spoonfuls. Continue to beat with the whisk attachment until it is thoroughly combined, light brown and delightfully fluffy/marshmellowy. This does not take long.
  • Stop the mixer and sift the flour, cocoa, and salt into the creamed mixture. Remove whisk attachment and stir in the dry ingredients by hand. Stop when no white flour clumps remain. It only takes a few turns. 
  • Pour batter into prepared dish and spread it evenly with a spatula. Encourage the cracks by drawing the spatula across the batter in a wavy, side-to-side and top-to-bottom continuous line. Bake 30 - 40 minutes at 350. Let it cool completely before removing from the pan. The top will get shiny, puff up and crack in the oven, it sinks when it cools, creating more cracks.
  • if desired, serve with chilled raspberry sauce and a few fresh raspberries. 
    Stack of brownies with fresh raspberry sauce
  • If using the orange chocolate, melt it with the semi-sweet morsels. Add the orange oil when you cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla.
    Brownie tart with candied orange