chewy, fudgy, triple chocolate brownies

Since Chocolate and Valentine's Day go hand in hand, I figured I'd try out a new brownie. Of course, one doesn't need ♡'s day to bake a brownie, but this Cook's Illustrated recipe has been dog-eared for quite awhile...

The chocolates involved are bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened cocoa powder, and unsweetened chocolate.

The chocolates are melted down with butter, which I like to do in the microwave. It cools a bit,

and gets added into the egg/sugar/vanilla salt mixture.  Toss in the flour, spread it into the prepared pan, and

30 minutes later, Voilà!  

The hardest part?  Waiting the hour+ for the brownie to cool down before digging in.  I spend that time tasting/cleaning the utensils...

You can see the moist, fudgy interior with a shiny, crisp top crust. The three chocolates give this brownie an intense, chocolate flavor; be sure to have a glass of milk handy!

Chewy, Fudgy, Triple Chocolate Brownies

from Cook's Illustrated, May & June 2000

Printable Recipe

5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into quarters

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1¼ cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350ºF.  Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, as shown here. Butter the foil.

In medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, melt chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour with wooden spoon until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan, spread into corners, and level surface with rubber spatula; bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 32-38 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan using the foil overhang. Cut into squares and serve. (Do not cut brownies until ready to serve; brownies can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated up to 5 days.)