Outrageous Brownies

Wow! These brownies are definitely outrageous! And decadent. And just really, really good.

I have been wanting to make homemade brownies for awhile now, and I'm not going to lie-I was really quite intimidated by the idea of making brownies from scratch.  A lot many people I know actually like the way brownies that come from a boxed mix taste, so I was a little worried that I would make something that would hold up to that standard.  Plus, I've heard stories from friends who have tried making brownies from scratch and have failed miserably-either they were too powdery, too dr, to thin, etc. 

Along came this recipe.  First I saw Ina Garten make them on tv and I thought, "those look delicious. And easy." Then I looked up the recipe online and saw that they got great reviews and I knew they would be the ones I would try.  I decided to try to make them for my friend Laura's wedding shower and guess what-everyone loved them!  Just a word of warning-this recipe makes a ton of brownies so make sure you have some people to share them with!  The original recipe says that it yields 20 brownies, but I cut mine into 26 very large brownies.

If you love chocolate and/or brownies, I would highly recommend making this no-fail recipe-you will probably never go back to making brownes that come from a box ever again!

Outrageous Brownies

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts
Chocolate covered strawberries (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to completely cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares. Top with chocolate covered strawberries, if desired.

Notes: Combine the chips and walnuts with flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.
It is very important to allow the batter to cool before adding the chocolate chips, so that they don't melt and ruin the brownies.
This recipe can be baked up to a week in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated.

Source: Ina Garten