CAMERA and Dark Chocolate Brownies

I bought a digital camera!

Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS

Definitely the impulse buy of the century.

It’s an early Christmas gift.

So it’s all good.

 

I took some pictures of my pottery- these were made a few months ago.  I’ve gotten much better at using the wheel since then!

Itty bitty pitcher (doesn’t hold much of anything) with blue handle, white cup with purple inside, red cup.

Fish box.  The top comes off, so you can store jewelry/paperclips/etc.

 

To celebrate the arrival of my new camera, I decided to make a batch of brownies.  From scratch.  Here’s the recipe along with some lovely pictures.

 

Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Chocolate is the focus of these brownies- with only a few ingredients, you’ll want to pick a dark, good-quality chocolate or risk a batch of yucky brownies.  Good-quality doesn’t have to mean Valrhona, though!  I used Lindt 70% dark chocolate, which was $1.99 per bar at TJMaxx.

 

 

It’s very photogenic, too.  I love photographing chocolate- the pictures always turn out so good and delicious-looking.

 

Here’s what you need:

• A preheated oven set to 350 degrees F
• A greased, foil-lined 8×8-inch pan
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 oz. dark chocolate (weigh it, but don’t go crazy trying to get an exact amount)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablecpoon cocoa powder
• Vanilla extract (optional)
• Instant espresso powder (optional)

Start by melting the butter in a large bowl.  Cut it into cubes, then microwave it for 30 seconds.  Stir, then microwave another 30 seconds.

 

Chop the chocolate into rough pieces using a serrated knife and a cutting board.  Don’t worry about making them uniformly sized- they’re just going to melt anyway.

and stir it into the hot melted butter.  The chocolate will melt into the butter and turn into a rich, way-too-sinful sauce.

 

^^ That may just be my favorite photo I’ve ever taken.  I love my camera!

 

Add the sugar and stir well.  I was feeling a bit artsy so I tried to make a smiley face in the sugar.  It turned out creepy.  Sorry.

At this point, you might want to put the mixture in the fridge for a few minutes before you stir in the eggs.  Why?

That’s why.  Here are my eggs in their bowl.  I made this bowl in ceramics and it’s the perfect size for holding… well… 2 eggs.

Now add the baking soda, salt, and 1/4 cup of the flour, as well as the vanilla extract and instant espresso if you’d like.  I find that espresso really brings out the chocolate flavor, and you can adjust the amount of both ingredients as you wish.  Don’t use more than 1/2 teaspoon of either the vanilla or the espresso, though.

 

Stir gently, then add the rest of the flour and mix it all together until the batter is smooth with a few lumps.  You don’t want it to be too smooth, or else the brownies will turn out tough.  Ick.

Pour the batter into your foil-lined, greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  The brownies are done when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean with a few crumbs on it.

 

Let them cool (use the fridge if you’re impatient… obviously I was), then enjoy!

 

Does anyone else love the smell of brownies baking?

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