Brownies

What do you think of when I say 

Warm 

Chewy 

Gooey 

Chocolatey

Shiny 

Delicious

Yes! Correct! Brownies! I knew we were kindred spirits! 

Brownies have to be one of the first desserts most kids learn to make, and I'm sure are a favorite to many people! How can you go wrong with brownies? Especially when there is a shiny crust on the top? And chocolate chips that are half melted in the middle? You can't! 

When I first joined the BMW Facebook group, somebody had just asked if anybody had a brownie recipe that made brownies with a shiny crust. I saw that, and started doing research to find out what exactly gives brownies a shiny crust! There are many theories out there, but after trying some of the recipes that swore would result in a shiny crust, but yielded flat crusts, I gave up on trying to figure it out. If you know the secret, please let me know! Not everybody has access to boxed brownie mix, and not everybody is a fan of putting ingredients in their body that they can't pronounce. After several batches of brownies, much experimentation, and lots of suffering (trust me, you can't eat a plateful of brownies without getting a stomach ache!), I have found a recipe that doesn't call for weird ingredients, and has a shiny crust. 

What you'll need:

1 3/4 cups sugar 

5 eggs - separated (if eggs are smaller, use 6-7) 

10 oz semi sweet chocolate (melted) 

3/4 cup melted butter 

2 1/2 cups flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

Extract (optional)

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. (Mixture will become light yellow, and very silky).

Melt butter on the stove or in a microwave. Melt chocolate on the stove or in a microwave. Combine melted butter and chocolate. 

Pour chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture. Beat till combined. If you're adding extract, add now. (My favorite is a teaspoon of coconut or almond.) In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly mix the flour with the batter. Make sure your batter is smooth. Once this has been achieved, pour batter into a greased 9X13 pan. If you would like to have chocolate chips or nuts in your brownies, sprinkle them on the top of your batter. Don't worry about mixing them in, the chocolate chips or nuts will partially sink in. This will make your brownies look and taste amazing! Bake in 350 degree oven. Bake until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. 

Cool slightly, and enjoy! 

Amber Wells

Papua New Guinea