A pound of Butter! For Brownies?

I was hungry for brownies and thought I would try a new recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook called: Outrageous Brownies! The brownie recipe also called for a pan that was about the size of a jellyroll pan, only with deep sides ~ 13 x 18 x 1 1/2 inches. I went to Sur la Table but to no avail. I did purchase a square cake pan that was 14 x 14 inch and this worked great.

I do feel bad because my brownie blog seems to be coinciding with the TWD blog roll and their brownies. I apoligize for this and all of your brownies look delicious. . .uhmm, I peeked just before blogging BUT decided to blog anyways =D.

On top of having a pound of butter, these brownies have enough chocolate to almost, and I use almost loosely, be too much. 1 pound, 12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and 6 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. New discovery? I found out these brownies taste even better after being refrigerated and I can only imagine what they will taste like tomorrow night when I put them into a brownie sundae. I didn't make the sundaes tonight because I forgot the ice cream. . .which was a sad moment for dessert.

The instant coffee gave the dense brownies just a hint of mocha. Very nice, but did I mention rich? I am still looking for the ultimate brownie but if I needed a LARGE chocolate fix, this brownie recipe would do the trick. A 14 x 14 cake pan makes a LOT of brownies.

Outrageous Brownies
by The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

These brownies will make excellent ice cream sundaes with lots of fresh whipped cream and more NUTS =D!