It's taking a lot of willpower to not do This oh V you're Bad hey everybody I'm V over the next Couple days I'm going To make probably like 10 different Batches of brownies based off of this Easy brownie recipe from Mark bitman It's got five stars and nearly 4,000 Reviews what's really cool about this Recipe not only is it super super simple But it also has a ton of cooking notes From users like you all so what I'm here To do today is I'm going to bake off This brownie recipe as intended and then I'm going to delve into the notes a Little bit and I'm going to see what Kind of comments you guys are suggesting Things to add things to take away things That you might have done differently Ultimately in the hopes of finding out What my perfect version of that recipe Is this is cooking the comments Brownies usually fall into two camps Right you have your like fudgy and You've got your cakey cakey immediate Jail but I don't want the brownie to get Stuck in my teeth a brownie is not fudge The perfect brownie to me is something That is moist dare I say it I think that A brownie should be extremely chocolatey Like I want my brownies to be chalk full Of chocolate the thing that I'm looking For is something that's just really Perfectly balanced something that's
Going to be really crowd pleasing Whether you like a fudgy brownie or a Cakey brownie my goal is to create a Brownie that brings the people together A brownie at his core should not be Complicated depending on how many you're Making I think you should have a brownie On your table in less than an hour maybe An hour and a half because they need to Cool a little bit I think brownies are Universally pretty beloved but the People who make them are also Universally Beloved I love how this recipe seems It's truly just melting chocolate and Butter you're adding your eggs maybe Some salt and vanilla and then you are Adding your flour and you're baking it So I have some unsweetened chocolate Right here in this recipe he uses a Whole bar this is baked in an 8 by8 Square I think it makes 12 Brownies so I'm going to set this off to the side I'm going to chop my Chocolate just try to get it as Uniformly chopped as possible you'll Obviously have some little shavings There but just want it to melt pretty Evenly I'm working over a very low flame Which is good because we don't want the Chocolate to do something called seizing Up you're either doing it in a microwave A lot of the time or you're doing it Over a double boiler I'm going to stir
Pretty occasionally in the beginning Just to kind of distribute that heat you Can see it's already starting to melt Nicely while that continues to melt just Really gently I'm going to grease My Pan I'm just Using your best tools your hands so I've Got two pieces of parchment here that I'm going to lay down and I'm going to Get all the air bubbles out as much as Possible really just press it in there I'm going to light grease on top of this And then I'm going to go In over top here with this one and this Is also going to just help us make sure That we release the brownies really Really well well I think we're greased Up like a pig at the county fair so now This isn't necessarily a one like a like Melissa's like one bowl brownie but you Could in theory probably just make it All in a pot so I'm going to add the Sugar and this is a good amount of sugar But we did use unsweetened chocolate at This point also the chocolate mixture Because I let that residual heat Continue to cook it and kind of took it Off the heat it's not as hot as it once Was which is good for when we add the Eggs the sugar is also kind of helping Temper that down a little bit more but You want to make sure that you don't Cook your eggs be those in one at a time I want to make sure that I really get
These eggs Incorporated I feel like Especially in a brownie recipe that Doesn't call for any chemical leavening Eggs are going to provide a lot of that Structure so I'm going to add the flour Now you can see that this mixture is Already really smoothed out and this is Not a lot of flour I think that that was Something that Mark wrote in the top Notice use a a minimal amount of flour a Minimal amount of mixing no chemical Leing and you'll end up with some really Nice brownies I'm also going to add Vanilla if you're using it and then a Pinch of salt and then I'm just going to Gently kind of fold this in now just Transfer to the pan I've got my oven Preheated at 350 so now I'm just going to smooth this Into the corners there you get like a Pretty even layer and I'm going to put It in the oven I'm going to check on it About 20 minutes in it bakes for about 20 to 30 but there's nothing worse than An over baked Brownie it's been about 20 minutes I'm Going to check on them they're probably Going to be good like I said I kind of Want to air on the side of like just Barely baked they will continue baking Even once I pull them from the hot oven Oh yeah the dness cues that Mark gives In the recipe the edges are firm and They're barely set in the middle I mean
These do not have that like Hallmark Shiny crackly Top This is the easy brownie recipe by Mark Pitman they look really dense they Look very Moist I think that this is a really good Starter recipe for brownies for sure Like it was so simple they're a little Sweet for me I kind of want a little bit More chocy they're definitely like a Fudgy brownie it kind of crumbles like You know your your Christmas fudge the Payoff to the amount of effort put into These brownies is fantastic so I think This is kind of like the perfect after School brownie these are a very highly Regarded brownie so I'm really excited To see what people will say in the Comments you know I think that that's Kind of the beauty of a brownie too is You can really take it wherever you Want I'm going to read the first one Which is marmo I am 12 and I made it Myself with a absolutely no difficulty The instructions are clear and to the Point I hope this is helpful what an Icon I am obsessed with marmo my Favorite fisherman and I think this Recipe yields the best brownies ever Recipe lends itself to Experimentation which if you like to Bake makes it super fun to use use 4 Ounces of unsweetened chocolate a bit Less sugar fluff the eggs before adding
Lots of good ideas in the comments for The next batch that's like Truly exactly what I'm after you know as People who say recipe lends itself to Experimentation which if you like to Bake makes it super fun to use and I Think that's such a perfect comment Sharon made these and added cayenne Pepper Just A Pinch and espresso coffee Absolutely delicious and I don't like Spicy Well why'd you add Cayenne Sharon I fear I'm going to be singing espresso by Sabrina Carpenter for the rest of the Day I'm working late cuz I'm a singer a Lot of people are saying cake flour Kevin says the same recipe found in Another book but calls for 3/4 cup cake Flour instead of allp allpurpose flour Cake flour tends to yield a little bit More of a tender result it's got less Gluten than allpurpose or bread flour so It's going to be a little bit more Delicate coconut oil and wal nuts added Some cocoa powder more chocolate you Know fluff the eggs I think that that's Another thing that's interesting a lot Of brownie recipes that I've made and That I've actually worked on developing Call for more structure through actually You know beating the eggs with the sugar I haven't even read this comment but I Like this person Florida dead head made This recipe has written a few times and
It was great I added chocolate chips and Pretzel pieces before Oh Florida Deadhead you crazy When I made a few adjustments I couldn't Believe how good these were I used half A cup of white half a cup of light brown Sugar which I love that I do think that Brown sugar adds a little bit more depth And compliments the chocolate better Than white sugar alone also combine the Eggs and sugar separately and bead Together for several minutes gently fold In the chocolate mixture and then the Flour mixture as to not deflate or Create gluten wow I think this is me in 20 years I think I'm going to going to Kind of approach this from two different Angles I think A flavor angle and a texture angle cool Let's get Started I'm going to start with my Flavor tests which will include espresso Powder regular cocoa and then Dutch Process cocoa I'm probably going to add About 1/4 cup of cocoa to each of these It may make it a little dry but Flavor-wise I want to see where that Takes us so I've got my chocolate Meed Out here I'm just going to do basically Everything the exact same way for this First test which is for my that's that Me espresso in the warm chocolate it'll Kind of Bloom in there too it's not Going to make it taste like coffee it
Just will really enhance the chocolate Flavor that's already There you ready for this Oh God it's Gorgeous the espresso going to go in for About 20 minutes we'll see how it does On to test two so this one I'm going to Try just very standard cocoa powder that You would find in most grocery stores 100% cacao it is not Dutch process I Think I'm going to add the cocoa to the Dry ingredients Okay I can already tell this one looks Darker this is more like the consistency Of the first one this is my cocoa powder Test number one going in and the timer Just went off for my espresso so going To take those Out now we're going to go with the final Flavor test which is the Dutch process Cocoa Dutch process has obviously Something to do with the processing of The cocoa I find that when I use Dutch Process it just is more Chocolatey this is visibly a lot darker Honestly spreading a lot smoother than All the other ones too e see These are the tests that I'm doing to See how certain things might affect the Texture so the first one that I'm going To do is with three eggs rather than two Seeing what that change in volume Actually does a lot of commenters noted This I don't think it's there to make it
Cakier I think it's there to just Actually lend the structure from the Whites and the protein bonds and then Also the fat from the yoga and then I'm Going to actually whip the eggs with the Sugar before adding the chocolate and Butter mixture that's the same amount Ofg eggs is the original recipe too but I'm going to try that different Technique to see what that yields for me And then I'm going to try a mixture of Half Brown half white sugar really I Think the moisture in that will help the Texture and then I have one test that I'm going to do with cake flour which is A lower protein content it will Typically yield something a little bit More Tender last test of today oh yeah wow so We did eight different versions brownies Today which is a lot I'm going to let These all cool and I think we're all Pretty much ready to go home so I'm Going to try them all tomorrow because I Want them to all be like very room temp Today was all about cooking through the Comments and then tomorrow I want to you Know take my learnings from each of These batches Cobble them all together And really work on perfecting a recipe That I love Wow this looks like a stomach Ain Quitting to happen I already know what The original tastes like
But I kind of feel like I need the Baseline just to like have It I think that brownies kind of are one Of those things that gets better the Second day the flavor of this is almost A little bit more Chocy which I like I think I got to go Espresso for first it's a little flatter But there's only the addition of Espresso so it might have had something To do with bake time or Something the chocolate flavor is a lot More pronounced and I think with all of The sugar in this recipe that extra hit Of acidity from the coffee that kind of Like toasty coffee Flavor just helps cut the sugar a little Bit and brings out the chocolate more Regular CH cor te Texturally seems pretty similar though I Had Extra dry ingredients in It definitely chocolatier it's the Teensiest bit dryer it's definitely a Darker chocolate color the Brown's a Little bit richer which I like ah Dutch Process yeah I am from Holland isn't That Viir name that movie Austin Austin Powers gold member my family is Dutch so I can say it really nice Aroma to Them M really interestingly the regular Cocoa was a little drier this one to me Is like a little bit moisture and the
Chocolate flavor is really good with That even just the addition of a/4 cup Of Dutch process cocoa you're getting a Pretty good brownie so we've got our Flavors now I'm going to go on to the T Texture test so let's see the first one Is three eggs so this one right Here just at a glance the three eggs and This kind of makes sense right is the Tallest of all of them it has the most Kind of like volume of ingredients in it Like look at just what the the Difference that one egg makes pretty Wild it also this one has that very Shiny top that I look for in a brownie Definitely seems a little Cakier interesting there's definitely Less chocolate flavor in there I think Obviously you're adding another kind of Wet ingredient so it's maybe muting the Flavor I like the height it's not drier It's just a little airier so the next One I'm going to taste is the whipped Eggs I believe that's this one it's Definitely thinner than our three eggs Obviously Oh the same flavor profile as the Original texturally they're not as Crumbly you know it just feels a little Bit more cohesive this one is the Substitution of half the sugar with Brown sugar see this one has more of That crackly top as Well wow it's really interesting I'm
Almost getting a little less of that Chocy Flavor the texture of that is really Really good last test is cake flour now I expect these to be pretty delicate and Tender the texture is a little less Crumbly than the original a little Fudgier more tender pretty moist Browning too after kind of going through And noting the really pronounced Differences between all of these tests Versus the original I've kind of you Know come to some maybe not final Conclusions but some things that I Definitely want to test out today Addition of cocoa powder and espresso I Love Dutch process seems like the way to Go I do feel like I want to add a little Bit more egg but I did get a little bit Of a cier consistency so trying to Figure out how to mitigate that because I like how tall these are oh brown sugar I feel like maybe not a one to one brown Sugar do youall want to try some Brownies I want the input of my team oh That's good just even brown sugar in dut Would make something different that's The texture of brown here the brown Sugar yeah me Too this is basically the version that Kind of cobbles together every test that I Liked I think I'm going to add the Espresso powder in this version to the
Chocolate when it reacts with that heat I do feel like it's going to bring out Some more of that Aroma this is actually the point at Which I would just go ahead and add salt Just because it'll dissolve in there Regardless starting to get lighter in Color like Miles Teller and Whiplash all right I'm done so now I'm Going to just slowly Pour my Flow and then I think I'm going to just Like work to fold these In and this evened out I mean the other Ones from yesterday I I had to smooth Them Out moving on I I've a couple things That I want to try differently here I'm Actually going to use 70% Bittersweet chocolate because I think It's more widely available I think you Can get typically a higher quality Chocolate at this percentage so I'm Going to add my teaspoon of espresso Powder to it honestly this chocolate Mixture looks a lot glossier than the Last one it's probably because of the Sugar that's present in there I'm also Going to use an electric handm mixer Because I got One so I got my eggs There teaspoon of Salt Wow I'm already B basically to where I
Got last Time absolutely Gorgeous test ones out of the oven and Cooled looks good I really like the Height looks a little Cakey it is cakey I'm not out here for a Cakey brownie I don't hate that though Cuz I like the height of it one thing I Could maybe do Is actually take the pan out halfway Through baking and wrap it on the Counter you know it seems maybe a little Counterintuitive to build up all that Air with the eggs and then to just like Kind of whack it halfway through but It's not really like taking out a lot of The heft it's like making the texture a Little bit more closed so it's not as Cakey and a little fudgier I like the Chocolate flavor though all right test Number two complete very interestingly The differences between test one and Test Two so these were whacked halfway Through basically there's not as much Height in these honestly this inside Whacking that Midway through baking like Really does something to the texture of Them uhoh those are really good I think I want a little bit more chocy I like That texture I worry for or the air Bubbles I really just don't like the air Bubbles and I know why there are air Bubbles it's because we incorporate all
That air into it moving forward I think I'm going to go back down to two eggs I Think I'm going to go up to a/2 cup of Cocoa increase the granula of Sugar by 1/4 cup it's going to help us get more Of that shiny Top top is so shiny it's not bubbly like The last one I think that's also Attributed to the fact that there's no Extra egg in there there's just two eggs Just looking at it I I love the cracks In it that to me is like very brownie Core I'm feeling really good about this One that is a Brownie they look so chocolatey and Delicious that is chocolatey but so good You all should try this Amelia come try This Yeah got to serve the Crew next steps I have this Vision in my Head triple chocolate brownies I can see It Now this with a milk chocolate and even A white chocolate and then I also think With that added sweetness of the milk And the white chocolate I'm going to Need a little flaky salt on top to Offset it I think the best way of going About that in my step where I whack it I'll quickly sprinkle some on top so That it has a chance to still kind of Set to the top in that last 10 minutes Of baking but it's not going to dissolve Into the crust itself yeah yeah okay
Let's do it You know what I was imagining is that Scene in Princess Diaries when he's like On the Paulo can go from this and this And give you a Princess these I'm really excited about Though I loved the texture of my final Test that I did before this and Basically just adding the mixins and Adding a little bit of flaky salt on top They Look gorgeous Stunning like oh my God that is stunning that's like triple Chocolate Realness Honey oh baby that is insane there's Almost like nothing better than a warm Brownie and that salt on top is perfect Texturally I love these brownies they Have structure to them you know Sometimes you get fudgy brownies that Are a little too dense these are still Like so like pillowy soft to bite into I Think these are one of my favorite Things I've developed I love a brownie Keep the comments coming comment below But only nice things because I'm Sensitive you can find not only recipes But lots of amazing comments some really Funny some really silly and a lot that Are very helpful over at New York Times Cooking
Have you ever wondered why most of the Vinaigrettes in the grocery store are made with 10, 20, sometimes even almost 30 ingredients? I remember growing up in Provence watching my mother whipping vinaigrettes before every single dinner. She would mix in a giant bowl, delicious extra virgin olive oil, a robust aged vinegar (the flavor would depend on the main dish), sea salt and pepper and voila! I decided to do the same thing for my family and friends more than 20 years ago here in this beautiful country. And Provence Kitchen® was born. Stay tune for more articles and wonderful family recipes..
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