Double Chocolate Brownies..

I have a confession. I have never made brownies from scratch. Nope. It's always been from a box. I think it's because I'm not too big of a brownie fan and never had the urge to make it from scratch...and the box kind is good enough. :) But, little did I know, brownies from scratch is quite simple. Just a few ingredients. Since I'm going to have a booth at a bridal show this Sunday, I thought I'd make some. And try out a new silicon brownie mold that I recently bought to see how it works out! It makes this cute little squares. I got this recipe from my Martha Stewart Cookies book.

Oh, and as I was buying her cakestands at Macy's yesterday, I found out that Martha Stewart is making an appearance at South Coast Plaza Macy's Home Store the beginning of next month! I was soooo excited, yes, terrible, since she's a con artist and been in prison and all..but secretly I think she's ingenious and aspire to be just like her. :) But I was crushed to learn that she's going to be here as I'm leaving for NYC. Ugh! just wasn't meant to be I guess...

so the brownies...

Ingredients for Double Chocolate Brownies

-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
-6 ounces coarsely chopped good-quality semisweet chocolate
-1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 cup sugar
-2 large eggs
-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside. (I used my silicon mold..)

Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate are melted. Let cool slightly. (I melted everything in the microwave..works just as good!)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.

Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula.

(I had to smooth the tops down after the second batch, otherwise, it bakes and turns out as it, all lumpy, still tastes good but doesn't look as good..)

Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

My first batch I baked 30 minutes and the brownies was overbaked. The second batch I baked about 25 minutes in my silicon mold (I have never used silicon before haha) and they turned out crunchy on top and chewy and cakey in the middle. Perfect! Enjoy!!!

aren't the little cubes cute?? :)