The Happiness Brownie for Chocoholics

I know I just posted a brownie recipe recently, but this is different. It is The Happiness Brownie for Chocoholics and I am a serious Chocoholic. That brownie is the easy everyday version. Not that this one isn't easy...it is, and you need only one saucepan. That alone means a good recipe according to me since I hate washing up! And I don't really need a reason to bake some brownies. They make me feel happy and take away all my worries. And also, they can be whipped up in a matter of  minutes. If it's a quick and easy fix, it's good enough for me.

Wouldn't you feel happy when these are out of the oven? I know I was...

This recipe for brownies is from Stephanie Jowarski's Joy of Baking to which I've made some changes to get a very moist, fudgier and chocolate overdosed brownie. And the addition of sugar covered almonds makes it a wonderful treat, hence the name 'The Happiness Brownie'. Mind you, Stephanie just called them Brownies, I made some small changes to the recipe...added a few things here, mixed in a cupful of love, a tablespoon of joy and some more stuff and there you have it...The Happiness Brownie! (Ha! got you...I got you all thinking I hit my head real hard!).

The Happiness Brownie

So without further ado, here's the recipe for The Happiness Brownie as I call it. And the next time, I am going to use Salted Honey Roasted Almonds and Pretzels too...Ooohhh!!!

The Happiness Brownie

Makes 16 normal sized brownies or 24 smaller brownies

INGREDIENTS

10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated white sugar

3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch processed

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup full fat milk

1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (60 ml) sour cream (full or reduced fat)

1/2 cup (85 grams) semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (optional) 

1/4 cup Sugar covered Almonds

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan with aluminum foil. (The aluminum foil should hang about two inches (5 cm) over the sides of the pan to make it easy to lift the brownies from the pan.)

In a medium saucepan melt the butter (can also melt the butter in the microwave). Remove from heat. Stir (or whisk) in the sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. ( It will look like there's too much sugar, keep stirring and you will get there). Add the milk and stir well until you have a smooth and glossy batter. (By this stage the sugar will have mostly dissolved).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold this flour mixture into the batter. Finally, fold in the sour cream and chocolate chips (if using).

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top, rap the sides of the pan to remove any air bubbles. Scatter the top with the sugar coated almonds (Roll the sugar covered almonds in a little bit of flour so that they don't sink to the bottom of the pan). 

The brownie batter in the pan

Bake for about 28 -30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center has moist crumbs clinging to it.Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Then, to make the brownies easier to cut, cover and place in the refrigerator for two hours or until firm. When ready to cut the brownies, lift the aluminum foil out of the pan and, with a sharp knife, cut the brownies.

And serve them as they are or with whipped cream and berries or Ice-Cream and Chocolate Sauce with chopped nuts or just eat them however you want to.

* Note: As you all can see, I haven't lined the pan with aluminum foil, for one I didn't have any and secondly it was easier to just grease and dust it with flour. And there was no difference in texture. But DO NOT OVERBAKE THE BROWNIE...believe me you won't be happy and the brownie definitely won't be happy because it'll dry out.

Leftover Brownies can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 days or upto 3 months in the freezer. ( But who's ever heard of 'Leftover Brownies'!).

I like to just zap them in the microwave for 30 secs before I eat 'em...it just feels right!

Well, until next time...Happy Baking!