New York Brownies

Before my grandmother downsized and moved into an assisted living community, she gave me all of her cookbooks. Among the bunch was one called “Loaves and Fishes”, which I naturally assumed was a church cookbook; Quite the contrary. It was written by the owners of a catering and specialty foods store in Long Island. The book had been given to my grandmother by her daughter (my aunt) whose inscription in the book said “Mom, now you can make the fabulous brownies we had in New York” As if. My grandmother has always been perfectly happy with brownies from the grocery store bakery. Cloning fancy Hamptons brownies was not something you’d see on her agenda. I however….

I’d been meaning to make this particular recipe for months, but thanks to the Miles of Chocolate cloning obsession, got sidetracked by fudgier brownie recipes. Nancy Bagget’s recipe (scroll up after you click the link) is still probably tops in my book, but for those looking for a more traditional leavened brownie, this is a good recipe. These are definitely not cake-like, but they aren’t “baked fudge” either. They are dense and light and the same time. The refrigerator is probably the place to preserve them, but these brownies taste best at room temperature. Whatever you do, don’t over-bake them. In my oven, which is perfectly calibrated of course, 22 minutes was the max. I know this because the brownies near the edges aren’t as good as the ones in the middle.

In the Loaves and Fishes book, the authors joke that this brownie recipe is reputed to be the original William Greenberg recipe. Then they go on to joke that a lady in Florida gave them the same one. So who knows.

Here’s a photo I took outside with natural light. Ignore the chocolate chips in the pictures. I threw those on top when I took them out of the oven. They looked dry on top, but In the end, they were not. Next time I am going to add toasted walnuts.

New York Brownies

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate (99%)
8 ounces butter
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2cup toasted pecans or walnuts of desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 inch baking pan with parchment. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; Set aside.

Place cut up chocolate and cut up butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt on high for 1 ½ minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer. Slowly beat in sugar. Beat for about a minute or until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Slowly add slightly cooled chocolate to sugar mixture. By hand, stir in flour mixture. Pour into pan and bake for 20-22 minutes – no longer. Brownies will cook as they stand. Over-cooking these ruins them.

Let cool completely, then chill for a few hours. Remove parchment from pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into large squares. These seem well-suited for hugeness. So the yield is whatever you make of it. Let’s just say “13×9 inch pan”.

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