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”.
Can you link the Nancy Bagget brownie recipe?
Thanks!
Brownies were in the air today. Yours seems very similar to mine today.
Now I just have to not eat them all.
BROWNIES ARE GOOD! I’m partial to the chewy and dense type… with lots of chocolate pieces dispersed throughout! I hope you ate them all!
http://www.ManjaManja.com
Lynne, I did it. Thanks for reminding me. I was being lazy this afternoon.
Are they really as gooey and rich as they look? I am always on the lookout for the elusive gooey brownie that seems to only be available by Betty Crocker.
All of my family seems to be on a diet this week so these yummy looking brownies will have to wait until sunday. I’ll report back with my go at it.
Anna, you’ve created a monster. How? Well, I absolutely love brownies (though I’m more of a boxed-mix girl) and I recently received a gift fancy bar chocolates. I will definitely have to try out a couple of these recipes.
I really enjoy the new site and I’m glad to see you rocking your own domain name!
P.S. Are you an edge person or a middle person? I’m a fan of the crunchy corner brownies.
Hi Abi,
Try Nancy Bagget’s first. These are good, but I think the Bagget brownies are better.
And I’m a middle person when it comes to brownies.
Anna, these look wonderful. My husband is a big brownie fan. I’ll have to try them out and see what he thinks.
Abi & Anna = perfectly complimentary on a tray of brownies, then. just like me & the boyfriend w/ the sunday paper: i don’t touch the sports section (eeyuck) and he leaves the Target flyer all to me…
I completely agree with everyone above…
They look delicious! So rich and fudgy!
They’ll definitely give you your chocolate-shot for the day…
Very nice blog! Just found out today but put it right with my favourites!
Julia
http://www.tastinglife-julia.blogspot.com
Ina is always visiting Loaves and Fishes on her show Barefoot Contessa.
Heidi,
I was wondering about that. It seems like Ina’s kind of place. The pet name among for it is “Loans and Finances”. Kind of like “Whole Paycheck”.
O, how awful! I know exactly how you must feel; every summer I get at least once an inflammation because I’m too stubborn and go swimming…:(
I don’t know of course what’s wrong with yours, but for me a penicillin cure + sour eardrops do the trick… (and lots and lots of aspirin!!)
Those cookies look btw very tasty, I only once made snicker doodles from a from Nigella Lawson; those were also very, very good….:)
Hope you get well soon!
JULIA
http://www.tastinglife-julia.blogspot.com
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Made these brownies and they were great but not Greenberg great. Was it the chocolate? Brand?
Ella, it was probably the recipe. I’d move on to another one if I were you.