I was on the fence about whether to make Thanksgiving dinner this year, but we bought the turkey this weekend so I’m locked in. I should be focusing on prep work, but chocolate helps me focus so I made a quick batch of brownies. Inspired by Jennifer at Bake or Break, I used the Max Brenner Brownies recipe.
One issue with the Max Brenner recipe is that it’s for a 13×18 inch pan. Jennifer made the full batch, so I decided to try scaling it down to 1/3 of itself and baking it in an 8 inch pan. It worked perfectly. Like Jennifer, I used pecans instead of walnuts but I think these might have been better without the nuts or maybe with the nuts just on top. I usually love nuts, but in this case they seemed “in the way”. I also refrigerated the brownies before cutting. If you can’t tell from the ingredients list, these brownies are super rich – not overly sweet, but rich. At first I cut the pan into 9 squares, but wanting to fill people up on one single brownie, stomachache, I cut each square into 4 more squares to make 36 small brownies.
Small Batch Max Brenner Brownies
1/3 cup unsalted butter (76 grams)
1/3 cup heavy cream (76 grams)
10 ½ ounces dark chocolate (approx. 70%), roughly chopped (294 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
1/4 generous teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (divided use) (45 grams)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8 inch square pan with non-stick foil or line with parchment.
Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe mixing bowl.
Place the butter and cream in a saucepan set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Pour over chocolate and let sit about a minute or until chocolate begins to melt. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool. Note: If chocolate doesn’t melt completely, you can microwave the bowl for 20 second and continue to stir. That’s why I suggested a microwave-safe mixing bowl.
Add vanilla to cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Whisk in sugar and salt.
Sift 1/4 cup of the flour into the chocolate mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir gently until combined. Toss nuts with remaining flour. Stir into batter.
Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Allow brownies too cool. Wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Yields: As many as 36 brownies or as few as 8
Anna says
February 10, 2010 at 7:06 amHi Ash,
With chocolate chips, 10 oz is about 1 2/3 cup, so I supposed chopped chocolate is about the same volume. I normally weigh it, though. That’s just an estimate.
ash says
February 10, 2010 at 5:29 amhi guys i was wondering desperatly if someone could tell me what 10 ounces equates too?
Dolce says
November 24, 2009 at 1:58 pmOMG! I think I am going to LOVE the book… and try the recipe as soon as I come back from France after Thanksgiving!!
AJ says
November 24, 2009 at 12:39 pmMax Brenner’s is one of my favorite haunts in NYC. I’d never had make-your-own-smores at a restaurant before — and they serve them with peanut butter! They know me so well! 😉
Blake — I guess I missed Texas brownie day, but I intend to take a rain check! 😉
Blake says
November 24, 2009 at 4:45 amThere must have been something in the Texas air – I made über rich brownies (Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies) the other day and had the exact same thought when I cut them for a meeting… They ended up more of a brownie bite so we didn’t all go into a coma after lunch. I’ll have to try these! Thank you for reminding me that patience is rewarded – refrigerating a brownie like this is always well worth it.
Martha in KS says
November 23, 2009 at 8:32 pm“chocolate helps me focus” You crack me up! I just licked my screen these looked so good. Tasted like Windex, not brownies.
shelly (cookies and cups) says
November 23, 2009 at 3:45 pmthese look beyond!!!! beyond!!
possibly the best looking brownies ever, will have to make them now to see if they live up!
Hendria says
November 23, 2009 at 3:27 pmThese look very delicious brownies.
Anna says
November 23, 2009 at 1:43 pmThese were really dense and almost fudge-like. They were sturdy and firm so I know I didn’t underbake them, but they were quite chocolate-dense.
Valerie says
November 23, 2009 at 12:30 pmThey are calling my name!! They really look divine.
justJENN says
November 23, 2009 at 11:57 amI LOVE Max Brenner. Great breakfasts!
Lisa Ernst says
November 23, 2009 at 11:46 amLooks like another brownie winner with a heavy ratio of chocolate to the other ingredients! My favorite kind.I regret not making it to Max Brenner’s when in NYC this year — some of his sweets and pancakes shown on his website (with chocolate of course) looked completely over the top. This is a “must stop” next time along with Serendipity.
clumbsycookie says
November 23, 2009 at 11:26 amThey look like fudge Anna! Good luck with the turkey 😉
Katrina says
November 23, 2009 at 10:25 amThose look really good, kinda like my faves, the Dorie’s Tribute to KH Brownies. But these are probably even chocolaty-er/fudgier because the Dorie ones just have cocoa. They look like some I need to try. Sigh.
I’m in the same boat as you–taking way too long to get on the T-day dinner bandwagon. I’m kind of not that thrilled this year as it’s just us and I don’t want to slave away in the kitchen when the boys hardly eat anything. Boring old turkey and mashed potatoes anyone?
I thought it sounded fun to just do food they’ll eat then have a big ol’ dessert bar! That’s more like it. 😉
dawn says
November 23, 2009 at 10:17 ammy teeth hurt now…
😉
Louise says
November 23, 2009 at 10:12 amI look forward to making these when my new cookbook arrives. How do these compare to Baked Brownies? I notice less butter so maybe not as greasy. I’ve come to like the Baked ones as they hold up well. They even shipped well. 🙂
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
November 23, 2009 at 10:05 amI love brownies in 8 inch pans because they are so much thicker and fudgier.
Amanda says
November 23, 2009 at 9:06 amWow they look fabulous! I’m on the fence about nuts in brownies. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I just don’t. Thanks for the recipe!