Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies

🥘 Ingredients

• butter (unsalted, 1 1/4 sticks, 140 grams)
  10 tablespoons
• eggs (cold large)
  2
• espresso powder (optional)
  1/2 tsp
• flour (all-purpose, 65 grams, unsifted, measured by stirring briefly, spooning into the measuring cup until it's heaped above the rim, then levelin)
  1/2 cup
• plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (80 grams, natural or Dutch-process)
  3/4 cup
• pure vanilla extract
  1/2 teaspoon
• salt
  1/4 teaspoon
• sugar (250 grams)
  1 1/4 cups
• walnut or pecan pieces (65 grams) (optional)
  2/3 cup

🍳 Cookware

• baking pan
• bowl
• skillet
• pan

1. 1

   Gather plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder , walnut or pecan pieces , pure vanilla extract , espresso powder .

   plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder: 3/4 cup (80 grams, natural or Dutch-process), walnut or pecan pieces: 2/3 cup (65 grams), pure vanilla extract: 1/2 teaspoon, espresso powder: 1/2 tsp
2. 2

   Directions
3. 3

   Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
4. 4

   Combine the butter , sugar , cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. (It might look gritty here but don't worry, it will smooth out later.) Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

   butter: 10 tablespoons (unsalted, 1 1/4 sticks, 140 grams), sugar: 1 1/4 cups (250 grams), salt: 1/4 teaspoon
5. 5

   Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan .

   eggs: 2 (cold large), flour: 1/2 cup (all-purpose, 65 grams, unsifted, measured by stirring briefly, spooning into the measuring cup until it's heaped above the rim, then levelin)
6. 6

   Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, ⏱️ 20-25 minutes . Let cool completely on a rack.
7. 7

   Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.