These really are the best brownies I have ever tasted because they are not too sweet and are really chocolatey and nutty. My friends all ask me to bake them for them after they saw the shots on Instagram and started dribbling at the sight of them, and they really are dribble-worthy. The story about these amazing chocolate brownies is as follows. This recipe was found amongst the painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s collection of recipes in her cookbooks. She was a passionate cook and this recipe was hand written by her on Waldorf Astoria note paper. She was was staying there on April 30th 1963 to collect an award for the creative arts from Brandeis University, so they think she must have asked the hotel for the recipe because she loved them so much. O’Keeffe was a passionate foodie and collected recipes wherever she went, and a bit like me she dipped into healthy food and dipped into more indulgent food depending on her whim. Try them, they are beyond and there’s dairy free and vegan alternatives if you prefer.

Recipe

Makes 8 large brownies.

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter or vegan butter if dairy free (I use Naturli)
114g of dark chocolate (I use Green and Blacks)
1 cup of plain flour (I use spelt)
¼ teaspoon of salt
2 cups of finely chopped walnuts (I smash them with a rolling pin while they are still in the bag)
2 eggs (or egg replacer for 2 eggs from health food store)
2/3 ( two thirds) of a cup of sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

How:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. (If you are cooking in farenheit it’s 375 F) Grease an 8 x 8″ baking pan, actually I used a 6″ x 10″ oblong ceramic baking dish and it was perfect, and line it with parchment paper then grease the parchment lightly with oil or I use cake release spray which you can get online and is a real time saver, a professional pastry chef recommended it to me years ago and I haven’t looked back.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour salt and walnuts.
In a double boiler, gently melt the butter and chocolate together and set aside to cool. I use a small pan with about an inch of water and a small metal bowl to do this.
Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 2 to 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. When the chocolate mixture is cool enough to avoid cooking the eggs, add to the egg/sugar mixture, whisk well to combine. Stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, however, I prefer to under cook them very slightly so they are moist and claggy. Cut into squares when cooled.

Lastly, I sprinkle a of pinch of Maldon sea salt over the top before I put them in the oven. And then after baking I dust them with unsweetened cocoa powder.

I shop at:
Waitrose
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Lidl