For Katherine Zycband, pastry chef of Even More Epic and Epic Cookies in Somerville, brownies were a huge part of her childhood and her introduction to baking. “It was the first thing I made by myself and before that, I made them with my mother,” she says. “I loved choosing my favorite add-ins and trying different toppings. My brownie of choice had chocolate chips added and was topped with sprinkles, but I loved to experiment with icing, peanut butter, cream cheese, different flavored chips and all the candy toppings I could find.”
Now, as a professional pastry chef and mom, she enjoys making brownies with her children. “A brownie is childhood and love rolled into one — the ultimate nostalgic confection,” she says.
Ingredients
4 eggs
5 oz Dutch process cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 tbsp vanilla
8 oz butter
9 oz sugar
8 oz brown sugar
8 oz all-purpose flour
1–2 c chocolate chips
Method
Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9x13 pan. Set aside.
In a bowl, add eggs, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso and vanilla. Beat everything together on medium speed for about 1 minute or until smooth.
Melt butter in a microwave safe dish or over low heat in a saucepan. Then add sugars and stir to combine.
Add the butter and sugar mixture to the egg/cocoa mixture, stirring together until smooth.
Add the flour and chocolate chips. Stir to combine or until smooth.
Pour batter into a prepared greased 9x13 dish.
Bake the brownies for 28 to 30 minutes.
Test brownies done with a toothpick. A small amount of crumb will come out on the toothpick, but it shouldn’t look wet.
Let cool before cutting and serving.
See more brownie ideas at EvenMoreEpic.com.
