symphony brownies.....

I feel kinda stupid posting this "recipe" because its not really a recipe and its so simple. We had a baby shower to attend 2 weeks ago, so I whipped these up( along with muffaletta sandwiches) the night before. Just use your favorite brownie recipe for an 9 inch square pan( or a mix which is what I did). Ghiradelli makes a great mix, but its not sold in Canada. I used a Duncan Hines family size 9 x 13 mix, but baked it in a 9 x 9 square pan( so they're thicker). I subbed out coffee for the water and part almond oil for some of the canola oil. You could even use melted butter instead of oil.

Pour out half your batter and then layer in 2 family size Hershey Symphony Chocolate bars( I dont know if they're sold in Canada, I bought them for 1.00 each at Walgreen's in MI). In the picture above, you see a little square of chocolate missing. I took a little taste. Symphony comes in two flavors. Plain and an almond toffee. You want to use the almond toffee so you gets bits of both of those flavors. Pour the other half of the batter over the top and bake as directed. I refridgerated them overnight for easing cutting. They were polished off within a matter of minutes. They're really good and super easy.

Zingerman's Buenos Aires Brownies .....

I now know why I've never really cared for brownies. It's because I've never had a great brownie made with great chocolate. If you're on the fence about brownies, or you really love brownies, this is the recipe for you. I was in Ann Arbor for a few days this week and of course I had to visit Zingerman's. I actually went to a hard candy tasting held on Wednesday night. I was looking around the shop after the class and I toyed with the idea of bringing back a brownie for Robin. I then remembered that I had the recipe in an old issue of Midwest Living Magazine. I dug it out yesterday along with some unsweetened Callebaut that The Chocolate Doctor sent me. I also used a new 9 x 13 pan I picked up at Williams Sonoma. I took a bit of liberty with the recipe( the original recipe is for their magic brownies. These brownies contain walnuts). I've never liked nuts in brownies, so I dolloped dulce de leche on top of the batter and swirled it through. I ended up with the Buneos Aries Brownies. Try these, you won't be dissapointed.

Magic Brownies

13 tbls butter( no substitutes)
6.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1.5 c. sifted cake flour( I used white Lily)
3/4tsp baking powder( most brownie recipes have no levening in them, maybe this is why they were so good)

1/2tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c. toasted walnuts( chopped)

Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Melt butter and choc. together over low heat. Set aside. In small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In large mixing bowl( I used my KA), beat eggs and sugar for 5 min. Add cooled choc. mixture and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture, beat again. Pour in pan, bake in 325F oven for 30 min( I used convection). Cool in pan on wire rack.