Leite's David Lebovitz’s Best Brownies

By stancec44

They’re ever so slightly cakey on the outside, superbly fudgy on the inside, and, in all seriousness, the absolute best brownies through and through. They’re also exceptionally easy to make. Lebovitz learned recipe from the late Robert Steinberg, cofounder of Scharffen Berger chocolate, who in turn had adapted the recipe from a recipe by cookbook author and baking legend Maida Heatter.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter (3 oz), cut into chunks, plus more for the pan
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

2. Line an 8-inch square pan with 2 long lengths of aluminum foil or parchment paper, positioning the sheets perpendicular to one other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of the pan. Lightly butter the foil or parchment. [Editor’s Note: The original recipe calls for a 9-inch square pan, although we’ve had better success with an 8-inch pan.]

3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir by hand until it’s completely melted and smooth.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and, using a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs by hand, 1 at a time. Add the flour and stir, still by hand, with everything you’ve got for 1 full minute—seriously, time yourself—until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. [Editor’s Note: Seriously folks, if you don’t beat with all you’ve got for an entire minute, the brownies may come out dry and crumbly, and that’s a fate we wish on no one. After a few seconds of stirring the batter may appear to separate, and midway through the minute of stirring it may appear grainy, but when you stir with vigor for a full 60 seconds—and we do mean a full 60 seconds, along the lines of “One Mississippi, two Mississippi,” all the way on up to 60—you’ll end up with a batter that’s rich, thick, satiny smooth, and glossy as can be, and the brownies that result will have that irresistible crackly surface and fudgy gloriousness. And therein lies the difference between disappointingly mediocre brownies and these absolutely best brownies.]

5. Stir in the chopped nuts and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the center is almost set, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake.

6. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the brownies cool completely—yes, we understand how difficult this can be—before removing the brownies from the pan by lifting the foil or parchment paper. Cut the brownies into squares. (In theory, the brownies will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month. But c’mon. We both know that’s not going to happen.)

VARIATIONS
To add a little bling to these best brownies, stir in any of the following….

1/3 cup chopped dried cherries

1/3 cup cocoa nibs

Crush the contents of one 50-­gram tin of peppermint Altoids in a sturdy resealable plastic bag. Add the crushed mints to the batter along with the nuts (or, if you prefer, omit the nuts). If you like very minty brownies, add 1/2 teaspoon mint extract along with the crushed mints.