worth the extra hour on the treadmill...

so i signed up to be one of the testers for cook's illustrated.

i got the first recipe a little over a week ago...and i didn't make it.

i couldn't bring myself to use 3 egg YOLKS...i already have something like six egg whites sitting in the fridge, which i keep telling myself will be used to tackle macaroons. (did i mention that they've been sitting there for two weeks already and i have yet to make them??)

and besides, i already had a brownie recipe i LOVED...

intense chocolate flavor

crunchy walnuts

with just a hint of coffee...YUM.

the original recipe makes an awful lot of brownies and so i cut the recipe in half. and if you've ever noticed, the barefoot contessa loves to use extra-large eggs (which are not baking standard btw!). i used large eggs and didn't notice a difference in texture for lack of liquid.

go and make!
...and then if you want, we can just tell everyone we went to the gym. ;)

outrageous brownies (appropriately titled)

adapted from foodnetwork.com

1 cup unsalted butter

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped*

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour a 9 x 13" baking pan.
   
2. stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar in a separate bowl. stir in the cooled chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
   
3. stir together 1/2 cup of flour, baking powder and salt. add to the cooled chocolate mixture.
   
4. toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of flour. add to the chocolate batter and pour into prepared pan.
   
5. bake for about 25 minutes or until tester come out clean. halfway through baking, rap the pan against the oven to allow air to escape from between the pan and brownie dough (and rotate the pan while you're at it). do NOT overbake!!! cool thoroughly before devouring.

*the original recipe tells you to use chips...except that chips were not meant to be melted and want to hold their shape. so it will take a little coaxing to get the chocolate mixture smooth. you can skip the extra coaxing by using a semisweet chocolate bar as opposed to the chips.