TWD: Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia

I’m pretty set in my ways when it comes to a lot of things in life and honestly, I’m ok with that.  I acknowledge it and when I think it’s necessary, I can step outside of my comfort zone.  One thing I was pretty certain about before this week – the kind of brownies I liked.  I’ve discussed this in previous posts but to reiterate, cakey brownies = good and fudgy brownies = bad.   In the introductory notes to this recipe Dorie specifically mentions that these are very fudgy brownies so I wasn’t particularly excited about them.  I figured I’d bake them and ship them off to work with Shane.  

I almost always try to taste a little bite of whatever I make so I can comment about my impression on the blog, so I sampled a little corner of one of the brownies after I cut them….and then I ate the rest of that brownie and had to walk away so I didn’t eat another and another and another.  Best brownies I’ve ever had, hands down!  They were perfection – fudgy and rich but not at all gooey.  This is one instance where I was thrilled to be wrong, turns out I do like fudgy brownies, I just hadn’t tried the right ones – Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia!  My brownies were on the thin side because of the pan I used, but that didn’t bother me one bit.  I’m psyched to have a go-to brownie recipe and since I am still planning to send these brownies to work with Shane I have a feeling I’ll be making another batch very soon!

I was glad I waited until Monday to bake this week because I got some great tips from Nancy and Di that probably saved me from having trouble with this recipe.  Early reviewers described the brownies as gooey and underbaked so I was advised to either bake the full recipe in a 13 x 9 metal pan or 1/2 recipe in an 8-inch square metal pan (the recipe specified a 9×9 Pyrex pan for a full recipe).  My only square metal pan is 9×9 so that’s what I used for a half recipe.  I sprayed the pan with nonstick cooking spray, even though the recipe didn’t say to – better safe than sorry in my book.  I knew my brownies would probably be thin so I kept a close eye on them.  They were perfect at about 19-20 minutes.  After they’d cooled completely I was able to cut them and remove them from the pan easily. 

Many thanks to Tanya of Chocolatechic for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe on her site or on page 91 of the book.  The rest of this week’s brownies can be seen by visiting the TWD blogroll.