barefoot brownies

i love an excuse to bake and Valentine's day is just that! so i decided to bake my FAVORITE brownies for my volunteers and as usual they were delicious!

the recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) and it makes a lot of brownies! i made them over 2 years ago and have never had a better brownie.

so cute :)

mmmmm..... i love walnuts.

i divided the batter into 2 cookie sheets this time and

used my cool double heart shaped brownie cutter.

also, i do not suggest cutting these brownies in the morning before you've eaten breakfast (like i did). there is too much temptation and you may end up with a stomach ache (again, like i did).

no brownies left behind! i chopped the edges to serve as brownie bites and saved the little scraps for me to much on.

bag them up.

this is what the kitchen table looked like...

this is cuter though.

Outrageous Brownies

1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares. Or 32 paris of hearts, a bunch of brownie bites and a bag of scraps ;-)

Did i mention these are NOT low-fat? Just sayin.

Happy Valentine's Day!