wherein julie tries not to eat a whole tray of brownies and almost fails

So I've noticed that this blog has had pretty much no baking adventures whatsoever and is all about boring school stuff so far - well, yes, I've been baking, but I either keep forgetting to take pictures (I love gorgeous food shots) or I can't sit down long enough to write a post about it. I'm too busy eating. Rest assured, there shall be food stuffs aplenty, once I settle in.

I'll tell you about my real first class (you know, the kind where the teacher actually decides to show up) tomorrow, but it's past midnight, and I'm hungry. Right now, we're talkin' brownies.

Spicy brownies, that is. I used the ever-delicious recipe by Baked, a wee Brooklyn bakery that's garnered national attention, that I STILL have not been to, and still I don't know why that is. Why, world? Why have I not been to this delectable mecca of all things chocolatey and gooey and flaky and yum? Why have I not gotten in the car, conquered my fear of bridges to drive to Brooklyn to sate this steadfast desire for this caloric goodness? I fear not the stretch to my waistline, nor the damage to my stomach, nay, not even the low cackle of diabetes looming in my future. Because after making this recipe, I was hooked, without even having step foot into the shop. This is, apparently, Oprah's favorite brownie. Say what you will about her, but it's Oprah, people. Oprah. And if she tasted my rendition, I'm sure I'd get a "hey, that's pretty darn good there julie, keep it up," at least. And if my version gets a pretty darn good, I'm sure the real thing got the guys at Baked a new car.

I got the idea to spice these puppies up from one of my favorite cooking blogs, smitten kitchen. I used a little under a teaspoon of chipotle powder, some cinnamon, and a little cardamom - in retrospect, I would have left out the cardamom altogether, or just used a tiny pinch. It packed a punch - there was a nice tingle at the end, but not too overpowering. Spicy chocolate is one of my favorite combos, ever. Ever ever.

One very, very important thing - aside from not overmixing the batter and not overcooking the brownies (take 'em out undercooked if you're really not sure, it's better to have a slightly mushy brownie rather that one that breaks your teeth) - it's really important to use the best kind of chocolate you can find. Yeah, Ghiradelli's good, I've used it in plenty of things, but for these I busted out some Sharffen Berger at $9 a bar.. and holy damn was it good. It didn't just affect the taste, but the texture - there were little tiny melted pockets of real chocolate all throughout the brownie, and they were moist, and dense, and utterly divine.

Best of all, there's espresso (albeit instant) in them, so you have a handy excuse when you eat them for breakfast.

the baked browie, spiced up from smitten kitchen