Cheryl Day's Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Ms. Cheryl did not have to stunt on everybody with her Chocolate Fudge Brownies.  Look at them. Look.  At. Them.  They are fudgy with a shiny dark chocolate glaze and speckled with flakes of Maldon salt.  It’s sheer perfection. 

Disclaimer

This is the brownie recipe that you want to make when you are going to be around people that you may not like, but you want them to know you are a better baker than them.  It’s petty, but if you know, you know. 

If You’re New Here

I have a giant baking crush on Cheryl Day.  If you aren’t familiar with her genius, let me catch you up.  She’s a New York Times best selling author, a James Beard Award Finalist, self taught baker and entrepreneur.   Last fall her latest cookbook, Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking came out and I IMMEDIATELY put it on my Christmas List.  Santa did not let me down. The book itself is gorgeous but the introduction is my favorite part. Ms. Day talks about the women who influenced her to be courageous and follow that passion for baking. While I am not standing in the kitchen with her watching and learning from her– this book is the next best thing.  Buy it y’all.  It’s a must have for your baking collection. 

Recipe Notes 

Chopped Chocolate + Butter

These brownies get their fudgy texture from the butter and chocolate that is slowly melted in a heat proof bowl that is set over a saucepan of simmering water.   Yes, it would be easier to put the butter and the chocolate in the microwave. No you aren’t going to do that. Because we’re stunting on people (see disclaimer above) and the slow melt of the butter along with the chocolate allows you to control the texture of the chocolate and get a smooth finish without the chocolate becoming too warm.  

Fold the Flour

Adding the flour to the batter is the last step to making brownies and you want to proceed with a little caution here.  Over stirring the flour can make brownies tough.  In order to achieve that smooth fudge texture, gently fold the flour into the batter and stop mixing as soon as all of the flour is combined.  You don’t need to add any extra air to the batter, I promise. 

Modification to the Brownie Recipe

I only made one modification to this recipe – and it is the bake time.  The original recipe calls for a 40 to 45 minute bake time.  However, my oven is consistently a dirty liar and runs extra hot. I baked the brownies for 25 minutes and they came out just right. If your oven runs normal, you may need to increase the bake time to 40 minutes.

How to know if Brownies are Done?

It is always better to under bake brownies than to over bake them.  Brownies will continue to cook in the pan after they leave the oven, so you have to pull them before a toothpick comes out clean.  The goal should be to have a medium amount of crumb on the toothpick when you pull the brownies out.

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