Coffee Brownies

Brownies are an American classic and were “invented” some time in the 19th century. There is some controversy on who is the original creator of them. A recipe for “Bangor Brownies” was published in the Boston Daily Globe in 1905. A few theories is that they originated when baking powder was left out of a chocolate cake batter making a “cake” that didn’t rise but yet tasted good, and also in 1893 it was reported that Bertha Palmer requested Chef Joseph Sehl of her Potter House Hotel in Chicago to make a portable cake resutling in the brownie.

This is nowhere near the original brownie recipe but I still find the history and theories to be interesting.

A look at some of the ingredients.

Chocolate I suggest you opt for a brand of chocolate bar you love just make sure it is 100% unsweetened. I use the cheapest brand since I found a bunch on sale once and they turned out wonderfully. Using melted chocolate to make brownies verses cocoa powder can result in a fudgier brownie since the cocoa butter hasn’t been removed.

Coffee and espresso both help to amplify the chocolate flavor. The brand of coffee you use will also have an effect on the end taste, it really is a personal preference. For this recipe you can use instant expresso or instant coffee. The flavor will be slightly different but I have used both and they are equally as good. If you don’t have any pre-made coffee on hand and don’t have time to brew a batch you can substatute the liquid coffee for water and add an extra tablespoon of the instant coffee/espresso powder to the recipe.

Vanilla extract or (homemade vanilla) in my opinion you can’t beat the rich boozy flavor these bring to the table and the depth that they add to any recipe but you can use any imitation vanilla you have on hand. It works just as well.

Butter is used mainly with brownie recipes that call for melted chocolate verses recipes with cocoa powder tipically use oil. For this recipe I used salted butter.

Eggs help the dry ingredients combine with the butter. When making a boxed brownie mix I like to add in an extra egg to make them extra chewy. These are chewy enough so I stick to two eggs.

Granulated sugar balances out the bitterness and keeps them soft and tender. Keeping them from drying out to quickly.

All purpose flour is what I used for this recipe and keeps it all together.

The batter will be thick and take a little work to even out in the pan but trust the process it is worth the extra work to get it spread out.

Leave the parchment paper sticking up enough so you can use the sides like handles and pull the bars out of the hot pan. Make sure you let them cool long enough to set up. Cutting them to quickly will result in them falling apart. Trust me I know because once the house fills up with the aroma of homemade brownies my patience goes out the window. They will look underbaked and not hold their shape if you cut them without allowing them to cool first.