The California Crafters Club of Etsy (CCCOE) is a group of independent artists, crafters, & artisans from California who sell their wares on Etsy.com.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Happy Brownie Day!

Yep, you read right. December 8th's little known holiday is National Brownie Day. And with that in mind, I thought I'd share my favorite brownie recipe along with some fun brownie-themed CCCOE goodies because, as you know, there aren't really a lot of sweets lying around the kitchen in December... Fudgy Brownies from Epicurious.com
  • 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cold large eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

And now for some brownie goodness from our talented CCCOE team:

Candy Cane Brownie Cookies by KECookies'

Brownie Clutch by SalvageShop

Letterpress Recipe Cards by HawkGerber

Treat Bags by ShannaMichelleDesigns

This post was hastily written during the Christmas rush by Janet of CustomSepia.

8 comments:

  1. Great post and thanks for the receipe! I love brownies and all things sweet =)

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  2. I have had KE's candy cane cookies and they rock. All of hers are quite tasty.

    Great post and thanks for sharing the recipe. My favorite brownie has Baileys Irish Cream.

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  3. Yummy receipe. Will have to try it. Loved this feature. :)

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  4. Ooooh I was hankering for sweets and skipped the Brownie box...did cookies :( If I'd only have read this earlier lol....what a fun post. Thanks for featuring my bags (which are food safe by the way lol)

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  5. This is a holiday i can definitely get behind, but it needs to be once a month :)

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  6. Mmm those peppermint brownies look fabulous! Thanks for the recipe and the blog. Great Job.

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  7. I love that there is a Brownie Day!
    Thanks for sharing the recipe, it sounds delish :)

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  8. i always love brownies with icecream on top.

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