Brownies

Rich brownies with coffee and sea salt.

ingredients

1 pound butter
12 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces or chocolate chips (I use Baker’s chocolate)
2 cups (mini) semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (I use Baker’s chocolate)
6 eggs
3 teaspoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (not artificial)
2 cups sugar
1 cup plus 1/4 cup flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups chopped walnut pieces (optional)

1
Preheat oven to 350oF. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. (I use parchment paper on the bottom. Spray it with oil.) Occasionally the brownies overflow, so I put a sheet of foil on the bottom of the oven just in case…
2
Melt together the butter, 8 ounces semisweet and 12 ounces chocolate chips the microwave or in a double boiler. Add instant coffee powder to this mixture. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool slightly.
3
Add 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 2 cups mini-chocolate chips with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
4
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, reverse the pan in the oven. Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.
5
It is best to remove the brownies from the pan when cool, but before refrigerating. Otherwise the oil used for greasing the pan hardens and they are impossible to remove. Cut after at least four hours in the refrigerator.
6
These are very rich brownies, so cut them into approximately 1” by 1” squares. After cutting, coat with powdered sugar, if desired.