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Wedding Gift Brownies
5 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
4 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (other unsweetened cocoas work, too)
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Set rack in the oven’s center.
Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. (Or equivalent-sized pan.) Line with parchment paper, letting sides hang over by 1 inch. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave in a glass bowl or over a stove-top double boiler until it’s about 3/4 melted. Remove from heat and stir. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or standing mixer, beat the eggs slightly, then whisk in the sugar. Beat until think and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. (This is where a standing mixer comes in handy.)
In another bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
Meanwhile, if the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly, and is not hot, pour it into the egg/sugar mixture and gently blend well. (If you add the chocolate when it’s too hot the eggs will curdle.)
Sift (yes, again) the flour mixture over the chocolate batter in 3 additions, folding gently with a heavy plastic spatula each time to incorporate well. Do not over-mix.
Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center has just a few crumbs clinging to it. Do not over-bake.
Cool before cutting. A thin-bladed knife dipped in boiling water, then wiped with a paper towel, will make the job easier.
If you want, dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with chocolate sauce.
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