Foodie Fridays: Dark Chocolate Brownies

In my continuing quest to find recipes that will help me use up our surplus of dark chocolate, I came across one for Dark Chocolate Brownies from Nestlé.  The recipe of course calls for Nestle's dark chocolate chips, but I simply chopped up the remaining 12 ounces of a one-pound block of dark chocolate we had and added that instead.  Since the original version only uses 10 ounces of chocolate, I had to increase the amount slightly, but better too much chocolate in a brownie than too little, in my opinion!  Best of all, in addition to some lusciously decadent brownies, I finally managed to use up the first of two one-pound boxes of dark chocolate - now that's progress!

Dark Chocolate Brownies

2 C. (12 oz.) dark chocolate chunks (or 1 2/3 C. dark chocolate chips)

1 C. sugar

1/3 C. butter, cut into chunks

2 T. water

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 C. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Microwave 1 1/2 C. dark chocolate chunks (or 1 1/3 C. chocolate chips) in a large bowl for one minute.  Add the butter chunks and microwave one more minute.  Stir together the melted chocolate and butter.  Blend in the sugar and water.  Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla.  Add the four and salt and carefully fold them in until completely incorporated.  Stir in the remaining dark chocolate chunks.  Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch square baking pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 38-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly sticky.  Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.  Cut into squares.  Makes 16 brownies.

Note: The original recipe calls for an optional 1/2 C. chopped walnuts or pecans, but I prefer my brownies without nuts.

If you have trouble cutting and removing brownies from the pan, the best tip I read recently is to use a plastic serrated knife instead of a metal one (this will also save your pans from scratches).  The brownies don't stick as much to the plastic, and these knives cut through them just as easily as a metal knife would.  I have two plastic knives that work equally well, both available from Amazon.com:

Translucent Plastic Cake/Brownie Cutter and Lettuce Knife

  Koziol Coco Red Cake Knife in Crocodile Design
(I just love this cute little crocodile!)