Milk Chocolate Brownies

This recipe is from the famous Fat Witch Bakery in NYC, and I found it via the Dallas Duo Bakes blog (they always have loads of tasty recipes).  I've made their snow witch white chocolate brownies before and they were delightful, so I had high hopes for these.  I adore rich dark chocolate brownies, but Mike is more of a milk chocolate kind of guy so I figured these brownies were right up his alley.

The recipe is super fast and easy to make.  Brownies are probably one of the only things I make without my beloved stand mixer, and it's kind of fun to mix things by hand once in a while.  I used Guittard for all the chocolate the recipe called for (yes I am a chocolate snob).  The final verdict?  While they looked gloriously chocolatey these weren't my favourite.  I definitely prefer a deep dark intense chocolate flavour which these brownies lacked.  The texture was nice and fudgy, just how I like them.  Surprisingly Mike wasn't a huge fan either, I guess he likes dark chocolate more than he thought!

Milk Chocolate Brownies

from Fat Witch Bakery  

Ingredients

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped to same-sized pieces

1/2 cup milk chocolate, coarsely chopped to same-sized pieces

2 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips (we didn't have chips, so we chopped a milk chocolate bar)

Directions

1.  Grease a 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan with butter.  Dust with flour and tap out the excess.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Melt the butter and the coarsely chopped milk and unsweetened chocolates in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently.  Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

3.  Cream the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.  Add the cooled chocolate mixture and continue mixing until well combined.

4.  Measure the flour and salt and then sift together into the batter.  Mix gently until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains.  Stir in the milk chocolate chips by hand.

5.  Using a spatula, spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only crumbs, not batter, on it.

6.  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 1 hour.  Cut just before serving.

Yield:  12 to 16 brownies