Brownie Bloopers

I was in terror the other night when I realized that my chocolate stash was at an all time low. Which is not acceptable. Ever. So, I began a search for the perfect brownies. Since it's been at least a good six months since I've done proper grocery shopping, it became the search for the "perfect with what I've got" brownies. Then it went down the convoluted path of "well, I've got coconut milk and wouldn't that be good, but oh I don't want to go shopping" and I ended up at the same place I seem to find myself every day: doctoring online recipes and hoping for the best. I decided to use a reliable recipe to start with, and everything from the Cooking with Amy blog is pretty foolproof. The link to Amy's "Perfect Brownie" recipe will be linked at the bottom of the post.

Of course, this was just the prototype. I was bound and determined to add one of two cans of coconut milk I had on hand. The recipe calls for 1 cup of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil. I ended up using about 2 tablespoons of butter and coconut milk to stand in for the rest. Now, these brownies were a surprise. She was absolutely right about the cocoa powder being sinfully chocolately and handy. But unlike her recipe where they were supposed to be midway between fudgey and cakey, mine ended up so light and moist I thought they were undercooked. The top was almost sticky and slightly chewy while airy is the only word I can use to describe the center. It was a dense crumb and almost spongy, so it held together well. It was also incredibly moist, but not greasy. What was supposed to make about 16 brownies condensed down into about 5 portions.

I resorted to using a Bundt cake pan for them since my other baking pans were occupied. A Bundt brownie was a bit of a novelty, but made it much easier for me to handle and cut. I think it tasted better the second day, with the coconut flavor coming in a bit stronger. Either way, my blooper ended up being a bonus. I think it needs a bit more work, but I could be on to something.

To try Amy's delicious looking recipe go here: http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/2004/02/perfect-browniesrecipe.html

To listen to the same song I danced along to while I was brownie-ing go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8o93FhxYak