Brownie Week Recipe #1: DARK CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO BROWNIES

Intense flavors of dark chocolate and espresso wrapped into a rich, semi-sweet, cake-like brownie. Perfect for the coffee lover ~ I wrapped up a batch of these in a clear goodie bag and a pretty pink bow for my mom's birthday. They are surprisingly simple to make.

I made this recipe after trying several different recipes and finding that many were too sweet for a dark chocolate lover. I toned down the sugar content, used a more bitter dark chocolate and upped the espresso amount in the recipe. I hope you enjoy it, bon appetit!

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped*
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 2 tablespoons espresso powder**
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 

*For the dark chocolate I used Trader Joe's dark chocolate bar (brown wrapping, comes in packs of 3 bars).
**For the espresso powder I use Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso Powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan. (Optional: for easiest removal also line the baking pan with parchment paper leaving the paper hanging over the edges of the pan so you can easily lift out the brownies after baking). Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with 1 inch of simmering water. Remove from the heat, stir in the cocoa powder and espresso powder and let cool.
2.  Whisk or sift the flour and the salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs at medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Fold in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add the flour-salt mixture, folding just until combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
4. Bake the brownies for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.