Orange~Chocolate Brownie Drops

There are some days when the Little Girl naps and I can sneak into the kitchen long enough to prepare dinner or experiment with a recipe before she wakes up. Then there are some days when the Little Girl just won't have any of that napping thing and I have to load her into the carriage and wheel her into the kitchen to keep me company while I cook, stopping many times (many many times) in the middle of something to tend to Her Highnesses needs. I not only trip over the cat while cooking these days, I have to manuever around the baby too. My how my life has changed!

The inspiration for this baking project came from two sources; a really wonderful cookbook called, Home Baking ~ The Artful Mix Of Flour And Tradition Around The World by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (the same authors of Seductions of Rice and Hot Sour Salty Sweet) and an orange that was just sitting on the kitchen counter. I love the combination of fruit and chocolate; chocolate with orange/raspberry/banana/pineapple, pretty much any fruit with chocolate tastes good to me, even strawberries, which I'm not a big fan of. As I was getting set up to make the brownies I picked up the orange and thought, “yes, this might work” so I consulted with Her Highness about adding orange zest to the chocolate mixture, she smiled, and cooed her approval, and so a brownie was born. I baked them in mini muffin tins because mini muffins make you SING! those are the only muffin tins I have

The recipe was really easy, there wasn't a long list of ingredients, prep time was minimal and the cleanup at the end went quickly, which was nice. Most unusual, (to me) was the use of corn syrup for sweetening rather than sugar. I had pretty much convinced myself that I was going to ruin the brownies by adding too much orange zest and extract, the key was to constantly taste the chocolate as I sparingly added the zest and the tiniest bit of pure orange extract, letting the flavors build, adding more as I thought was needed. Its way too easy to go overboard with flavoring I think, people’s tastes vary, what might be too much for me might not be enough for someone else so I caution to add the orange zest/extract with that in mind. I sampled one of the brownies and was immediately hit with an intense EXPLOSION of chocolate, followed by a not so subtle, but not overpowering burst of orange. Each flavor was distinct yet complimented the other and I found myself enjoying one really terrific bite of chocolate. I ate one while it was still warm from the oven and then another after they had cooled down (hey, someone has to do the research). I preferred the cooled brownies much more than the warm ones, but you know, I’d never turn down a warm brownie either. I think allowing the brownies to cool; gave the chocolate time to develop and marry with the orange flavor, making the taste and intensity of each bite more powerful. These came out more cake-like in texture and that's fine by me, I prefer brownies that way. I often find the texture of brownies to be too thick and grainy, almost sandy, so the fact that they came out like cake is nice, but dangerous, because the temptation to eat more is greater...especially because they are so small. I decided to freeze most of them for future indulgences when the craving for something chocolate hits. They freeze well, and can be thawed at room temperature until they are ready, or, if you can't wait, microwave them just long enough to defrost.

Adapted from Home Baking ~ The Artful Mix Of Flour And Tradition Around The World by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Independent Brownies

Makes 22 to 24 round brownies, 2 inches across, with a thick rich bite

• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 pound (2-3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups light corn syrup (I used 1-1/4 cups)
• 1-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• a small amount of pure orange extract to taste
• grated zest of an orange to taste

1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 24 regular muffing cups (or, if necessary, grease 12 cups-bake the first batch, then re-grease and bake the second batch).

2. Place the chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring occasionally until blended and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

3. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, then add the corn syrup and vanilla and whisk until combined. In another small bowl, combine the flour and salt. Stir the egg mixture into the chocolate-butter mixture until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture, using a rubber spatula to stir only enough to combine.

4. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them only two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Test several with a knife; the center should be cooked but still moist (the knife should come out clean but not dry).

5. Let stand in the pans for 10 minutes to firm up, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Written by Deb on March 17, 2004 01:30 AM