Brownies ~ Frankie style

**friscofrankie** · 11-11-2008, 05:55 PM

So. Brownies huh? Couple months back I got hungry for some down home, good old fashioned brownies. I put together a mess and now The ol' lady asks me at least once a week to make a batch.

For something that just tastes so damned good, they're damn easy to make.

GEt all your ingredients out of the fridge:

Now what we got up there is about a cup of flour (use more for cakier brownies or less for damn-near fudge-like ones), about a cup-and-a-half of white sugar (hmm, brown sugar? never tried it...), two eggs, four ounces of unsweetened chocolate, some walnuts and some butter.

Now many recipes call for unsalted butter and a bit of salt. WTF? I use salted butter, leave out the salt figure we're about square. There's a couple other ingredients you can add tothe mix. I've always ahd the habit of tossing in a fat pinch of Baking soda, Not sure it even does anything but old habits, ya know? Later on you'll see me add a bit of imitation vanilla, I usually leave this out and add a shot of two or liquer if it's around. not something I buy on a regular basis. The bottle of amaretto I have been using was finally depleted. Think a shot or two of Chambord would do nicely I love the flavor of rassberries and chocolate. Maybe next trip to the store..

You're gonna need oen of them fancy double boiler things. Mine is an heir loom handed down from the cheap store to the old man.

Put a couple inches of water inteh bottom pan turn the heat on to medium and getcher stuff ready.

If the chocolate is hard or you were real smart, like me, and put inthe fridge for a few hours just slam the whole bar down on the counter, real hard. Breaks up perfect for melting.

I cut one of those 250 gram blocks of butter in half so I guess the recipe calls for 125 grams, giver or take. I cut the butter up into smaller chunks as well, just seems fair. put all that in double boiler and give a few minutes.

Stir it around once in a while until everything is melted. Now you can take it off the heat if you like or if you're like me you'll add the sugar and the vanilia, or liquer if you have it. Just makes the mixing easier to me. One of them habits again.

Once youg et that all mixed in, take the top pan off the heat, don't forget to turn off the gas, or your ol' lady chew yer ass for wasting a few satang.
Once the thigns off the heat I usually add about half the flour and get that incorporated completely. I'll then add one of the eggs and when it's all mixed up the rest of the flour, then the last egg. Feels easier that way, probably one of them habits.

After everything is all mixed n I like a big handful of walnuts, pecans are good, almonds? You might like 'em just don;t feel right in brownines even when I was adding inteh amaretto.

Here you can see I added allteh nuts I already had and figured I needed a few more. I guess you canut what ever you want in at this point, what the hell your gonna eat 'em add what you like. I tried raisens, black currants are ok, but I really don;t like the pieces of fruit in my brownnies, too much like health food. I even thought of adding in some rasberry puree. but I found a better use for that.

Now while the chocolate was heating onthe stove you remembered to prepare a nicely buttered pan, right?

I just smeared the open end of the cut-off chunk of butter in there you can use a brush or a paper towel if you wanna be more civilized.

Pour the mess in the pan and spread it around so it's fairly even:

You ain;t gotta be too particular here, it's gonna spread out before it sets up but try to get it fairly even .

Now you put that in an oven at, oh, about 325 -350 or so. You can preheat the oven if you like, I usually trn the oven on while just before I pour the mix in the pan not much of a pre-heat. And wait.
after abut fifteen - 20 minutes you might want to check if your brownies are done yet.

Nope, not yet.

Keepig checkin on em every few minutes or so until:

If you got a moist crumb or two on the toothpick it's be OK.

Now comes teh hard part. take em out set 'em on a rack and let 'em cool! If yo don;t you're just gonna have a mess of tasty fuckin crumbs.
Once they've cooled for a bit, say 30 minutes or as close as as you can get before you just gotta have one and cut 'em up

Stack 'em on a plate and eat out of hand.

Or...

Total prep time about 20 minutes another 45 - 50 minutes wait time. Total cost is about 125 - 150 baht. Easier than pie.

hmmm Pie...

**chitown** · 11-11-2008, 05:59 PM

Made me extremely hungry. Now I have to venture out for a snack.

Looks freakin delicious!

**friscofrankie** · 11-11-2008, 05:59 PM

I made this batch a week or so back and took the pics and uploaded. no time to post. The ol' lady came home frm work as I was posting this. BIG smile, "You made Brownies."
"No"
Big frown.

**jandajoy** · 11-11-2008, 06:05 PM

Lovely stuff. Tooth pick photos made me laugh. One question though;

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

There's a couple other ingredients you can add tothe mix.

Greeny, blacky browny powdery grassy stuff. Makes the party go with a swing.

**Shipm8te** · 11-11-2008, 06:57 PM

Where did you get the walnuts?

**friscofrankie** · 11-11-2008, 07:18 PM

Rim Ping Market the Western palate's friend in Chiang Mai

**ChiangMai noon** · 11-11-2008, 07:40 PM

brilliant.

**Rigger** · 11-11-2008, 07:56 PM

Looks like someones pipe blocked up

**pickel** · 11-11-2008, 08:01 PM

At what point in the process do you put the secret ingredient in?

**melvbot** · 11-11-2008, 08:12 PM

They look fuggin awesome FF. Last time I had brownies they were Amsterdam imports, I'd settle for a slab of those with a nice cuppa cha...

**friscofrankie** · 11-11-2008, 08:18 PM

if you want secret ingredients the vey best way is to start teh butter over a low heat and add the "Ingredient" after it melts. You should then keepthe butter going on a low heat(careful not to Burn) for a bout 30 minutes. strain the we, er ingredients out the butter will then have most if not al the active portion of the secret ingredient.

you can then use the butter and build the brownies according to above. Now some people hust grind the ingredient up and dump it in with the sugar/flouor/eggs.

Tastes like shit IMO. Gimme a pipe or two before, I like my brownines G-rated

**chitown** · 11-11-2008, 08:20 PM

FF, you inspired me to whip up some brownies, pull out my ice cream maker and throw this together -

You can't see the Swenson's water glass can you?

**jandajoy** · 11-11-2008, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

Now some people hust grind the ingredient up and dump it in with the sugar/flouor/eggs.

Yup, I'm your Huckleberry on that one.

**pickel** · 11-11-2008, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

if you want secret ingredients the vey best way is to start teh butter over a low heat and add the "Ingredient" after it melts. You should then keepthe butter going on a low heat(careful not to Burn) for a bout 30 minutes. strain the we, er ingredients out the butter will then have most if not al the active portion of the secret ingredient. you can then use the butter and build the brownies according to above. Now some people hust grind the ingredient up and dump it in with the sugar/flouor/eggs. Tastes like shit IMO. Gimme a pipe or two before, I like my brownines G-rated

I had a room mate once who had a method of somehow using isopropyl alcohol to leach the oil out of the...erm.. tea, which he would then strain off and mix with butter in the way you describe. You don't get the gritty taste that way. I've only eaten them a few times, the first 30 min. of the experience was great, then the paranoia and severe anxiety set in and I focking hated it. Best not to do in public.

**friscofrankie** · 11-11-2008, 09:51 PM

Thought I'd update. I forgot to figure in the nuts in the price. Hmmm, short term memory loss? With the walnuts, I used half a packet or so, make the cost at around 175 - 200 baht.

**blackgang** · 11-11-2008, 10:04 PM

well if I was still there it would be safe with me as I eat no nuts in anything except snickers and Baby Ruth bars, hate nuts in anything.
If I gonna eat nuts I eats em straight outta the can or shell or what ever.

I usta make brownies here but the ol lady haul it off to school and give it to the other teachers, and I wasn't fuckin em so I wasn't gonna bake for em either, ended that deal.

**daveboy** · 12-11-2008, 01:25 AM

Good recipe FF I'll give it a whirl over the weekend

**Rural Surin** · 12-11-2008, 03:55 AM

See you used the fine quality American Hershey's chocolate. YUK.

**friscofrankie** · 12-11-2008, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by Rural Surin

See you used the fine quality American Hershey's chocolate. YUK.

Ah yes the culinary expert rears 'is empty 'ead. You do understand that cacao (the ONLY ingredient in unsweetened chocolate) is a native of the "Americas?" I have never seen a bar of "Cadbury Pure Unsweetened Chocolate" but they may produce it. Their confections, though; a tad overly sweet, IMO.

There are producers of finely granulated cocoa products that includes the fatty "cocoa butter" that is available here, hardly the stuff of which chocolate dreams are made. Being powdered, I'm sure it ships and ages well.

There are now also other regions producing cacao such as Serria Leone, Indonesia, and India these days. 70% of the world cacao is now grown in west Africa! In fact, a good deal of Hershey's unsweetened chocolate is produced in Mexico. Wouldn't put it past them sneaky Thais to import that version. We all know how terribly sub-standard Mexican chocolate is.

There are brands of powdered cacao around, I've seen loosely packaged plasticine bags of powdered pure unsweetened chocolate around. I'll stick with the compressed bricks myself. For a quick batch of Brownies, buying more expensive raw materials is more for show; an affectation, if you will.

But you, being an expert in All Things Chocolate, knew all this already, right? Is this simply another attempt to post more of your I'm so helpless, whinging, anti-American drivel. You don't like the Imperialist, American brownies? Go and make some of your own. Good luck finding a decent unsweetened chocolate at your local Tesco. Or that frenchie place. They might have some fine european stuff, bought at auction, shipped half way 'round the world processed, then shipped back. Me? I'll go for the stuff processed and packaged at the source, and at 86 Baht a 4 0z bar, I think I'll go for these, just as they are.

Not everything on this forum is about some idiotic American/English/Ozzie/Kiwi/Canadian/German/Frechie/etc./etc rivalry. This was just a fuckin recipe for everyone to enjoy; and hopefuliy, expand on.

Tell you what, why don't you mix up a batch, with your own preferences of chocolate additionsla ingredients and show us all how you like 'em? Or would that be too much like contributing something worthwhile?

Eagerly looking forward to your recipe.
Gratefully yours,
FF

**melvbot** · 12-11-2008, 08:39 AM

86bt a bar? That sounds pretty cheap when you get a Snickers bar the size of a babys thumb for about 25bt. Tesco/oven/ingredients is on the list for this week.

**Bogso** · 15-11-2008, 08:00 AM

Great recipe, thanks for posting it, im gonna give it a go this weekend.

**DrAndy** · 15-11-2008, 05:27 PM

FF, would you recommend salted butter, or unsalted?

using salted may leave the quantity out of your control, or doesn't it matter?

**friscofrankie** · 15-11-2008, 06:14 PM

It does leave it out of your control. But.

I have actually given it some thought. There was a brand of Butter in Fiji, imported in bulk and mixed up, packaged as a local brand, extra salty to suit Fijian tastes. Don't think I would have used that brand; but, damn! it was good on the fresh baked long-loaves you could get in just about every village on the island.

I personally don't see a need for salt at all in this recipe and the saltiness of the brand of butter pictured imparts no salty flavor to the brownies. Salt in bread adds a a touch of flavor and supposedly toughens the starches/glutens in the flour so it retains the gases and makes for a nice crumbed loaf; so 'they' tell me. I didn't use salt in my pancakes this morning made with some of my sourdough starter and a pinch of baking soda, left to rest for about an hour, they fluffed up nice with good fine bubbles in them. I know of folks that bake decent loaves without salt.

I just can;t see a need for salt in these brownies. I only used salted butter because I see salt called for in so many recipes I figured I could get away with it. I bought the chocolate and nuts and used what i had to hand. Think I just might make a batch tonight, using the salted butter. I'll try a batch next week with unsalted butter and NO salt. What the hell, easier than pumpkin pie and just as good. Don't forsee any problem.

**EmperorTud** · 22-11-2008, 05:45 PM

My Brownies are in the oven as I type.

The Hershey's chocolate was 83thb for that tiny bar in Foodland so I opted for the much larger block of sweet cooking chocolate at 153thb.

I've left out most of the sugar to compensate.

I also couldn't get walnuts in a pinch so I opted for some mixed nuts in the bag at 22thb. There's pecans, almonds and cashews but lo and behold some walnuts in there too.

Smell is awesome and I will update when done.

**chitown** · 22-11-2008, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by EmperorTud

Smell is awesome and I will update when done.

A pic would be appreciated!

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