Paul Hollywood's Brownies

I recently read Dorie Greenspan’s review of a brownie recipe from Paul Hollywood’s new cookbook Bake: My Best Ever Recipes for the Classics. Dorie raved about the brownies which contain three kinds of chocolate (milk, semisweet, and bittersweet). The brownies also contain cacao nibs (aka cocoa nibs), dried bits of unsweetened cacao beans. I trust Dorie implicitly and was intrigued when she explained how the nibs added an edgily pure chocolate flavor and retained their crunchy texture throughout the baking process. I totally agree and really loved the way the finished brownies looked with the little nib flecks sprinkled about.

This recipe is somewhat flexible. I didn’t have any milk chocolate in the house so I replaced it with more semisweet chocolate and the brownies were just fine. These relatively thin brownies are deeply chocolate in flavor, dense and fudgy in texture, and they have that shiny, crackly top that everyone loves. I can’t stay away from them!

By Hollywood, Paul

Buy on Amazon

Fun fact - the brownie batter is much darker in color than the finished brownies are so you have to wait until the brownies are baked to see the beautiful color contrast of the dark nibs against the shiny, crackly tops. I think they’re Stunning!

Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• cacao nibs (aka cocoa nibs) https://amzn.to/3MrhX7n

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3rQIaTv

• 9x13 professional cake pan https://amzn.to/3SZGrXQ

• flat parchments sheets https://amzn.to/3hsffUl

• Baker’s Joy baking spray https://amzn.to/3PCQxgG

• Bake: My Best Ever Recipes for the Classics by Paul Hollywood https://amzn.to/3VpMzKu

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Paul Hollywood’s Brownies

makes a 9x13 cake pan

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (225g) semisweet chocolate, chopped

• 16 tablespoons (225g) unsalted butter, cut in pieces

• 3 large eggs (150g), room temperature

• 1 cups plus 2 tablespoons (225g) superfine sugar (see notes below)

• 2/3 cup (75g) all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

• 1 tablespoon cacao nibs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place rack in center position.

2. Line a 9x13-inch commercial cake pan with a parchment paper sling. Use a baking spray (like Baker’s Joy) to coat any part of the pan that isn’t covered with parchment paper.

3. In a glass or metal bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally (see notes below); remove the bowl from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for at least 10 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a flat paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until thick and very light in color. Alternatively, beat using a hand mixer for about 8 minutes.

6. Turn off mixer and add the cooled chocolate mixture; beat on low speed just until combined (a few streaks may remain).

7. Turn off mixer and add flour mixture and pure vanilla extract; beat on low speed until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated.

8. Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in the milk and bittersweet chocolate chips by hand; being sure all dry ingredient are incorporated.

9. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread into an even layer; sprinkle the cacao nibs evenly over the surface of the batter.

10. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean (a crumb or two is fine). You many need to check in a couple of spots if you hit a pocket of melted chocolate.

11. Remove pan from oven and allow brownies to cool completely in the pan.

12. Remove brownies by lifting the sling straight out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Store leftovers between layers of wax or parchment paper in an airtight container.

Notes

• If you don’t have superfine sugar, you can substitute an equal amoujnt of granulated sugar.

• When baking brownies, I recommend using a professional quality metal cake pan. If you choose to bake in glass, stoneware, or ceramic, lower your oven temp by 25F.

• In Step 2: I lined my pan with a sling of flat parchment paper. Flat parchment sheets are much easier to handle than rolled parchment. I spray the pan with a little nonstick cooking spray before adding the parchment sling - the spray will “glue” the parchment in place, yet remain easy to remove after baking. Any exposed pan edges that are not covered with parchment should be sprayed with nonstick baking spray (this is my favorite).

• In Step 3: When melting the butter and semisweet chocolate together, be sure the water is barely simmering, and don’t let the bottom of the glass or metal bowl touch the simmering water in the saucepan below.

• This recipe calls for 3 kinds of chocolate - milk, semisweet, and bittersweet. I didn’t have any milk chocolate so I replaced it with additional semisweet and was very happy with the results.

• When folding the chocolate chips into the batter, I used two different chip sizes and really liked the texture each brought to the finished brownies. Half of the chips were mini and the other half were a flat discs (about the size of 2-3 standard chocolate chips).

• Paul uses a hand mixer to beat the eggs and sugar in this recipe for 8 minutes! Dorie recommends the much faster method of using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment - there’s a reason why I’m such a Dorie fan!

• And lastly, crispy brownie edges are my favorite, true or false? True!

adapted from Bake: My Best Ever Recipes for the Classics by Paul Hollywood

David's Cranberry Anzac Cookies

I have long been a fan of David Lebovitz, famed pastry chef, best-selling author, and award-winning food blogger. These “Cranzac” cookies are his variation of Australia’s famous Anzac biscuits. The cookies (or biscuits as they’re traditionally called) are crunchy around the edges, chewy in the middle, and chock full of wonderful texture. They also contain one of my favorite baking ingredients - Lyle’s Golden Syrup. If you love golden syrup, but you’re not a fan of coconut, you might be interested in trying my Chewy Golden Syrup Cookies. Honestly though, my son-in-law isn’t a fan of coconut, but he gave these cookie two thumbs up!

This recipe comes together pretty fast by hand, but you can use a stand mixer as well.

To get 36 perfect cookies from this recipe, use level #50 scoop (my favorite size scoop for cookies).

Flatten the mounds of cookie dough a bit with your finger tips. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container (they freeze beautifully).

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• #50 cookie scoop https://amzn.to/3rJygUk

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/35Z1GFA

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3GM5ois

• dried cranberries https://amzn.to/2Wawj3D

• spoonula https://amzn.to/3fsxOSc

• unsweetened shredded coconut https://amzn.to/3dpQ6Sz

• old fashioned oats https://amzn.to/3dydbTd

• Lyle’s golden syrup https://amzn.to/2YCYPMP

• my favorite digital scale https://amzn.to/3LuBz9J

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David’s Cranberry Anzack Cookies

makes 36 cookies (#50 scoop)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200g packed dark brown sugar

• 1 cup (95g) old fashioned oats (not instant or quick-cooking)

• 1 1/4 cup (175g) all purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)

• 1 cup (90g) unsweetened shredded coconut or desiccated grated coconut (DO NOT use sweetened coconut)

• 1/2 cup (60g) dried cranberries (or raisins, currants, dried chopped cherries, dried blueberries)

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/4 cup lyle’s golden syrup

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

• 3 tablespoons warm water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F, place rack in center position, and line 3 half sheet pans with silpat liners.

2. Place the dark brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and break up any clumps by hand.

3. Add the oats, flour, shredded coconut, dried cranberries, baking soda, and salt; mix well.

4. In a 1 cup heat-proof measure, combine lyle’s golden syrup, melted butter, and warm water; mix to combine and pour over oat mixture.

5. Use a silicone spoonula to combine everything together until no dry ingredients remain.

6. Use a #50 scoop to portion even mounds of batter, 12 per sheet pan; flatten each mound of cookie dough with your fingers until their height is reduced in half (as shown above).

7. Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes until the cookies darken around the edges.

8. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool on the sheet pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

• If the cookie dough is too dry to form, David says you can add a teaspoon of water at a time until it’s wet enough to hold together.

• If you can’t find Lyle’s golden syrup, you can use a lightly flavored honey or light corn syrup instead (although I highly recommend finding golden syrup - you will definitely thank me!).

• These cookies are sweet so I would NOT use sweetened shredded coconut. Look for UNsweetened coconut in the baking, health food, or international section of the grocery store. Also, try your local international grocery store. Desiccated coconut can be substituted.

• If you don’t have 3 sheet pans, reuse the one(s) you do have, but make sure each pan is completely cool before using it again.

adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz