Who’s ready for Super Bowl Sunday?! Whether you’re heading to a big party this weekend or watching the game at home, I’ve got an easy and delicious dessert for you. Today, I’ll be sharing my favorite brownie recipe for Outrageous Brownies from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. And since I couldn’t resist the urge to make them festive, they are cut into the shape of footballs.
A few years ago, I made these brownies for a tailgate and had a hard time finding a football-shaped cookie cutter. I purchased a medium size circular cookie cutter and molded it into the shape of a football by bending it with my hands – no special tools required. I’m sure I could have ordered one online but I’m into instant gratification.
Second tip – resue the brownie scraps! You do not want to waste a morsel of this delicious chocolatey goodness. After I cut out all my footballs, I was left with A LOT of leftover brownie scraps. I gave them a rough chop and threw them into a ziplock bag and set them in the freezer. The bite-size pieces will be perfect for ice cream toppings or a chocolate brownie trifle. Or you can just be savage and shovel them into your mouth off the pan. No judgment here!
If you’d like to get extra fancy, feel free to finish your brownies off with a store bought white icing and pipe out the laces and stripes. I made my brownies last weekend and froze them. I decided to hold off on the icing until the day of so they don’t get messed up in the freezer.
Outrageous Brownies courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Ingredients:
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (the 12 ounces do not get melted with the rest of the chocolate)
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 6 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 2-1/4 cups sugar
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups chopped walnuts (I omitted these)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.
Pour into the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly.
At this point, you can either cut your brownies into squares or use your cookie cutter and cut them into footballs – or your desired shape and refrigerate.
Note: These brownies freeze nicely. I layered parchment paper between the layers of brownie to keep them from freezing together and stored them in a Tupperware container. To defrost, pull them out the day before you plan to serve.
What are you cooking up for the big game?
Cheers,
Christa
mallard & MAGNOLIA 