Skillet Brownie

We made this skillet brownie tonight in cooking class. It is a recipe from Barefoot Contessa Make It Ahead cookbook.  

It’s rich, rich, rich in chocolate decadence that your family will love. It will be going, going, gone before you know it. 

You’ll need 4 small cast-iron skillets or 1 8” cast-iron skillet. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound (1 stick) 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup Hershey’s semisweet chocolate chips, divided in half
• 1½ ounces or 3 tablespoons unsweetened chocolate powder
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder, such as Nescafé
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Heat the butter, 4 ounces of the chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate together in a medium heat-proof bowl set over simmering water just until the chocolate melts. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee powder, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together ¼ cup of the flour, the baking powder, and salt and stir it into the chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips and one tablespoon of flour together in a medium bowl and stir them into the chocolate mixture. Spoon the mixture into 4 individual 3.5” cast-iron skillets and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for 22 minutes exactly. Or 1 8” cast-iron skillet for 35-40 minutes. If the center is not set add 5 minutes and recheck, repeat if necessary until done. Don’t overbake! A toothpick inserted in the center will not come out clean. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream. Yum Yum!