Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Rosiethon. Day 9. Rosie Makes Brownie Squares.




Two days ago,
I made a double batch of a very versatile cookie dough -
 I'm starting with half that dough
and making a luscious brownie topping
to create Brownie Squares.

After this,
I'll use the other half to make Caramel Pecan Cookies.
I sliced the ball in half ...

... and rolled the halves out into 12-inch logs.
I covered with plastic and refrigerated
 until I had time and energy to finish them off.

You could skip this part
and go to the next step, if you're so inclined.
This dough doesn't need chilling right now.

Two days later,
I pulled the logs out,
let them come to room temperature,
and rolled out evenly into prepared pans.

To prepare the pans,
butter the baking dish,
then line it with buttered foil,
leaving a 2-inch overhang on the ends.

Cook crusts until golden, about 30 minutes,
and cool for 20 minutes.
 
While the crusts cooled,
I started on the Brownie Topping.

 

 Brownie Squares

For crust:
Ingredients for Basic Butter Cookies

For brownie filling:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup + 2 TB cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped

Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan, line with buttered foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both ends.

Follow recipe for basic butter cookie dough and press dough evenly onto bottom of prepared baking pan.

Chill until firm.  About 20 minutes.

While crust chills, heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool crust in pan on rack for 20 minutes.

Make Brownie Topping while crust cools:

Melt butter and chocolate with brown sugar in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth.

Remove from heat, whisk in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

Whisk in flour, cocoa, salt, and stir in walnuts.

Spread brownie batter over cooled crust and bake until set, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours.

Run a heavy knife under hot water,  wipe dry, and cut confection into small squares.


Brownie Topping:
 
 Combine butter, brown sugar, and chocolate.

 Melt.
 
 Whisk eggs.

 Add eggs to chocolate.

 And whup it up.

 Vanilla extract.


 Flour in.

 Cocoa powder.


 Stir in the walnuts.

 Pour chocolate onto shortbread base.

 Spread out evenly.
 Bake in 375 degree oven until set,
about 20 - 25 minutes.

 Let cool in pan completely.
About 2 hours.

 Invert pan and peel off foil.

 Perfect.

 I flipped this easily by hand.

Run a heavy knife under hot water and wipe dry.
Cut into small squares.
 I freeze everything,
so with these cookies,
I slice them into even smaller pieces
when I take them out of the freezer
and get all ready for delivery.

Everything cuts better in smaller pieces
when slightly frozen.
 Enjoy.
Festive Cookiescape!





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