Overnight (Lighter) Brownies

Now that the painful picture from last post is over and done with, some brownies are in order. I pre-ordered this book because of all the hype and it is clearly worth it after this recipe, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Mendrich. I love making stuff ahead of time. For example, yesterday I woke up and popped some brownies in the oven. Then ate them for breakfast. Hot. Perfect, no?

Not only should you buy this book but you should make these. Or at least make the recipe tonight and bake them tomorrow.

Overnight (Lighter) Brownies
By Alice Medrich

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp natural cocoa
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp water
1 egg
2 egg whites
fleur de sel*

Line a 8 x 8 square pan with tin foil so that there is an over hang of about 2 or 3 inches. That way you can lift the puppies out when they are done and less cleaning aka genius. In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together with a whisk or fork and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it is sizzling. Remove from heat and immediately add the cocoa. Stir until it is smooth. Add the sugar and mix until it is combined, it will look like really dark brown sugar. It will have cooled down a bit so the eggs don't cook. Stir in the vanilla, coffee mix, egg and egg whites until it is smooth and glossy. Stir in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight or for at least a few hours. When ready to bake, let the pan sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350º now. Bake the brownies for 15 to 18 minutes until a toothpick comes out with crumbs and thickened batter but not thin and liquidy batter. You do not want to overcook these. Allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack in the pan.** Remove from the pan and slice into 16 squares. These are best right out of the oven or from the freezer, in my opinion.

* The brownies in the photo do not have fleur de sel on them because I gave these ones to my neighbor but the ones I ate were loaded with fleur de sel. I reckon that is very unhealthy all that sodium. But that is why I have really low blood pressure so I can eat buckets of salt.

** I have no self restraint as I have previously mentioned several times, and waited about twenty minutes to remove them from the pan and cut them. Well I ate a brownie while slicing because so much stuck to the knife. But no matter, looks aren't everything, they still tasted great!