The Secret To Perfect Brownies

Brownies are the easiest dessert to make, and the hardest to make perfect. I need you to listen carefully, because these are gonna be the best brownies you've ever seen. And if you don't believe me, at the end of the video I'm gonna bring one to my grandma. Grandma's no better than anybody if a brownie is good. And trust me, my grandma doesn't hand out compliments. If this brownie's the best brownie she's ever had, she will tell us. But if it's the worst, she'll tell us that too. I'm gonna start off the way I start most baked goods, and that is by making some brown butter. We make brown butter because it achieves this nutty depth that regular butter can't even touch. When it foams up, that means you're getting close, and when you can eventually see golden brown spots forming at the top of those bubbles, that means it's time to immediately take it off the heat, and then my trick is to spray the bottom of my pan with some water to immediately stop that cooking process. As you can see, we're now left with the most perfect brown butter. Next, while the butter's still nice and warm, we'll add in our chocolate and stir to melt. This will help to further cool down that brown butter so it's not too hot when we add it to the eggs in just a few moments. In every blind brownie taste test, brownies with better chocolate win, so if there's any place in this recipe you're gonna spend a little more money, spend it on better chocolate. Set this aside. Then, into a mixing bowl, we'll crack a few eggs, plus one extra yolk for richness, as well as some granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and a little splash of vanilla extract. This is my bottle of homemade vanilla extract that I'm very proud of. His name is Charles. He's six years old. Fit the bowl into your stand mixer along with the whisk attachment, then turn it up to high and let it mix for ten minutes. This is how we get that shiny, crackly crust on top. It comes from the sugar fully dissolving into the eggs, which rises during the bake and sets on top like glass. And as you can see, I'm also gently warming the sides of the bowl with my torch as it mixes. This will help that sugar to dissolve faster. Once your eggs look silky and velvety like this, get rid of your mixer and pour in that chocolate brown butter mixture. This, by the way, is definitely a spoon-licking kind of moment. And then gently fold everything together. Remember, we just spent ten minutes trying to get air bubbles whipped into those eggs. Don't push it all out now. Be sure especially to scrape from the bottom up. The chocolate likes to try to hide in the corners, so you wanna make sure you really mix it all in. We wanna be gentle and mix it just enough that it's not streaky anymore. My mixture has cooled a bit more than I'd want it to, so I'm gonna hit it once more with my torch. You wanna keep the mixture loose and warm right up until you're ready to pour it into that baking dish. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder to make sure there are no clumps. Anytime I'm sifting something, I love using a whisk. It goes through very quickly. And know that from this moment forward, every stir will cost you. Mixing develops gluten, and too much gluten means you'll make a cake instead of brownies. So fold until just combined. I'm totally fine seeing a few little clumps of flour left. If this batter is any indication, my grandma's gonna give these a perfect score, but we'll see. Pour this into a parchment-lined baking dish, then give it a few taps to make sure it's all evened out. Give it one light sprinkle of salt, and then into the oven at 325 Fahrenheit until the edges are set and the center is wobbly. Take a look at that. Technically, we should let it rest for 30 minutes, but half the time, I grab a bowl with a scoop of ice cream and then put some of the hot, gooey brownie right over it, and it's genuinely better than any dessert I've ever had, even at the best restaurants all around the world. But, if and when you're patient enough to let it fully cool, it'll look like this. You can see that wavy, glass-like crust on the top, those raised corner pieces, my favorite part, and all the little chunks of salt that have partway dissolved into the brownie. But the real test is when we cut into it. The key to cutting brownies is to place a sharp knife in hot water, then wiping the blade dry and going straight down with a clean and confident cut. Then rinse and repeat. Everybody always argues about which piece is the best. This point we may not agree on, but I think that the corner slices give you the best balance in every bite. But I think there's one thing we can all agree on, and that's that if your favorite piece is this middle one here, you're out of your mind. I've been waiting all day for this. It has everything you'd ever want in a brownie. Crispy top, fudgy center, the perfect bittersweet balance. But hey, if you don't believe me, I'll let you hear what my grandma thinks. Just wait right there. I got you a present. Oh, good lord, it's huge. A 9.3? Mm-hmm. Any reason why? I think it's good, honey. I'll try to make you a better one next time. Don't fool me. I'm not fooling you.