Yes, you read that correctly - PMS Brownies! I received my pre-release review copy of Connie's book from Andrews McMeel Publishing back in August and couldn't wait to try a recipe...or fifty. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I was only able to bake up my first batch a couple weeks ago and I am sharing them here with you today!
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| Image Courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC |
Connie: When you have a brownie business as I do, you get to tweak all the time, but rest assured, I would never sell anything that wasn't up to my standard. There are many incarnations of a recipe still in development that are not up to snuff, and they go either in the trash, or if they're decent enough, to the teacher's lounge of the school where my husband teaches. Jacquee, if you lived anywhere near me, I'd be thrilled to have your input as a taster!
J: What is your secret/technique to creating THE perfect brownie, or baked goods in general?
Connie: I do feel it's important to write up a recipe completely before you begin working on it so that notes can be made from the get go. I also keep those revisions of the recipe as I'm developing it, because sadly, the progress in R&D does not always move forward. I do keep small samples of each rendition of the recipe in the refrigerator with a number on the baggie that corresponds to each revision as I'm developing it. I'm looking for optimum texture as well as taste in any recipe - but aren't we all? I have been baking long enough that I have a very good understanding of how certain ingredients effect a recipe. For example, I love pound cakes. I pretty much know what leavening agent (if any) and how much to use would work best to get that tight, moist texture for whichever cake I'm developing. I will tell you though that it took many, many baked (some disastrously) pound cakes to gain that knowledge, and I have the roll around my middle to prove it.
J: You are referred to as a "precise and careful baker". Care to elaborate?
Connie: Well first of all, I use a scale to insure that I'm using precisely the same amount of each ingredient each and every time I make that recipe. Baking is all about precision, and if you want a consistent outcome you have to control all of the variables. It drives me mad when I see a TV "chef" take a bottle of vanilla extract and slosh it into a bowl without using measuring spoons. She (or he) will say "add a teaspoon of vanilla" when clearly they are adding at least a tablespoon. Apparently they have no idea how that much "good" vanilla is altering the flavor and texture profile. I don't understand it. It's either arrogance or laziness, but trust me, professionals don't do it that way. In my book I spent a great deal of time in the sections on ingredients, equipment, pan preparation, techniques (and cool tips!) to eliminate those variables. The last thing I wanted to hear from my customers is that their brownies made from my recipes in the book didn't turn out like the ones they bought from me. I'm glad to report that the response is just the opposite - they tell me (and email me pictures) of their baked goods that look and taste exactly like mine. I held nothing back!
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| Image Courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC |
J: My grandmother used eggshells to feed her gardens when we were little. So I was curious when I read that your interests include 'organic' gardening' and that you use eggshells from your baking to feed the soil. What do you grow? Do you generally use organic ingredients in your baking? How much of what you grow ends up in your recipes?
C: My husband Don and I grow all kinds of things, but I tend to focus on fruits and vegetables I simply cannot buy from the store, or are not nearly as good. For example, I have two Montmorency tart cherry trees to give me a good supply of sour cherries. In my neck of the woods, you never see fresh (or for that matter, even frozen) sour cherries in the stores, and I have a Whole Foods less than a mile from my home. I also grow black raspberries for that same reason. Every year I try new varieties of tomatoes that we start from seed in our greenhouse. This year I was very happy with a variety called Purple Bumblebee, which was a cherry-type black tomato with green stripes - so cool! Between the tomatoes and chocolate, I am keeping my acid reflux very happy. We grow red raspberries, black raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries that all end up in baked goods or jam. We grow figs that I'd love to make a jam to use in a recipe, but the birds and squirrels seem to feel that those trees were planted solely for their benefit. We recently transplanted some wild blackberry canes to a new area of our yard because I just wasn't happy with the tasteless cultivated blackberries we grew. I have a new item (I do new ones all the time) that I call Blackberry Bramble Cheesecake Blondie. It looks like something Jackson Pollock might have painted.
J: Flipping through your book when I first received it was quite the experience. I may have gotten a little hot and bothered, but then chocolate does that to me. I couldn't decide on one recipe at first. Realizing you have most likely been asked this question many times - Which of the recipes included in your book is your favourite?
Connie: Ah, the Sophie's Choice question - which I'm always asked. Did Carly Simon reveal who "You're So Vain" was about? I will tell you that Connie's PMS Brownie and Connie's Caramel-Stuffed Sea Salt Brownies are my best sellers and two of my very favorites, which is why I attached my name to their titles. l love all of the recipes in my book, but my "favorite" recipe (for a brownie or blondie) is always the next one I'm working on.
J: As is evident, I decided to try the PMS Brownies first, partly because of the name and mostly because of their nakedness, as I knew I wanted to play dress-up. Tell us a little more about how these 'PMS Brownies' came to be.
Connie: Well, as you know, I'm a confirmed chocoholic; I eat some form of chocolate every day. I crave it like a smoker craves a cigarette, or a wino needs a glass of wine. In my travels to New York and San Francisco, I was always dismayed at how lacking in intensity in chocolate taste the brownies were at some of the best bakeries and specialty food stores in those cities. I knew I could do better, and eventually did. If I didn't have very good brownie batters to start with, it really wouldn't matter what I flung into or on them, right? By the by readers, I have many more "over-the-top treats" to share with you in the future.
Thank you so very much for chatting with us, Connie! Now who would like a copy of Extreme Brownies? Scroll down for a chance to win.
Ingredients
- Vegetable shortening for pan I used coconut oil and applied it with a pastry brush
- 3 sticks/12 ounces unsalted butter 340g
- 2 cups /12 ounces 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips 360g
- 6 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 cups /1 pound 5 ounces sugar 575g
- 1 teaspoon salt 5g
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 15g, I used vanilla bean paste
- 1¼ cups /5 ounces cake flour 112g
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons/4.2 ounces Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder 119g, I used Rodelle Gourmet Cocoa
Instructions
- To make the brownies, adjust an oven rack to the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Prepare a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. (shown on page xvi). Lightly grease the foil in the pan.
- Cut the butter sticks into 1-inch slices. In a small, heavy saucepan, melt the butter pieces over the lowest setting; add the bitter-sweet chocolate chips. Stir with a small whisk until combined and the chocolate is melted and smooth. Turn off the heat but leave the saucepan on the burner while proceeding with the recipe.
- Using a large whisk, lightly beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Place the sugar and salt in a separate small mixing bowl, then whisk into the eggs just until incorporated. Briefly whisk the melted chocolate mixture, then gradually whisk into the egg mixture until just combined. Briefly whisk in the vanilla.
- Place the flour and cocoa powder in the small mixing bowl; whisk together to combine. Sift through a medium strainer directly onto the batter; stir in with a silicone spatula until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a small offset spatula. Bake for 34 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center, comes out clean.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let cool at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, then refrigerate the pan for 7 to 8 hours, or overnight. See page xix for instructions on removing and cutting the slab, and for refrigerated storage (up to 3 weeks) and freezing guidelines.
Stef says
These are so beautiful! I shared them in my post about PMS pie!.
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks! I am not a big fan of potato chips, but that pie is... everything!!