Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies

Name: Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 10 tablespoon (1 1/4 sticks, 140 grams) unsalted butter; 1 1/4 cup (250 grams) sugar; 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (80 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process); 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 2 cold large eggs; 1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour (unsifted, measured by stirring briefly, spooning into the measuring cup until it's heaped above the rim, then leveling it with a straight-edged knife or spatula -- it should weigh nearly 2.5 ounces); 2/3 cup (65 grams) walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Instructions

This recipe is one part of a master brownie recipe Medrich designed to use whatever chocolate you have in the house -- but the best version happens to be the one that only requires cocoa powder. By taking out the chocolate, with its inevitable fat and almost-inevitable sugar, Medrich was able to control and fine-tune the proportions of both. When she added back in the fat (via butter), the middles stayed softer. When she added back in granulated sugar, the crusts were shinier and more candy-like. Any cocoa will work, but natural (not Dutch process) will taste more richly of chocolate. Recipe adapted slightly from Bittersweet (Artisan, 2003)

Updated at: Fri, 15 Aug 2025 00:02:57 GMT