"Greg Esres" > wrote in message
...
> The Joy of Cooking recipe for "Brownies Cockaigne" contains the
> instruction to first melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler,
> then
>
> **Cool this mixture. If you don't, your brownies will be heavy and
> dry.**
>
> Can someone explain WHY the above statement is true, if it is true?
> Also, it says to let the eggs come to room temperature before
> beating. Again, why?
>
> Thank you

If you try to mix melted butter in with flour, it won't work very well.
Fine for a white sauce because the flour sucks up the flour. But in a white
sauce you are using something like 1/2 flour and 1/2 butter. In baked goods
you have a lot more flour than you do butter. If you try to mix in melted
butter, the butter will suck up some of the flour, leaving the rest of the
flour more dry.