Barb,
I'm curious about the use of both cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate.
Does that deepen the chocolate flavor?

America's Test Kitchen does something similar, using a combo of unsweetened
chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa powder.

I'm just curious what the effect is.

Of course, everyone loves my brownies the way they are, I'm afraid to change
it (and they seem to be something of a good luck charm to the baseball
team...) but an improvement might be fun to try!
Thanks


Melba's Jammin' at wrote on 8/26/05 4:13 PM:

> By popular demand . . .
> Modesty doesn't become me. I just took these out of the oven for
> tomorrow's tv pitch. And I measured along the way. I so good.* They
> are, of course, based on the Girl Brownies.
>
>
> 8/26/05 Blue Ribbon Brownies
> *
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *
> Friday, August 26, 2005
>
> I've been asked to provide the recipe for my Chocolate Cherry Amaretto
> Brownies, 2004 Minnesota State Fair blue ribbon winner. Oh, yeah!
>
> Enjoy them and remember where you got the recipe, eh?
>
> Barb Schaller's Blue Ribbon Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Brownies
> 2004 State Fair Blue Ribbon Winner
> © Barbara Schaller 2005
>
> 1/2 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
> 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
> 1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz) unsalted butter
> 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
> 2 tbsp Amaretto di Saronno liqueur
> 1 tsp vanilla extract
> 1 tsp almond extract
> 1/2 tsp salt
> 2 cups granulated sugar
> 4 eggs
> 1/2 cup Gedney State Fair Cherry Preserves (Barb Schaller's recipe)
> 1 cup toasted walnuts
> 1-1/2 cups cake flour (6-1/2 ounces, ~170g)
> 1 tsp baking powder
>
> Move oven rack to middle of oven. Line a metal 9x13" baking pan with
> parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350° F.
>
> Chop the cherries in a food processor or with great skill and a sharp
> knife; set aside.
>
> Melt the chocolate and butter in a 2-quart microwave safe glass mixing
> pitcher, about two minutes at full power. Stir to melt chocolate
> completely and stir in cocoa powder.
>
> Whisk in Amaretto, almond and vanilla extracts, salt, and sugar. Whisk
> in the eggs, one at a time. Add the Cherry Preserves, the reserved
> chopped dried cherries, walnuts, and mix well.
>
> Combine the flour and baking powder and whisk into chocolate mixture
> until no white flour remains. Pour into parchment-lined baking pan and
> bake at 350° for about 33-35 minutes, using a toothpick to test for
> doneness. Fudgy crumbs are okay, wet batter on the pick is not.
>
> When done, remove from oven and set pan on a cooling rack to cool for
> about 15 minutes. Remove brownies from pan to finish cooling: tilt pan
> and quickly slip the brownies from the pan using the parchment to lift
> and pull them out. You should be able to do this without wrecking the
> brownies.
>
> When completely cooled, frost with your favorite chocolate icing to
> which 1/3 cup Gedney Cherry Preserves and 2-3 Tbsp Amaretto di Saronna
> liqueur have been added. Lick the bowl of any remains! Cut into 12-24
> pieces, depending on your lust for chocolate and cherry! Store covered
> at room temperature for a day or two (if they last that long) or freeze
> for later enjoyment.
>
> Notes: Yes, I do use unsalted butter, cake flour, real almond extract,
> and a flat wire whisk for mixing. If you don't, don't complain to me
> about it. In fact, don't complain to me anyway! "-)
>
> And I do hope you will enjoy these as much as we and the Fair Judging
> staff did! A cup of good coffee or an icy cold glass of milk will only
> enhance the experience. Oh, baby; oh, baby.
>
> Dobru' chut'! (The Slovak equivalent of "Enjoy!")
>
> Thanks for looking! I may have pictures later. Or I may not.
>
> -Barb Schaller, Burnsville, Minnesota

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