Food Blog: Making Brownies From Scratch

In my previous blog post, I ranked five different store-bought brownie mixes to see which one was the best for its price. If you have time on your hands and are willing to put more effort into what you put on the plate, you could go the homemade route.
Though it takes longer to make and the cost can add up, homemade brownies surpasses those made from brownie mixes in both taste and texture.
I got this brownie recipe from Buzzfeed’s Tasty food blog. It is my go-to recipe when I want to make brownies from scratch. Tasty’s bakers went through a long process of trial and error, combining techniques and recipes to produce “The Best Brownies.”
The first time I tried to make this recipe, it did not come out right. I made the mistake of adding too much salt and vanilla extract. I was not willing to give up though. The second time I made this recipe, I made sure to follow the recipe word for word, using the exact amount of ingredients specified.
1. Grease a 9×13 inch pan with softened butter, then line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all sides. Grease the parchment with softened butter.
2. Combine the chopped chocolate, ¼ cup of cocoa powder, and espresso powder in a heatproof liquid measuring cup or medium bowl and set aside.
3. Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter just comes to a vigorous simmer, about 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally. Immediately pour the hot butter over the chocolate mixture and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted, then set aside.
4. Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. It will be similar to the texture of a very thick pancake batter.
5. With the mixer on, pour in the slightly cooled chocolate and butter mixture and blend until smooth.
6. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat on 350°F.
7. Sift in the flour and remaining cocoa powder, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until just combined.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Bake until lightly puffed on top, about 20 minutes.
9. Remove the baking pan from the oven using oven mitts or kitchen towels, then lightly drop the pan on a flat surface 1 to 2 times until the brownies deflate slightly. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and return to oven.
10. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the brownies comes out fudgy and the edges look cooked through, about 20 minutes or more.
11. Set the brownies on a cooling rack and cool completely in the pan.
Use the parchment paper to lift the cooled brownies out of the pan. Cut into pieces and enjoy!
Click here to see the original recipe by Tasty.co