Greenwich Village Brownies

Greenwich Village Brownies 

Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 123.

Maida Heatter has many brownie recipes and looking at my index, it looks like I've made five of them (counting this one). My favorite so far were the Santa Fe Brownies - so decadent. I would rank these as second - they are just as moist and chewy as I remember the Santa Fe.

I used walnuts instead of pecans because that is what I had on hand. I actually prefer pecans though and it seems that most of Maida's recipes call for walnuts. I noticed recently that almost all of her recipes call for nuts which I find interesting.

The recipe makes 32 large brownies.

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
8 oz. unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup light corn syrup
6 eggs
3 cups pecan halves or large pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare a 15.5 x 10.5 x 1 inch pan by buttering or spraying and lining it with aluminum foil. Butter the foil as well.

Sift the flour and salt together and set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or simmering water. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Cream the butter and add the vanilla. 

Add the white and brown sugar. 

Add the corn syrup and beat until smooth. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. 

Beat in the melted chocolate. 

Add the flour, mixing well. Scrap the sides of the bowl as necessary. 

Add 2 cups of the nuts, reserving 1 cup. 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. 

Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of nuts over the top. 

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean from the center. 

Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and carefully remove the foil. Allow to cool completely. The cake should be refrigerted or frozen before cutting so that it will be firm.
Cut off any burnt edges.

The brownies can be individually wrapped or stored in an airtight container. Best if stored in the refrigerator.

Applesauce Loaf

Applesauce Loaf (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 255).

This recipe is very similar to the one I just posted - the Blueberry Applesauce Loaf. Since I wasn't too happy with the taste of that one, I decided to eliminate the whole wheat flour and use all-purpose flour (so I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour and no whole wheat flour). This is a matter of personal preference. I thought it tasted much better without using the whole wheat but using either method will work fine for the recipe. 

I still have applesauce left from the Chunky Applesauce I made earlier so I'm still using that. I was looking through her books again last night and noticed that I haven't made the Chocolate Applesauce Cake yet! A serious omission and one that I must do soon! 

1 cup raisins
1 cup sifted all-purpose white flour (or 2 cups if you want to use instead of the whole wheat flour)
1 cup sifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups walnuts, halves or large pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. powdered instant expresso or coffee
4 oz. unsalted butter
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sweetened or unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350. Butter (or spray) a 8 cup capacity loaf pan and dust with fine, dry bread crumbs (or flour).

Add two tablespoons of white flour (reserving the rest) and toss it with the raisins and nuts. Set aside.

Sift the reserved flour with the salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and powdered instant coffee.

Beat the butter until soft, add the sugar and and eggs and mix well. 

Add the applesauce. 

On low speed, add the whole-wheat flour (or do like I did and use white flour).

Remove the mixer bowl and stir in the raisins and nuts. 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth the top. With the spatula, form a shallow trench down the middle lenghtwise. This will keep it from rising too high in the middle. 

Bake for 50 -60 minutes until a tester comes out the center clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before slicing.