The Baked "Got Munchies" Brownie

This is not a Baked brownie. Well, not exactly. A Baked brownie is mostly – decidedly – pure and doodad free. But this is a special week. This is brownie week (um, not officially in any government recognized sense) and we are doing things to our brownies that haven’t been done before (don’t worry purists, this is for a limited time only). We are, in honor of the forthcoming 4 20, adding all sorts of munchies to our beloved brownies – and we hope you will celebrate with us.

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Starting today at Baked you can grab any two brownies (including the limited-time only munchie versions) you want for just $4.20. Also, for our online customers, we are offering 20% off all brownie sets at bakedshop.com. Just enter the promotional code fourtwenty at check-out. Both offers end April 21st! Go now. Get your brownies NOW!

What is 4 20? Why all the fuss? Well, for one, it is my birthday (but that is not the real reason for the festivities though I would not argue with you if you want to celebrate my birthday). 4 20 is also this. And for some reason, people that celebrate 4 20 really like Baked (guessing our store name has something to do with it). By the by, we wrote this book and not this book, lest you become confused.

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Finally, in honor of Brownie Week, I bring you the Baked “Got Munchies” Brownie recipe which is basically our famous brownie recipe with munchies (yes, it is as simple as it sounds). I’d like to thank both Molly and Jordan for their very scientific research on the assorted additions.

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Notes about this recipe. The original Baked brownie recipe appeared in our first book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking (with special kudos to Lesli Flick). The most successful Munchie additions were the salty pretzels and the M and M’s. The potato chips were a neat idea in theory, but they got a little lost and a tiny bit soggy after the bake (but, yes, we still ate the potato chip brownies nonetheless). I wanted to try adding popcorn, but then I came to my senses. I am certain you can dream up more possibilities. If you do, please share them with us.

The Baked “Got Munchies” Brownie

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces quality dark chocolate (60-72%), coarsely chopped
8 ounces butter (2 sticks), cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
handful of slightly crushed salty pretzels
handful of slightly crushed potato chips
handful of M and M’s

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9x13x2 pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder.

Place the chocolate, the butter, and the instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. Mixture should be room temperature.

Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture Using a spatula (DO NOT USE A WHISK) fold the dry into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.

Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Add the pretzels to one quadrant of the brownies, the M and M’s to another, and potato chips to another. One quadrant should be left plain for brownie purists (or you can cover the whole thing in any munchie of your choice). Bake the brownies for 30 minutes (rotate the pan half-way through baking) and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Do not overbake.

Cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving. The brownies will keep, tightly covered, for up to 5 days.

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