The Bearable Lightness of Brownies

"Don't wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty."  ~Lora Brody

I have been out to eat dinner, get drinks, whatever, with many friends over the years. And one thing I have constantly heard after any meal or snack or dessert is, “ugh, I’m never eating again.” We put one thing in our mouths and suddenly we’re bad people. We’re weak. We’re guilt-ridden because we indulged in something. Suddenly, all of our good qualities go away and our entire sense of worth depends on whether or not we were able to forgo a cookie.

Well, I think that’s totally ridiculous. Why are we ruining delicious and amazing experiences by mentally penciling in gym time before we’ve even taken a bite? No wonder we overeat! We don’t focus on how good whatever we’re tasting is, because our minds are already on the treadmill, or the elliptical, or whatever. And then we decide that it’s all downhill after one bite, so we might as well eat everything and make ourselves feel terrible, since we’re never indulging again after this one time. Totally lame.  

So, this week, I am taking a stand against guilt. And to do this, I am putting a ton of generally guilt-inducing ingredients together, to create perfect, indulgent bliss! This week’s recipe is:

Raspberry-Chipotle Brownies with Chocolate Ganache!

Now, I don’t believe there is any sexier combination than raspberries and chocolate (sorry, strawberries, but for some reason you now make me think of decorative fruit baskets from my grandma) and with the addition of chipotle pepper? Amazing. Sweet, spicy, intense, creamy, this dessert is everything! Just. Like. Us.

So, now we have the recipe, and yes, it uses a mix, but as Earl Wilson said: “You can say this for ready-mixes - the next generation isn't going to have any trouble making pies exactly like mother used to make.”

Raspberry-Chipotle Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

Prep Time:

15 Minutes

Ingredients

•    1 box (19.5 oz.) Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix

•    1/2 cup Canola Oil

•    1/4 cup water

•    2 eggs

•    1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

•    1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder

•    1/2 cup Red Raspberry Preserves

•    1 bag (12 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (2 cups)

•    1 cup whipping cream

Directions

•    1      Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with Cooking Spray.


•    2      In large bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water, eggs, chili powder and espresso powder 50 strokes with spoon. Spread batter in pan. Drop spoonfuls of preserves onto batter; swirl preserves and batter with knife in S-shaped curves.

•    3     Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.


•                In medium microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and cream uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Pour mixture over brownies. Refrigerate 30 minutes (topping will be soft). For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 3 rows. Store loosely covered in refrigerator. 18 brownies.

Okay, so, I’ve gotten the brownies into the oven, and again, from what I tasted out of the mixing bowl, this batter is gonna make some great brownies. The taste is very rich, and then it has this little kick. It’s subtle, but it balances out the intense chocolately-richness of the brownie mix, which is great.

I guess the only not great thing is that I am making these quite early in the morning for an afternoon rehearsal, and I feel sick about the idea of eating chocolate for breakfast. Something in my mind is screaming: “Are you CRAZY? You can’t indulge right now! What if you eat too much later? What if you go over your calorie limit? A pound is 3500 calories, remember! Get back to your eggs whites!” It’s making me a little nuts, but smelling the brownies as they bake in the oven, and remembering that I’m working to make those negative voices go away, not just for me, but for every person who suddenly feels like all of their work has gone to hell with one lick of the spoon, makes it all worth it.

CUT TO AFTER REHEARSAL!

They were a hit! Everyone agreed that the chipotle and the raspberry offset the extreme decadence of the chocolate, which made the treat light and delicious! There weren’t even any leftovers of the 18 brownies that the recipes made! I will definitely, definitely, definitely be making these again!

Til next time,

D