Making Brownies with Rachel Edelman

Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brownie Pan Size
When you are following any brownie recipe check the size of the pan that it recommends and the corresponding bake time. Also, metal pans cook faster than glass pans. You can line your pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier clean up. Grease only the bottom of the pan, this will help the brownies rise up the sides of the pan.
Homemade Brownie Dry Ingredients
When baking it helps to gather your ingredients and measure them out before you start. Begin with your dry ingredients. Combine:

1 1/3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Whisk it all together and set aside.

Baking powder helps brownies be light and airy. An all purpose flour will keep the brownies together better than a cake flour.
Homemade Brownie Wet Ingredients
In a larger bowl combine the wet ingredients:

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cubs cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Ahead of time, you need to melt 1 cup (or 2 sticks) of butter, on the stove or in the microwave. Next comes the chocolate. To prevent lumps, I'm sifting in 1 1/2 cups of cocoa powder. If you would like to use chocolate squares, melt them with the butter. You can see that it will get very thick.

Next, add 2 cups of sugar. One at a time, beat in 4 eggs. The more fat in your recipe from the butter, chocolate and eggs, the more moist and dense the brownies will be.
Finally, stir in 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

Combine Wet and Dry Brownie Ingredients
Now add the premixed flour mixture. Mix it until it's just combined. Don't over mix it. Sort of fold it in. If you want to add toasted nuts or chocolate chips, do that last.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use your scraper to spread it evenly. Place the pan into the oven.

Test Brownie Doneness
Since I'm using a smaller pan, the brownies will be thicker and I'm going to need more time. So I'm going to wait 45 minutes. Use a toothpick to test the brownies, they should have a little of the brownie stuck.

Cool and Cut Brownies
Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. To make squares, let the brownie cool completely before cutting. This may take 30-40 minutes.