The Purple Chefs Best Brownie Recipes

THE BEST BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter an 8-inch square baking dish or pan, then line with parchment paper if desired to make getting the brownies out easier.
• Mix flour and salt together in a bowl; set aside.
• Place chopped chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan with 1 inch of very gently simmering water. When the butter and almost all of the chocolate is melted, stir until smooth. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Mix sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer until very airy, thick, and creamy, about 5 minutes. Mix in vanilla extract, then slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate mixture, while mixing on high speed.
• Dump in the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the flour disappears. Use a spatula to transfer the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread as evenly as possible.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out virtually clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to lightly press down the higher parts of the brownie around the edge of the dish. Let cool to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes, before removing and cutting into 9 pieces.

SNEAKY CHEF BRAINY BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter or spray only the bottom, not the sides, of a 13-by- 9-inch or 9-inch square baking pan.
• Melt the butter and chocolate chips together in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water (or in a microwave, checking every 15 seconds). Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool a bit. Meanwhile, in another bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and Purple Puree. Combine this purple egg mixture with the cooled chocolate mixture.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together Flour Blend, cocoa powder, oats, and salt. Add this to the chocolate mixture and blend thoroughly. Mix in the chopped walnuts, if using, then pour the entire mixture into the baking pan.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in pan before cutting the brownies and use a plastic or butter knife. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
• Keeps for a week in the refrigerator, covered tightly.
• Sneaky Chef Make-Ahead Recipe: Purple Puree.
• If using raw spinach, thoroughly wash it, even if the package says "prewashed." Bring spinach or collards and water to boil in a medium pot. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. If using frozen blueberries, quickly rinse them under cold water to thaw a little, and then drain.
• Fill the bowl of your food processor with the blueberries and cooked spinach, (or collards) along with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water, and puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally to push top contents to bottom. If necessary, use a second tablespoon of water to make a fairly smooth puree.
• This amount of spinach and blueberries makes only about 1 cup of puree. Double the recipe if you want to store another cup of the puree. It will store in the refrigerator up to 2 days, or you can freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.