Time for Good Brownies! (The Heath Bar Kind)

Happy New Year! I know that I am supposed to be blogging about healthy eating, how I'm exercising and all that. But, I am slowly coming out of party mode. December was a blur of delicious food, too many drinks, too many sweets, staying up late, sleeping late and all around general gluttony and slothfulness. Yet, I'm simply not done yet! The main reason? It's my blogiversary! Time for Good Food is two years old  --and I think we all need a brownie to celebrate.

Honestly, when I started the blog two years ago, I wasn't sure I would stick with it. It has been a challenge, especially when I compare myself to other food bloggers that I very much admire. It still blows my mind that some writers are able to post more than once a week. I have struggled to post more than once a month sometimes! However, I'm proud that I am still here -- and that you are still here. And if you are new here, welcome! There are so many stories and recipes in my brain, and I hope to extract all of those in 2013. January is the month of grand plans and ambitions, and I certainly have them.

One ambition is to become a better photographer. It is a skill that I have been working on since I started this endeavor. You would not believe how excited I was when I found out that my last post was excepted by Foodgawker and Tastespotting. (These sites will have you drooling in about 2.3 seconds!) As you can see, taking good photographs is quite a challenge when you have a chocolate-obsessed "helper" not-so-patiently waiting while I take 65 pictures of the last three brownies!

When you taste these brownies, you may understand my son's obsession. As I was baking over the holidays, I ran across this brownie recipe by famed pastry chef, David Lebowitz -- as shared by Buns in My Oven and Leite's Culinaria. I whipped them up for teacher gifts and have since made them three more times. They are so good and so easy! What I love the most is that you only have to use a saucepan and a baking dish.

This past weekend, I made them and shared them with old friends at a get-together. I improvised a bit with Heath Bar bits and used European-style butter for extra richness. I think they European-style butter made them even more luscious. European butters like Kerrygold or Plugra have a slightly higher butterfat content. I noticed that the butter was not as foamy when I melted it. It really is buttery liquid gold! However, American-style butter works just fine as well. Give this recipe a whirl (with or without the Heath bits) and you will have chocolate lovers bowing at your feet.

Insanely Rich Heath Bar Brownies
Adapted from "Robert's Absolute Best Brownies" found in David Lebowitz's, Ready for Dessert.

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces (European-style preferred)

16 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (2-8 oz. packages of baking chocolate)

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup flour (I used whole-wheat pastry flour)

1 dash sea salt

1 cup Heath bar bits (or any kind of chocolate covered toffee, chopped)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with two sheet of overlapping heavy-duty foil or parchment paper. Allow the edges to overhang. Lightly grease the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and salt. Stir or whisk vigorously for one full minute. Time yourself because this step is important! The batter should lose its graininess, develop a glossy sheen and pull away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center feels almost set and the edges start to pull away from the side of the pan, about 30 minutes. Do not over bake. (It is better to err on the gooey side.)

Remove pan from the oven and cool on a baking rack. Sprinkle Heath bar bits on top and cover with aluminum foil to allow the bits to melt onto the brownies. After about 30 minutes, remove the foil and allow the brownies to cool completely. Cut into small squares. Enjoy!