Fourth of July Chocolate Chunk Brownies

Before Hawaii: a story and recipe from The Baking Wizard!

Brownies are as American as apple pie and if I had my way they’d be our national cookie.  I always bake a batch for the Fourth of July.  The first published brownie recipe using melted chocolate in the batter appeared in 1906, so the cookie is over 100 years old.

Brownies are one of the easiest cookies to make because the batter, in most recipes, is put together in a saucepan. The recipe here calls for unsweetened chocolate in the batter and semi- or bittersweet chocolate chunks added at the end.  The chunks stay intact and make a delicious contrast with the moist and fudgy batter. This recipe, unlike most for brownies, has baking powder.  Why, you may ask, when eggs do the leavening?  The baking powder helps expand the air bubbles created during the whisking of the batter.  During baking the brownies rise a bit more than with the eggs alone and after cooling and settling, their texture takes on an especially chewy quality. For best results, bake these a day ahead of time.  When completely cool, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and let it stand at room temperature.  Serve them on Independence Day, or whenever the next day happens to be!