Mother’s Day brownies

In case you need a last minute gift idea for your mom, here’s what we’re giving our moms:

Brownies!

I have to admit, brownies weren’t the first thought that popped into my mind as how I wanted to celebrate our moms.  I fantasized about making them a pie, but it was probably because what I really wanted to do was share a lovely lunch with them in the sunshine and warmth of the garden of one of their homes in Southern California.

Then I realized we haven’t seen our moms since last July. Last July! Isn’t that awful? We’ll be remedying that soon. But in the meantime, I needed a way to send some love that shipped better than a pie. Brownies!

These are the brownies you make for the special occassion. These are the brownies worthy of being a gift to your mom on Mother’s day. Another bonus: only one dish to wash afterward, which ends up hardly dirty at all because all the butter lets the batter just slide right out. And they’re quick to make.

The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert and it’s his take on co-founder of Sharffen Berger Chocolate, Robert Steinberg’s, recipe. Amazingly, I actually had a package of Sharffen Berger Baking Chunks in my kitchen cabinet for the first time ever. My luck! Make sure you use high quality chocolate. Your mom is worth it. 

Sharffen Berger Brownies

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan

8 ounces high quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut in chunks

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

optional 1 cup walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment.

3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate and stir until it is melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Add the flour and stir energetically for 1 full minute—time yourself—until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. Stir in the chopped nuts if desired.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center feels almost set, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake.

5. Let the brownie cool completely in the pan before lifting the parchment and the block of brownie out of the pan (you can practically put the pan right back into the cabinet without washing!). Cut the brownie into squares.

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, but especially to our moms. Next year we’ll have pie, and brownies, in the garden together.