July 9, 2008

Brownie Buttons by Dorie

I love that when I look at this picture I feel COLD! The touch of orange is almost undetectable but provides a depth of flavor that doesn't not go unnoticed. These delicious, chocolate covered brownie bites are simple, beautiful, and elegant. Even without perfectly swirled tops, I just want to dive right in! And as you can see from the next photo... my camera has been diving into the food a bit too much lately! What IS that spot on the photo?! Flour, butter, chocolate, dust? Who knows!

I made a double batch and it yielded 48 little brownie bites (Dorie says 16 per batch) so I think I made them a little small and will fill my cups a little more next time. Even so, I think they turned out great and there will be a next time for sure. I can't say enough about how much I love this book. Seriously, Dorie is a genius. I've made three brownie recipes out of here now and I've liked them all, though I have to say, these were my favorite. I dipped the second half this morning in the white chocolate and sprinkled pastel nonpareils on top. Unfortunately, my camera is off being cleaned so I couldn't take any pictures of those (and almost had to resort to my phone's camera for my Barefoot Bloggers post before I got ahold of my mom's camera!) But, I have a feeling I'll be making these again soon anyways...

Brownie Buttons

from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

Grated Zest of 1/2 Orange
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Flour
Pinch of Salt
1/2 Stick (4 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, Cut into 4 Pieces
2 1/2 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, Coarsely Chopped
1/3 Cup (Packed) Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg

For the optional Glaze:
2 Ounces White Chocolate, Finely Chopped

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two miniature muffin pans, each with a dozen cups, and place them on a baking sheet.

If you're using the orange zest, combine the zest and sugar in a small bowl, rubbing them between your fingertips to blend: set aside. Whisk together the flour and salt.

Melt the butter, chocolate, and brown sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula and keeping an eye on the pan so that nothing overheats or burns. When the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and cool for a minute or two.

Stir the vanilla, egg and the zest into the chocolate mixture.

When the mixture is well blended, add the flour and stir only until it is incorporated. You should have a smooth, glossy batter.

Spoon the batter into 16 of the muffin cups, using about a teaspoon of batter to fill each cup 3/4 full. Put 1 teaspoon of water in each empty cup.
Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the tops of the buttons spring back when touched. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 3 minutes before carefully releasing the buttons. Cool to room temperature on the racks.

To make the glaze: Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Stir constantly and don't leave the chocolate for even one minute- white chocolate scorches easily. As soon as the chocolate is smooth, remove from the heat.

One by one, dip the tops of the buttons into the chocolate, twirling the buttons so that you get a little swirl at the center of each one and the excess chocolate drips back into the bowl. Refrigerate the buttons for 15 minutes to set the glaze.

Storing: Covered, these will keep at room temperature overnight. If you wrap them air tight, you can freeze them for up to 2 months.

4 comments:

  1. I love the picture of these in the cookbook. They look really great. Another fabulous job!

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  2. Chocolate and orange - yum, these look good

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  3. I would love to try these. They look so yummy.

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  4. Wow, you were ahead of our time! Very nice.

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