Pastry Chef Justin Relkin: Instead of sharing an old family recipe (my family was prone to “dash of this; sprinkle of that” cooking), since CCM focuses on childhood food memories, I thought I’d share a recipe for a dessert that is perfect for children and for bringing out the child in all of us: “Junk Food” Brownies.
In addition to the fudge and walnuts, which are so good in this recipe, we finish this off by covering the brownies with all sorts of goodies: your favorite candies, nuts, pretzels, anything and everything salty. I made these for my running group to enjoy at the end of a long trail run, and the combination of salt and sweetness was a huge hit. Then again, it was a bunch of sweaty runners; they’d eat anything. 😉
Enjoy!
Pastry Chef Justin Relkin’s “Junk Food” Brownies
Ingredients:
- 4 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cups Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
- 2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 pound Butter, melted and cooled (hey these brownies are good…not good for you)
- 1 1/4 cup All purpose flour
- 1 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
- 3/4 cup Crushed Walnuts, toasted
Instructions:
- Using a paddle, beat the eggs, sugar and salt together lightly in a mixer bowl. Don’t try to beat in any air; just mix the sugar until it’s basically dissolved.
- Add the vanilla extract and butter to the egg mixture. Mix to incorporate.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and add to the other ingredients. Mix to incorporate dry ingredients.
- Stir the chocolate chips and walnuts into the batter.
- Bake at 325 degrees in a greased 9×9″ baking pan. If you have it, line the pan with parchment (not waxed) paper. It’ll make them easier to remove from the pan.
- Bake until barely cooked in the middle. These should be gooey and falling apart when cut.
- Cool on the counter as long as you can stand it. Top with the fudge frosting of your choice and every kind of candy, nut, salty snack you’ve ever heard of. Cut into giant portions (16-24 brownies, depending on how large you cut them) and eat way too many of them. 😉
