Friday, July 04, 2008

Katherine Hepburn Brownies and a chocolate dream come true


A large box of chocolate arrived for me recently. It was just in time, too, as I had cleaned the cupboards bare of anything chocolate and was starting to sneak Noah's Smartie stash that we keep for potty training. No chocolate in the house means hard times around here. I always keep some on hand for baking and snacking.
Where did all this chocolate come from? Did I order it? Win a draw somewhere?
Nope, it was from the company Dove and completely free, hence the 'dream come true' part! Sweet!

I was so excited to be recently contacted by the Montreal advertising company, Matchstick, and asked if I would be interested in receiving a Dove Chocolate 'Pleasure Pack', no strings attached. All I had to do was enjoy it! Duh, yeah!

Matchstick is a member of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) which is the newest force in the wold of marketing and starting to catch on all over. It's a brilliant idea, really, I mean if we find a product that we love, we can't stop talking about it, right?
I didn't have a very hard time convincing them I was a chocoholic and an ideal candidate for their program!

"How soon can I get the chocolate?" I asked "Because I am expecting 16 girls here for a party this weekend and the theme is chocolate".

Well, it didn't make it here in time, but that's OK as I would have had a hard time sharing it!

So, yea, I've been on a permanent sugar high and chocolate-induced pleasure coma since it all arrived. I'm a fan of milk chocolate for snacking and prefer dark chocolate for baking and I was lacking nothing with this pleasure pack. Also included was the smartly named 'Dusk' chocolate, which is what they call milk chocolate with a hint of dark. It's great and perfect if you can't decide between dark or milk.
So all the little 'purse packs' went pretty fast (lucky receivers, you know who you are!) but I stashed the bars away for some baking and that's how these brownies came to be. I figured they would be a pretty good test of the chocolate and was impressed at how they turned out.


I used a fabulous recipe from Tartelette for Katherine Hepburn's Brownies, one of those outstanding recipes of Helen's that has been bookmarked for ages but I have never gotten around to make. If you haven't checked out her blog yet, get cracking! Not only is she a sweetie, but she just signed a book deal and will be putting out a cookbook soon! Lucky us!

I seldom make brownies; I guess I'm more of a cookie girl, but that is all about to change as these were amazing! They were plenty moist, but not so gooey to require several napkins. I didn't count how many of these I ate right out of the pan, but it was a lot and so let me warn you, they are highly addictive.
I under baked mine slightly so as to have more of a fudgy brownie, oh and I threw in some walnuts for fun.

Katherine Hepburn Brownies, adapted from Dorie Greenspan:

4 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 tsp ground coffee
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 lb unsalted butter
1 c Sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 ts Vanilla extract
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 ts salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate with the butter over low heat, stirring until completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, coffee, cocoa powder and cinnamon . Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk well. Stir in the flour, walnuts and salt and mix well. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.

I found it helpful to cut the brownies only when they were very cold and with a sharp serrated knife

14 comments:

Angelica said...

Aww, I wish someone would give me free chocolate. Wonderful brownies!

LyB said...

Lucky, lucky, Aimée! There's no such thing as too much chocolate, is there? Those brownies do look addictive, thanks for the warning! :)

Oh, and I gave you an award; please check it out here

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I love that chocolate arrives at your door, just when you need it! The brownies look sinfully delicious, too.

RecipeGirl said...

Lucky you!!! You must be in chocolate heaven :)

I've been wanting to try that brownie recipe for a long time. Great to bookmark yet another yummy brownie success!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Lucky girl to receive the Pleasure Pack. I was contacted as well but I didn't live in Vancouver plus I was too old.....we old folks need pleasure too:D

Cookie baker Lynn said...

What a great day it is when chocolate just shows up on your doorstep! Your brownies look wonderful. I would have a difficult time stopping at just one (pan, that is).

Emily said...

Yum! Those look amazing. I've always wanted to try that recipe.

Julia said...

What a brilliant marketing scheme, and it ould cost them next to nothing!

test it comm said...

I thought that was fudge at first. They look great!

winedeb said...

FREE Chocolate! Wow! Aimee those brownies look great! So moist...yum. And your photos are fabulous! Look at that array of Dove Chocolates!

David Hall said...

Lucky you Aimee!!! We love brownies, I always get a birthday stack of them on New Years Day, yum!

Cheers
David

Shayne said...

not even smarties can get my son to sit on the potty is he has a mind not too; however, he will not wear a diaper during the day...life is hell right how.

oh yes chocolate wont work with him either

Aimée said...

Hi Angelica- Want some? I'll swap you for some butter & beans. ;)

Hi Lyb- Thanks tons for your thoughtful award and for the mention!!
xox

Hi Lydia- Now if only a cleaning lady would arrive at my door!

Hi Recipe Girl- Don't wait another day. We loved this recipe!

Hi Val- I agree. Who are they to decide, anyway!?

Hi Lynn- Hehe. That's my Lynn!

Hi emiline- What are you waiting for, Girl?

Hi Julia- I guess it is working for them!

Hi Kevin- Gotcha!

Hi Deb- It's the pokadots, right? They are just too cute!

Hi David- Lucky you. Wow!

Hi Shayne- What? Nothing speaks louder than chocolate!!

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