white chocolate brownies with dark chocolate chips

The first time I ate a white chocolate brownie was at this great little place called Jazz Kitchen at Downtown Disney California. I’ve since been obsessed with finding the best recipe. Although I don’t quite remember the taste now, I do remember enjoying them a whole lot back then.

I didn’t have any expectations with this recipe. I was pretty nervous about it because, first of all, white chocolate is mighty sweet and not melting them in the right way can be disastrous.

Technically, white chocolate isn’t chocolate because it doesn’t contain any cocoa solids. It’s made purely from cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids. So when heated at too high a temperature, it can quickly harden or split in a matter of minutes. Pay close attention to the temperature of the water and also make sure you buy the ones that contain at least 25% cocoa butter, any less than that will be difficult to melt. Go for Swiss white chocolates. They are of high quality and contains the desired percentage of cocoa butter (the more there is, the creamier and softer the chocolate will be).

When melting, keep in mind to constantly stir it. Melt the butter first, add half of the white chocolate, stir continuously until completely melted. Take it off the heat and add the remaining white chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy. This will ensure your mixture doesn’t split and is not exposed to heat the whole way through. 

As you know, I have tried a couple of brownie recipes in the past. I am beginning to think homemade brownies are foolproof. You just can’t go wrong with it. I couldn’t get my hands on real dark chocolate chips so I finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and added them to the mixture. I am definitely going to make these brownies again. The sweetness was not overpowering at all. I’m not sure how to describe the flavor of this brownie, it was chocolatey. That’s all I can say. The texture was fudgy and moist, in my case. Depends on how long you bake it for. Remember to cool the brownies for about 45 minutes to an hour before cutting. This will ensure you don’t end up with gooey unpleasant squares. Give these a try if you’re a fan of chocolate (and who isn’t?).

(This recipe can be found on Grace’s Sweet Life)

White Chocolate Brownies

by Anna Olson

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces

8 ounces white chocolate, chopped

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

heaping 1/2 cup bitter-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and line a 9-inch baking pan with butter and parchment. Place butter in a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl. Place bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, melt butter halfway.   

Add 4 ounces of the white chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and add in the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate.  Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth.

Place sugar and eggs in a large bowl.  Using a hand-held electric mixer on high speed beat sugar and eggs until pale and thick, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium and add vanilla and chocolate mixture, beat just to combine.

In a separate bowl, using a fine-mesh sieve, sift flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to egg mixture and beat until smooth. Add chocolate chips, using a spatula, stir to just combine (do not over stir).

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into centre comes out clean.  Place on wire rack to cool completely. Remove from pan and cut into squares.