For the best brownies, use the best cocoa. This recipe calls for our top-of-the-line Becolade cocoa with 22 to 24% cocoa butter. The chocolate flavor really shines through.
You may use other cocoas such as our Ramstadt Breda Rich Dark Cocoa. Be sure that your cocoa has a high cocoa butter content.
1 cup Becolade 22/24 cocoa butter cocoa or equal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups walnut pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will need a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, two mixing bowls—one of them medium or large, and a whisk. The larger bowl should be microwave safe to save you a step. We used our Candy Apple Red Mixing Bowls and they were perfect. We recommend using parchment paper.
- Grease the pan with a little shortening and line it with parchment paper. The shortening will hold the paper in place. Set aside.
- In the smaller of the two bowls, whisk the cocoa and flour together to break up any clumps and disperse the cocoa. Set aside.
- In the larger of the two bowls, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the sugar and the salt and stir. Add the eggs and the vanilla and stir until mixed.
- Add the cocoa and flour mixture to the liquid mixture. Stir until combined. Add the chopped nuts and stir.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan with a spatula and spread the batter evenly. Bake for 25 minutes in a dark pan or until the toothpick comes out fairly clean but with batter on it. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool for five minutes then, grasping the edge of parchment paper and tipping the pan up over a wire rack, pull the cake onto the wire rack. Let cool for at least another five minutes and then slip the cake onto a cutting board for slicing. (See how to cut bar cookies into even, professional slices.)