Lawsa Mercy

My Granny Mitchell had a quaint way of expressing shock by declaring in a horrified tone, "Lawsa mercy." I loved to tease her and think up some scandalous tale to astonish her just to hear her reaction. If she wasn't sufficiently shocked, she would just shake her head and say "Laws". To express regret or disgust, "Law, Law" or simply "Mercy" fit the bill.

My "lawsa mercy" moment came yesterday when I made brownies and the recipe specified one pound of chocolate.

The result was a deliciously rich chocolatey brownie that almost had a baked-fudge quality. I made them for a customer and they were difficult to cut into those perfect squares with no squish-marks, so I think they would benefit from an overnight rest before cutting.

Brownies Recipe
from "Tartine" by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson

Kitchen Notes: You can't use a cake tester or toothpick to judge doneness. Because the batter has a high percentage of chocolate, the tester comes out wet even if the brownies are done.

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping (optional) 2 cups nuts such as walnut or pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13 inch glass baking dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. If the heat from the butter does not fully melt the chocolate, put the pan back over the heat for 10 seconds and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour into a small mixing bowl. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color and falls from the beater in a wide ribbon that folds back on itself and slowly dissolves on the surface, 4 to 5 minutes.

Alternatively, use a mixing bowl and a whisk to beat the ingredients until the mixture falls from the whisk in a wide ribbon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour and fold it in quickly but gently with the rubber spatula so that you don't deflate the air that's been incorporated into the eggs.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and smooth the top with the spatula.

If you are using nuts, evenly distribute them across the batter. Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 squares. The brownies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.