Malted "Forever" Brownies

Long story short – my husband and I started The Adventure Challenge Couple’s Edition, and the first challenge involved baking together. I thought it would be a great opportunity to make Claire’s Malted “Forever” Brownies. I’ve never made brownies from scratch before this (a big reason I want to bake through Dessert Person is so I can learn how to bake more treats from scratch instead of a boxed mix), but I figured it would be pretty easy. Truth be told, it wasn’t that hard, but I definitely messed up the key elements.

I find the hardest part of baking…(drumroll)…is the actual baking part of it all. And that’s exactly where I went wrong here. My husband and I found the ingredient sections were easy to follow, and as someone who has made brownies from a box mix many times, I knew we were on the right track with the consistency. I kept the brownies in the oven for about 30 minutes, as that’s what was necessary with our gas oven. The toothpick test seemed to be successful with no liquid, and the surface of the brownies were shiny and puffed like Claire said it should be. I let the brownies cool in the pan for about an hour, then I put them in the fridge…and shortly after that, my husband returned wanting to taste them. I said “I’m trying to cool them properly!” but every baker with a spouse or children knows patience is scarce once treats are out of the oven and filling your home with warm, delicious scents. I took the brownies out of the refrigerator after about five minutes…big mistake.

As we took the brownies out of the pan, we did not find the very first step of covering the metal pan with foil to be helpful. We did as the directions said in lining the 8x8-inch pan with 2 sheets of foil and lightly buttering it, but this presented a major challenge once we took the brownies out. Our seemingly half-baked brownies did not make matters easier; I think this is probably where the refrigeration part is key in solidifying the brownies, yet making them stay chewy. I am determined to follow Claire’s directions as closely as possible, however I personally would say spray that pan with some PAM, wash the damn dish when you’re done and call it a day!

In terms of the taste, the batter tasted amazing (yes, I happily lick the batter leftovers out of the bowl while the dessert is baking and no one will tell me otherwise). With three different chocolate-related ingredients, the batter had an incredibly rich flavor that felt much more gourmet than a boxed mix. However, once these bad boys are out of the oven, you’ll truly be fine cutting them into 16 pieces like Claire suggests. They are SO RICH! Truthfully, I’m not sure if they’re extremely rich because I’m just used to the taste of a boxed brownie mix, but you likely will only need one to be satisfied (that’s saying a lot coming from me). I am a center brownie person, but I tried the corners of the brownie because it was baked better; it was absolutely divine. Had I baked these brownies the right amount of time and correctly let them cool, I think these brownies would have filled the chocolate loopholes that are missing in a boxed mix, even if you don’t typically realize the lush flavor is missing. Lesson learned—don’t give in to family peer pressure to serve the brownies before the recipe is truly complete!

P.S. I did not add the malted milk powder since I forgot to buy it, but it is still good without it. My husband wanted to add nuts, but I refused (I don’t want crunch in my brownies!). Like Claire suggests though, you could certainly add nuts or mint to this recipe if you wanted more variation.

P.S.S. I started watching Claire's YouTube videos (Claire Saffitz x Dessert Person) after I started this project. As I discovered, the fridge element is important! Here is her video on making Malted "Forever" Brownies the correct way!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPa8crk-NEI