Snack Recipe: Extra-Dark Brownies with Sea Salt & Lime
When it comes to brownies it seems as though the sky is the limit. You can add almost anything to their moist interior, making each mouthful full of figurative fireworks. So why would you want to add something extra-dark, even bitter? The same reason you add lime to your beer — it just tastes good.
But unsweetened chocolate? Really? Sure there are bittersweet and very bittersweet chocolates that can be used in this recipe if you’re too timid for the full-out unsweetened chocolate. But unsweetened chocolate, when chopped finely, balances out the sweetness and sugar in this recipe. To me, this just makes them all that more addictive.
They won’t leave a bitter taste on your tongue, but that extra-dark bitterness does balance out the sweetness and the citrus in the lime, and they are fabulous with a scoop of ice cream. No matter how you enjoy these, your taste buds will thank you!
Extra-Dark Brownies with Sea Salt & Lime
Makes 16 (2-inch) square brownies
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup
+ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces
bittersweet chocolate, chopped coarsely
- 1 cup
sugar
- 3/4 cup
all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup
Dutch process cocoa powder
- 2
large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon
vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 1
lime, juiced and zested
- 2 ounces
unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon
flaky sea salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F and line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving the paper extra-long and hanging over two sides.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate over medium-low heat. Stir until smooth.
Remove pan from the heat and add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla and kosher salt. Mix until combined. Then add lime juice and zest, as well as the finely chopped unsweetened chocolate. Stir to combine and pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the sea salt on the top.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tester comes out moist. It will not be perfectly clean, but it shouldn't be sticky either. Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing brownies from pan. To remove the brownies, run a knife around the sides of the pan to help release the brownies, then lift out the parchment paper. Place the brownies on the paper back on the wire rack. Cool completely and cut into 2 inch squares.
Enjoy!
Related: Recipe: Brownie Bites To Go!
(Images: Sarah Rae Trover)