It's a good thing I have a few backlogged recipes from Easter because I have just not felt particularly good this weekend.

Enough whining: These "brownies" are awesome.

I knew I was going to do something with white chocolate for Easter since I had some premium white chocolate that was coming close to its best before date. Granted, I bought it when my grocery store was having a blowout sale so a 200g bar cost less than a buck, but quality ingredients are quality ingredients. Unfortunately I didn't realize until the last minute (or a little later than that) that it was only a 200g (7oz) bar and I need an extra ounce. So with much ado, frustration, a little swearing (which is how I usually like to start my baking marathons) I quickly (but safely :)) drove to the grocery store to pick up some more white chocolate.

I wanted to do a little twist on the brownie and make something of a Cookies 'n Cream bar (which I just found out don't have real white chocolate anymore, sad :( ). I figured the best way to achieve this would be to actually add cookie pieces into the mix. I thought of doing an Oreo crumb crust, but that just seemed like cheating. Besides, I wanted the flavour and texture to be a little bit more integrated. I chose the closest cookies I could find to an Oreo (sans cream) and hoped it would work (for reference I used these). I added some salt to the ingredients but didn't alter anything else. Although I once again adjusted the process of making the brownie, deciding to not beat the eggs and sugar.

Let me be honest, these brownies are fugly so you're probably not going to win any prizes on looks. When it came out of the oven it looked strikingly similar to a cheese and mushroom pizza. Ahhh, but when I cut into it to get a taste I suddenly found myself in white chocolate heaven. It was so creamy tasting and perfectly sweet. Alas the awesomeness of the white chocolate slightly overpowered the cookie pieces which also softened instead of retaining their crunch. I was a little worried about this but had hoped for the best. You could somewhat make out their flavour but it would have been more pronounced with the intended texture variance. Next time I will probably go with the chocolate crust as it would definitely stay crisp and also not float to the top (something I should have expected). Towards its centre, the brownie was quite fudgy but closer to the edges it became a little bit softer, not going so far as to call it cakey (perhaps I overbaked by a minute or two, or I should start cooling quickly in fridge, freezer, or ice bath). Maybe it's simply time to forgo my standard brownie making stubbornness and follow the recipe as posted, because my pictures don't look anything like the ones on Tartalette (aside from the fact that hers are gorgeous and I suck at taking pictures :)). But this fudgy/cakey issue is SO ridiculously minor. The brownies were simply amazing. There's nothing more to say than that. Other than if you love white chocolate or even like it a little, you'll love these.

However, no matter how good they are it just seems strange to call it a brownie. They are white after all. But they're not technically a blondie, since blondies don't have any chocolate. And although white chocolate is not technically chocolate it's referred to as such. So if it's odd to call them brownies and they're not blondies, what are they? Whities? That just seems offensive :).

~ Adam

White Chocolate Brownies

Adapted from Tartelette via Eat Me, Delicious.

1 cup all-purpose flours (130g)
1/2 tsp salt
8oz good quality white chocolate (227g)
6 tbsp butter (85g)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar (50g)
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 cup chopped chocolate cookie pieces (or 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8 inch square baking pan with foil and grease foil.

In a small bowl add flour and salt and whisk to combine.

Melt half the white chocolate (4oz) and butter in a heat proof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Once melted, immediately remove from heat and add remaining white chocolate and stir until added chocolate is completely melted and combined. Set chocolate aside until just warm to touch (lukewarm).

Add sugar and vanilla and stir until completely combined. Add eggs 1 at a time and stir until combined. (Alternatively, you can follow the original recipe to beat eggs and sugar in a mixer until "pale and thick" and then beat in the chocolate)

Add dry ingredients to chocolate and stir until just combined. Fold in cookie pieces.

Evenly spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (I removed at 28 minutes but you should check earlier since I may have overbaked slightly). Allow to cool completely in pan on rack before cutting.