I'm not entirely sure where September went. I can't believe tomorrow/today is the first day of October. Pretty soon Thanksgiving, then Halloween, and finally Christmas and New Years. Life has been kind of busy, more busy than usual, but not a bad busy. Work is a bit stressful but good, and home/personal life has been good even great. Why do I mention all of this? No reason really, or maybe because even great things can be made better with brownies :).

As I was baking up some treats for work last week, I decided I needed some for myself and my friends. I wanted it coconut and I wanted it chocolate, brownies seemed to be a natural fit.

Anyone who has ever heard me rant about brownies knows that I am a big fan of the fudgy kind. I mean brownies are good, but fudgy brownies are better. So it might be a little shocking that these are not those. However, my intention wasn't to go out and make non-fudgy brownies, they just turned out that way.

The basis for this brownie recipe was once a go to for me. I used to add white chocolate chips to it and call it something pretentious like "Snowflakes at Midnight (actually that's exactly what I called it :))" Also, I like the word pretentious a lot, and have been using it more and more frequently. Calling things pretentious is a lot of fun apparently.

The original recipe says these are supposed to be fudge brownies, so I'm not sure what I did wrong. I have a feeling I might have mixed a little too hard or maybe it was the reduction in sugar. I can't exactly remember my brownie science. Most likely though it was the addition of the coconut giving the batter more volume. But whatever I did, these ended up very, soft, light, cakey and extremely good. I used my favourite chocolate chips (PC Decadent Semi-sweet) and did away with using two types of chocolate, reduced the sugar, and used coconut instead of chocolate chips. I also used extra large eggs because that's what I had on hand. Regardless of how your brownies turn out texture wise, let me say that in the flavour department these are fantastic: rich with chocolate, not too sweet, and then the subtle flavour of coconut to finish. They got rave reviews wherever they went, and will definitely be made again.

Here's to October!

~Adam

Cakey Coconut Brownies

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine via Food Network (but I can't find a link)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (65g)
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter (86g)
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (113g)
2 large eggs (i used extra large)
1/2 cup sugar (100g)
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup medium shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8” square pan with foil and lightly grease.

In a small bowl whisk together flour and salt.

Place a medium heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Add chocolate chips and butter and heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

When the chocolate is luke warm, add sugar and stir until completely combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring until combined. Continue to stir until batter is shiny and smooth. Add vanilla and stir until combined.

Add flour mixture and stir until no streaks remain.

Fold in coconut.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until tester comes out with a few moist crumbs (this took me 25 minutes). Remember: a slightly underdone brownie is better than a slightly overdone brownie :).