40 MARCH 2019
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Bakers’ Best Fancy chocolate—and a smart
technique—make the richest brownies ever.
Lee Lee’s Double Chocolate
Chunk Brownies
ACTIVE 25 MIN; TOTAL 2 HR 45 MIN
SERVES 20
While many recipes call for creaming the
butter and sugar before adding eggs, at
Nathaniel Reid Bakery in St. Louis, Lee Lee
Reid whips eggs and sugar together to
aerate them, leading to the ultimate
brownie consistency. A brownie will only
be as good as the cocoa and chocolate
used, so be sure to source the best, like
Valrhona. For the cleanest cut, wipe off
crumbs and spray your knife with cooking
spray in between slices.
Cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4^1 / 4 oz.)
1 / 4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
(such as Valrhona)
3 / 4 tsp. fine sea salt
11 / 3 cups dark chocolate wafers (such
as Valrhona Caraïbe 66% Cacao),
divided
1 cup granulated sugar
3 / 4 cup unsalted butter (6 oz.), melted
1 / 2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13- x
9-inch metal baking pan with parchment
paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang on all
sides. Lightly coat parchment paper with
cooking spray. Sift together flour, cocoa,
and salt in a small bowl; set aside. - Melt 1 cup chocolate wafers over a dou-
ble boiler or in the microwave, stirring
often, until smooth. Combine granulated
sugar, melted butter, brown sugar, eggs,
and vanilla in bowl of a stand mixer. Beat
on medium-high speed until frothy and
light caramel in color, about 1 minute. - With mixer running on low speed, slowly
pour melted chocolate into egg mixture.
Fold in flour mixture until incorporated.
Transfer batter to prepared pan, and
smooth top. Roughly chop remaining^1 / 3
cup chocolate wafers, and sprinkle over
top of batter. Bake in preheated oven until
a wooden pick inserted in center comes
out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool brownies
in pan on a wire rack at least 2 hours. Using
parchment, remove brownies from pan.
Cut into 20 rectangles.
MAKE AHEAD Brownies may be stored in
an airtight container at room temperature
up to 2 days.
PASTRY CHEF LEE LEE REID is a self-proclaimed
brownie aficionado. “I’m always looking for that
perfect chew,” she says. Needless to say, the chocolate
chunk brownie recipe she developed, which custom-
ers can find at her husband’s bakeshop, Nathaniel
Reid Bakery in St. Louis, is the ideal balance of cakey
and fudgy—falling in line with Nathaniel’s own bak-
ing philosophy. “I like to be innovative,” he says, “but
I also like doing things that people understand and
making it the best they’ve ever had.” NINA FRIEND
RECIPE FROM
NATHANIEL
REID BAKERY
ST. LOUIS
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photography by GREG DUPREE