Butterscotch Brownies

by Laura Donnelly — June 29, 2007

This is a perfect bake-ahead dessert for summertime entertaining. These freeze very well, too. Serve with peach sorbet and fresh fruit.

Makes one 9 by 13-inch pan or about 24 brownies

This is a perfect bake-ahead dessert for summertime entertaining. These freeze very well, too. Serve with peach sorbet and fresh fruit.

8 Tablespoons (one stick) butter
2 cups (one pound) dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons finely ground espresso beans
2 eggs
1 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and melted, about five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until just warm, about 20 minutes.

3. Put butter mixture into bowl of electric mixer and begin beating. Add vanilla, espresso, and eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl once or twice. Then beat for two minutes on medium-low speed. Add flour and baking powder and mix just until blended. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips.

4. Scrape batter into greased pan and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven and shake the pan. If it still seems soft in the middle, return to oven and bake 5 to 10 minutes more. A tester should come out with some crumbs stuck on it, but not gooey. Cool and cut into bars.