Melissa Clark is back in the studio kitchen! In Shortcut vs. Showstopper, Melissa makes her favorite sweet treats two ways — one that’s a simple, beginner-friendly version and one that’s a more challenging, best-ever take. First up: her easy Skillet Brownies, which can be mixed, baked and even served in one skillet. Then, her Olive Oil Brownies With Sea Salt, which are like the grown-up, sophisticated brownie cousin: luxuriously smooth, bittersweet and extra rich.
Skillet Brownies: https://youtu.be/iEK8Racb63w
Olive Oil Brownies With Sea Salt: https://nyti.ms/46DkHrT
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I was once curious to see like could you add too much vanilla what would happen if you added too much vanilla so next time I make shortbread I’m going to try a tablespoon and a half I live dangerously hi I’m Melissa Clark and I’m here in the nyt cooking studio and it’s
A new episode of shortcut versus showstopper I’m going to make a shortcut brownie which just like mix it together in a saucepan the after school Brownie and then I’m going to make a sophisticated brownie I mean as sophisticated as brownies get right this is the showstopper Brownie and it’s has
Olive oil cocoa powder two different kinds of sugar this is more of the uh adult brownie it’s not like it’s harder to make the showstopper browny but it has more sophisticated flavors they’re both delicious they’re both really easy but they’re both so different and it’s fun to make them side by side to
Compare brownies are easy so you can choose which kind of brownie you want to make and either one it’s just not going to be that hard so you win no matter what so the two brownies there’s the shortcut brownie you just mix mix the brownies in one saucepan it’s really
Easy it really does take about 6 and 1 half minutes and if you have a really good non-stick skillet you can even mix it in the skillet and then bake it in the same Skillet like that’s a shortcut first thing I’m going to get my pan
Ready I always do that first for all brownie recipes they go so quickly that you it’s not like you have time to stop and do your pan I’m going to line it with parchment and the good thing about this is that I’m going to be able to
Lift it out of the pan it’s going to make it a lot easier to cut later I’m going to be able to just pull this right out of the pan so I’m going to mix the entire recipe right in the saucepan I don’t even need a bowl it just all goes
In so this is um 6 oz of bittersweet chocolate what’s the difference between using bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in a brownie you’re going to get more flavor without any extra work by using a good bittersweet chocolate there actually some really good bittersweet chocolate chips on the market you could use
Chocolate chips if you see semisweet chocolate chips you can also use that don’t cut the sugar back though you know that shiny top on a brownie like that’s why we love brownies right that comes from the sugar so if you cut back on the sugar you’re not going to get that
Crunchy shiny top I’ve got my chocolate is ready to go I’m going to put the butter in first and I’m going to have that start to melt before I add my chocolate a thin layer of butter on the bottom of the pot will keep the chocolate from burning I’m going to
Lower the heat and I’m going to add the chocolate and then you want to just keep it stirring so the chocolate doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pot and burn you get it 90% melted turn off the heat and then it’ll continue to melt and it’ll
Also help cool the mixture down so the order that you add the ingredients is really important in a one pot One Bowl baked good we’re not adding the eggs yet because this is still warm so we’re going to add the sugar next and the sugar is also going to bring down the
Temperature of the chocolate and the butter and it’s going to start dissolving i’ say two capfuls is the correct measure for this now let’s add the eggs one at a time and mix in between I mean I know using a box is a little bit easier than this but I mean
How much easier really is it is it really that much easier I mean I guess you don’t have to measure stuff out which is good however if you are using a box I have actually a really good idea this works so well I did it the other
Day instead of putting oil in your box brownies Brown some butter just put your butter on the stove cook it until it smells nutty and looks a little brown use that instead of the oil and then instead of the water use bourbon it’s really good flour just adding it sort of
A little at a time I mean it doesn’t really matter I just feel like it it’s sort of easy to whisk it in Nicely so I’m just spreading this in the pan it’s going in the 350° oven I’d say start checking at 20 but it’s probably going to be more like 24 to 27 but start checking at 20 just in case so what are we looking for we’re it we’re basically when you put your finger
On it it should feel some resistance under there it should feel solid and I’m going to call this Done so when you think about what kind of olive oil to use for these brownies you want just a middle of the road good olive oil because you’re adding a little bit of that olive oil bitterness that olive oil complexity and you’re going to use it actually to grease your pan why
Not right and I’m just like L greasing it and then I’m going to put parchment paper on top so this recipe has a little bit of baking powder aside from the flour of course actually it’s important because of the olive oil so olive oil has its pure fat whereas butter is fat plus
Other stuff in it you know it has milk solids and water so these brownies would be very very dense unless we just put a little bit of leavening I’m G to measure the salt this time because it’s three4 of a teaspoon just whisk that together so that it’s evenly distributed and then
You can just put that to the side so I’m using a double boiler for this one because I’m not melting the chocolate with any fat I’m melting it all by itself you actually want it to be simmering that’s actually perfect for chocolate not boiling when you are
Making a double boiler you want to use a bowl that’s bigger than the pot right and I for some reason I chose the smallest bowl that was bigger than the pot if I had chosen a bigger bowl I could hang on to it more easily I don’t
Know what I was thinking I guess I was thinking I’m going to have to wash it later all right this is done I’m just going to take it off and I’m going to let the chocolate cool I can just go here adding boiling water to Cocoa helps
Bloom it it helps bring out its flavor it makes it taste even chocolatier I like to use Dutch processed cocoa for this it’s a darker color and it really does taste extremely rich and now I’m going to add my the rest of my olive oil my melted chocolate my egg
And then my two kinds of sugar so just regular old granulated and then this is dark brown sugar and dark brown sugar has a molasses flavor it has a richness that increases the fudgin of the brownies and also just adds that flavor adds that molasses flavor to the
Brownies so okay this is a very thick batter so just be prepared and let’s add our flour mixture good time to switch to a spatula for this did I add the vanilla I see the vanilla standing here I don’t think I added the vanilla I’m going to add the
Vanilla now which is fine last but not least chocolate chips into the pan it goes so you can see how very dark and glossy this batter is and that is because of the cocoa and now 350 um again we’ll start checking after 20 minutes but it could take up to 27 28 my
Guess is it’s going to be 24 and A2 let’s go look hello brownies they are done now we want to sprinkle salt right on them as they’re still warm and this way they’ll stick okay we have our cooled brownies I’m just going to go around the sides of the pan with this
Offset spatula don’t use a sharp knife because you’ll ruin your knife and you’ll ruin your pan I am going to show you a little trick for getting nice neat brownie slices instead of slicing down through that Crispy Crunchy topping we’re going to flip these over and we’re going to
Cut them from the other Side all right two taste corner piece I can feel the chewi by just breaking it chewy fudgy this is a fudgy brownie it really is the after school brownie in my dreams this is just a brownie that loves you that wants to be loved it is a crowd-pleasing brownie now let’s check
Out this one show stop a brownie it feels like it’s a little bit lighter and that’s probably from the baking powder mhm we’ve got a chew but less sticky if that makes sense these are more like soft dense smoother in a way this tastes like a Tor you know you
Really taste the olive oil you absolutely taste it but in such a good way you’re like wow olive oil and chocolate that is like a fancy combination after school brownie after a fancy meal Brownie please your kid Brownie please your snobby Adult Friend brownie they’re not that different in
Terms of how hard they are to make I mean this one’s maybe a little more complicated to keep track of but you know what you can’t lose you cannot lose simple showstopper which is it going to be make them both just make them both double fish the brownie where’s my Milk
39 Comments
Boxed brownies with Olive oil and flaky salt on top are one of my go to hacks
What would you say is bittersweet? Is it 80% cocoa or 70%
Im taking away olive oil from usamericans until yall learn how to use it bc im sick of this trend of everyone and their mom drowning their desserts/sweets in olive oil (which literally sucks) but all while refusing to use it in savory cooking cause "its too spicy" "has too much flavor". Repeat after me: olive oil is for cooking. Neutral oil is for baking.
i miss melissa so much…
I need like the perfect middle ground of these 2, chewy and sticky with choco-chips n salt.
Melissa Clark is a tonic.
❤
A few suggestions to anyone watching this video:
1) Boil your water for melting chocolate; REMOVE from heat and then place your chopped chocolate in a bowl on top. You won't burn your chocolate.
2) Instead of adding boiling water… add boiling water with instant coffee / espresso powder in it. You won't taste the coffee but the the chocolate will be more intense.
3) If you have the time… make the batter, smooth in pan, and wrap tightly. Leave it in the fridge (unbaked) for up to 3 days. Remove from fridge and then pre-heat your oven. Bake it cold and you will get a fudgy texture.
I can't wait to try making this dessert for myself! Thanks for sharing such an amazing recipe with us 🤌🤗🧡
Melissa is Mother!
why risk burning your chocolate in that first recipe by using a pan? just make a double-boiler with a large bowl over simmering water and melt it and mix it all there –it doesn't take any longer and you can assemble your other ingredients and prep your pan while the butter & chocolate melt.
The olive oil brownies look amazing!
Whoa whoa whoa, might need a step by step for that box brownie with brown butter and bourbon👀
You're just gonna drop that vanilla experiment idea there in the open and not follow up, huh?
Love Melissa Clark, but NYT… please encourage presenters to keep their hair back. Seriously
Really enjoying this format – the simple and more complex versions of the same item. Great work! Love it. I'll be making your bourbon pecan pie again for Thanksgiving 🙂
This is a great brownie video
FYI to everyone! Some of these ingredients are extremely unhealthy and are documented in medical literature as being one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease such as strokes and heart attacks as well as many different types of cancer and diabetes. Avoid this recipe at all cost and look for a plant based brownie recipe that contains no processed ingredients and no salt oil or sugar. There's tons available and they're much better for you, for the planet and for the animals.
I like brownies that have a little more volume. Those are too close to fudge.
You don't need to grease a pan if you're going to use parchment paper. "Parchment paper" isn't real parchment. It's just paper impregnated with silicone. Or, well, actually, it's more the other way around, but whatever. Anyway, greasing is unnecessary. Also, if you want to save money, just buy a food-grade silicone brownie pan with dimensions that fit inside the brownie pan you already have. Upgrading your other bake-ware that way is a real time and money-saver in the end. Just make sure it's all actually food-grade silicone with no CA-prop-65 warnings on it.
Also, if you're heating the chocolate enough that it could burn, you're using far too high of a temperature. Not to mention the high fat content of chocolate – no greasing of the melting pot should be necessary. Medium-low is more than sufficient to properly melt chocolate, and will not burn it. It will take a little longer, but once the melting starts, it won't be long. Also, never turn the burner up above medium when melting chocolate. Even a medium heat is a bit on the high side, and is typically not necessary.
For the first recipe, you can mix the eggs into the sugar, vanilla, salt, flour, and baking powder (which you forgot in the video), prior to adding them to the kettle with the melted chocolate in it (it's really better to mix the melted chocolate into these ingredients, in a separate bowl, though). That's, of course, if you're using chocolate at all. Honestly, this is just a high-fat chocolate cake that's about half the height of a cake layer. You could just use cocoa powder, canola oil, sugar, baking powder, and either eggs or egg replacer, pllus a little cream or cream replacer (replacements are necessary for those with food allergies).
For the second recipe:
OMG, lol, never use olive oil in cooking sweet items! RUINED! I mean, seriously, just use canola oil… Also, real butter doesn't have water in it. Nor "milk solids" either. It's only the fat from the churning process, washed to the 9s, then with salt added in so it's not gross tasting. Margarine's the one that has all the extra junk in it. Again, canola oil fixes all of this, and makes a great replacer for "salt-free butter" too.
Never build a DIY double-boiler. That's not safe at all. Buy one. That's the only safe way to cook with those, because they are built with safety in mind. What was used in this video is definitely not safe at all.
Toxins are typically used when dutching cocoa, and water doesn't bring anything out in it. To properly dutch cocoa at home, you have to mix the baking powder in with the plain cocoa, along with the other liquid ingredients called for in the recipe, then set it all aside so the baking powder can work its magic for a few minutes. You'll know it's done when the color is noticeably darker. Beware though: this removes most of the chocolaty flavor, so only Dutch about 50% of your cooca used in the recipe this way. Save the other 50% and mix that in last, before adding the flour and other dry ingredients. BTW – that's basically how Oreo chocolate cookies are made.
Gross. Chocolate already doesn't go with molasses at all, and then olive oil on top of it??? No. Please don't ruin chocolate this way. Brown sugar wouldn't be needed if the cocoa had been Dutched as mentioned above in this comment, but even with this recipe used "as-is" that's still gross. Just use canola oil and Dutch the cocoa as mentioned above, then use regular sugar. Also, frying sugar leads to carcinogens. Might as well smoke a pack while you're at it.
The vanilla really should be whisked into the other liquid/melted ingredients before adding the flour.
Oh wow. Rock salt on top of brownies? Um, no. Just 100% no. That's literally not even safe to eat. The most sodium any recipe should ever have is about 1/16 of a teaspoon for the entire recipe, because it all adds up throughout the day, and it doesn't take much on a daily basis to send people to ERs with coronaries. If it's a sweet recipe, the salt can be skipped entirely: it won't be missed, especially if it has sugar, unless it's something like salt-water taffy or some other recipe that's dependent on sweet + salty to actually make the desired flavor. But generally, salt can be skipped in sweet recipes. Similar for bitter recipes. When it's sweet + bitter, there's no good reason to use salt at all.
No spatula is necessary to remove brownies or cake layers if the lining of the pan (or the type of pan used) was done right in the first place. Food grade silicone is the real answer here.
Just use a pizza cutter.
I'm thoroughly impressed by this video! — "Dare to dream big, and learn from every setback.."
More Melissa Clark please.
Don’t bother clicking on the NYT link to the recipe. Subscription only
This show is great because it simultaneously caters to the lazy side of me that just wants to satiate cravings AND the ambitious chefy side that wants to pull out all the stops. Different recipes for different me's.
love her so much its giving elementary school teacher wow healed me
Needs caption’s please for hearing impaired
Love your content
The background music is so distracting and annoying! Melissa doesn't need any embellishment.
When i was growing up in the 60's and 70's, there was a packaged brownie in a tin foil pan called Rachels brownies, based out of small shop in NY. They were bought up to be killed off by Con Agra i think. They were the absolute best packaged brownies ever!! And i've tried repeatedly to recreate them. How they made them taste fresh (they were in the freezer section) but delish i am still working on it.
On to Melissa's brownies. I will absolutely have to try her versions and see how it goes. A lot goes into the quality of the cocoa because duh, it's a brownie, if it's cheap, it's going to taste cheap. Right? Places like Restaurant Depot is where restaurants buy goods in bulk. I consider myself a brownie expert ever since my attempts to duplicate Rachels. And these look delish and easy and i'm going to experiment.
PS, if anyone's ever mastered the Rachels brownies, let me know.
if you live dangerously Melissa, you would be making hippie weed brownies…
I've honestly tried making so many brownie recipes from scratch…. But haven't found any that are better than boxed Ghirardelli triple chocolate 😅
Yum
hello , how are you
Super and delicious recipe my dear friend 🌻🌸🥀💐🌺🌹🌼🪷🌷🫶🏻🫶🏻
This is one of those videos where the team is just way too respectful of the person and is like this is wonderful…and it's just not.
where is the recipe?
very unassuming but Melissa Clark's written 45 cookbooks. in a word, brilliant. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😊💛
The first batch are known as “Katharine Hepburn Brownies” as they’re the famous actresses’ recipe. I love them and they are sooo easy!
Neither of those brownies have the signature crinkly tops.