Espresso Magic Brownies

Brownies

• 3 cups dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 8 extra-large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure Vanilla Extract (I use Nielsen-Massey)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups Dutch process cocoa
• 1/8 cup instant espresso powder
• 2 cups toasted chopped nuts (I used a mixture of pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts)
• 12 ounces Guittard Akoma semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (or 325 degrees F. for convection)
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (with the paddle), mix the sugar and butter until they are well blended but not too fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time while the paddle is moving at medium low speed. Be sure to blend well.
4. Add the vanilla and sea salt.
5. In a separate bowl with a wooden spoon, mix the dry ingredients well. Stir the chopped nuts into the flour mixture. Now pour the flour mixture into the butter and egg mixture, and mix well on low speed.
6. Pour into well greased pan. Swirl the chocolate chips into the batter, making sure they are well distributed.
7. Bake for 23 1/2 minutes (if your oven is calibrated properly.) The batter will still be soft in the middle of the pan. Allow brownies to cool thoroughly before frosting.

Frosting

• 1 1/4 cup cane sugar, whizzed in the food processor to “super-fine” it
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 1/2 cup liquid: ¼ cup Cognac, the remainder, whole milk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 ounces Guittard Akoma semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Combine all the ingredients except the chocolate chips in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Still stirring, allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips until the mixture is smooth. Pour over the baked, cooled brownies. When the frosting has set, cut brownies into squares of the desired size.