Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies are the Perfect Dessert for your Labor Day Barbecue

My way of showing affection is making my family and friends their favorite foods. In a recent discussion with my son-in-law, Ryan, he said his favorite birthday dinner consists of chili dogs and brownies. Okay, I thought. Chili dogs are a no brainer. But brownies? I should recreate the Steele’s Bakery brownie recipe for Ryan. They were delicious.

As fate would have it, I just finished reading Ina Garten’s memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. In her book she shared her recipe for Outrageous Brownies. When Ina purchased Barefoot Contessa in 1978, she hired a programmer at New York University to design a program for her to calculate what she should charge for her products. I must admit she was way ahead of her time on this one.

Ina would input the ingredients for a recipe into the program, and it would tell her what to charge in order to cover her ingredient costs and make a profit. The program told her she should charge $2.50 for each Outrageous Brownie at a time when she claims the average brownie sold for 75 cents. This may have been the case in East Hampton, but I am not sure this was true nationwide.

Ina adjusted a few ingredients and was able to reduce the price of her brownies to $2.25. She thought, “Absolutely no one is going to buy this.” But, she couldn’t bake enough brownies to keep her customers happy. According to Google, $2.25 in 1978 is worth $12.39 today. Pretty pricey but, then again, her store was in East Hampton.

I decided to make her recipe, and Ina’s Outrageous Brownies are outrageously delicious. I am not sure they are better than the Steele’s recipe, but they are pretty darn close.

I adjusted her recipe for high altitude baking for elevations between 3,500 and 6,500 feet above sea level. Depending upon the elevation where you will be baking, Colorado State University Extension office has calculations for different elevations. I indicated this with HAB (High Altitude Baking) after the ingredients that need adjusting.

One lesson I learned in making Ina’s recipe, when she says rap the baking sheet on the side of the oven to release the air, just give it a gentle tap. My rap spilled brownie dough on my oven. Also, I buy only large eggs. If you only have large eggs and not extra-large like Ina suggests, use 7 large eggs instead of 6 extra-large.

Ina’s Outrageous Brownies are perfect for your Labor Day barbecue! I will be surprising Ryan this Labor Day with these outrageously delicious treats.

Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies

Makes 20 large brownies

1 pound unsalted butter (HAB add 2 tablespoons)

1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 extra-large eggs or 7 large eggs

3 tablespoons instant coffee granules

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups sugar (HAB decrease by 1 tablespoon)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (HAB add 1 tablespoon), divided

1 tablespoon baking powder (HAB decrease by ⅛ teaspoon)

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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