I think this is the first time I’ve been home in Duxbury without a deadline in a very long time. I’ve got two weeks until my summer internship starts, and literally nothing required of me between now and then. I plan on reading, playing through all of my TSwift piano books, and, of course, baking delicious things in my mom’s nice big kitchen.

After a very busy second year of law school, this break is very welcome. And probably just long enough. I don’t know that I can go more than two weeks without something I have to do. Not sure what that says about me, but I accept it.

Anyways, when I got home yesterday, my mom requested something good and chocolate. My first find was a chocolate honeycomb cake, but that required a sugar thermometer, so you’ll probably see that one next week. Second, I found a nice recipe for some chocolate raspberry brownies that my mom oohed and ahhed over, and didn’t require any special equipment. We had a winner.

Now, I’m not usually a raspberry and chocolate kind of girl. I know, it’s a classic combination, everyone likes it, blah blah blah. But maybe it’s because I never liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, either – that layer of fruit in something I like just fine by itself really doesn’t do anything for me.

However, since I’ve already made quite a few varieties of brownies for this blog, I needed this one to be different, so the raspberries are in.

First, in a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring constantly, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. While that’s cooling, put the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk. Whisk on medium speed for 10 minutes, until thick and mousse-consistency. Fold in the melted chocolate, stirring lightly. Fold in the flour and almond flour. Fold in 1 cup of raspberries. Pour batter into a 9×12 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining cup of raspberries over the top. Bake at 340°F (not a typo) for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with sticky crumbs, not completely dry.   If you look at the middle of the tray, you can see lots of holes poked from toothpicks. That’s what happens when you don’t trust the sticky-crumb analysis.  Anyways, let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan before slicing and moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut them nice and big – these brownies deserve to be made into brownie sundaes.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 cups raspberries, divided

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed for 10 minutes, until thick and mousse-consistency.
3. Fold in chocolate mixture gently.
4. Fold in flour and almond flour.
5. Fold in one cup of raspberries.
6. Pour batter into a 9×12 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining cup of raspberries over the top.
7. Bake at 340°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with sticky crumbs.
8. Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.