"Dalmation" Brownies -- For Humans Only

For my good friend's (who also happens to be my awesome boss) birthday this year, I decided to reverse the brownie and add some flair. Now, I am not talking about a typical Blondie here. I'm talking about using high-quality white chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate as the base for these brownies. And instead of a creamy-smooth inside, I wanted to add some flavor and texture contrast. What better way to do that than to throw in some dark and milk chocolate chunks. I thought a little about the appearance of these beauties and I realized that they reminded me of a Dalmation's coat -- white with dark spots. And the "Dalmation" Brownies were born.

The base for this recipe comes from a recent King Arthur Flour catalog I got in the mail. I did change a few things, but you knew that... because that's how I roll.

They came out deliciously moist and super sweet. The nutmeg addition adds that special "je ne sais quoi" that I love to have in everything that I bake. The one thing I would watch for here is baking time. I had to cover the pan with foil for the second half of the baking time, as I didn't want to brown the top edges too much, but wanted the center to fully bake. Keep an eye on these brownies, though, because baking time may vary. Mine took about an hour, but my oven is wack... so they may take anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes in a fully-functional oven :-).

Enjoy!

"Dalamation" Brownies (White Chocolate Brownies with Dark & Milk Chocolate Chunks)
(makes about 16 small brownies)

1 cup chopped or chunks of white chocolate (I like Guittard or Scharffen Berger here)
1/4 cup (2 oz. or 1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups AP flour
~1 cup milk chocolate chunks/chips
~1 cup semi/bitter sweet chunks/chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 or 9 inch square baking pan. Set aside.
   
2. Place the white chocolate, butter and sugar in a metal bowl set over simmering water. Once the butten has melted and the chocolate gets soft, remove the bowl from the pan of simmering water (wiping the moisture from the bottom). Add the salt, nutmeg and vanilla.Whisk until smooth and set a aside to cool until it's lukewarm.
   
3. Beat the eggs in the bowl of your stand mixer until airy, light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together. Slowly add to the egg & chocolate mixture.
   
4. Mix in the chocolate chunks/chips until just combined. Pour/spoon the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Check at 30 minutes, just to be sure. It may take up to an hour, but cover with aluminum foil for the last 15-30 mins to avoid overbrowning the top -- so that the stubborn middle cooks all the way through.

Source: Adapted from King Arthur Flour