Food Friday--Red Velvet Brownies

I know a few weeks ago I said that I don't like brownies, and it's true.  I really don't.  But I had a craving for a certain texture one day (oddly, I do crave textures sometimes.  I am a very tactile person, I have to touch everything, and there are some foods that I really like the way they feel in my mouth-like shortbread-and other things that I cannot stand the way they feel in my mouth-like oatmeal.)

So, in my texture craving adventures, I determined that I was actually craving the texture of a slightly gooey brownie.  Not liking the flavor or brownies makes it difficult to satisfy cravings sometimes, so I decided to experiment a little.

The result of my experiment was a batch of red velvet brownies that came out pretty tasty, however,  I still don't like the edge pieces.

Red Velvet Brownies

What you need:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ounce red food coloring
2 tablespoons milk
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

What you do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Next, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add in your food coloring, milk and vanilla and mix until the color is fully incorporated. Mix flour, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl, set your mixer speed to stir, and slowly add the flour mixture to your mixer bowl, scraping down the sides as necessary.  Stir just until combined. Don't worry, your batter will be thick.

Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes. 35 minutes (in my oven) gives a brownie that has a nice thin crust on top and is gooey underneath.  You may want yours more done than that.

Set aside to cool, cut into bars and enjoy.

Sides scraped, ready to go into the baking dish.

Cracked, but still good.

Ready to eat.  :)

Gratuitous clouds.