Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies

I've been absent thanks to a new full-time job, so I no longer have the luxury of indulging in meals that take hours to prepare. I have been seriously into baking lately - mostly on the weekends - and today, though we had those marvelous crèmes brûlées yesterday, I had a serious craving for chocolate, so I whipped up a batch of the Crisis Brownies, but with a few modifications: coconut extract and flaked coconut instead of vanilla and nuts, and the Dutch-process cocoa.

Very good, very deep and intense, these are not cakey or milk-chocolatey.I needed a full glass of milk after one small brownie, bit wow, did it hit the chocolate craving square in the face.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 6 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into large, 1-T pieces
• 2 T heavy cream
• 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 t coconut extract
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• ½ cup chocolate chunks
• 1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F and spray an 11 x 7 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
   
2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and cocoa with a whisk to break up any clumps of cocoa.
   
3. Bring about 1 ½ inches of water to a boil in the bottom of your double boiler; reduce heat and then in the top pan of the double boiler heat the butter and sugar until the butter starts to melt, add the heavy cream, and then gradually add your chocolate, stirring constantly to be sure that the mixture doesn't burn.
4. Once the chocolate is all melted, add the coconut extract and then remove from the heat immediately and scrape into a large bowl.
   
5. Set this bowl inside a larger bowl which has some ice water in it and let the chocolate mixture cool before adding the eggs.Or you can temper the eggs by whisking in a bit of the chocolate mixture while it is still pretty hot.
6. Add the eggs, mixing well.
   
7. Gradually stir in the flour mixture and mix until smooth. add the chocolate chunks and flaked coconut and mix well.
   
8. Spread the batter into prepared pan.This is not a loose, pourable batter like some recipes - this is thick, almost like cookie dough. Don't worry. It's supposed to be like that.
   
9. Bake 25 minutes until a toothpick jabbed into the center comes out clean. This recipe makes very dense, moist and fudgy brownies.
   
10. Transfer pan to a rack to cool before cutting the brownies.
    

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