#29 Gianduia Brownies 1998

Hazelnut-studded Gianduia Brownies, dense and moist.

When a flavor combination is right, the entire palate seems to come alive with sweet satisfaction. That is the effect of these brownies at first bite.

Brownies lifted from pan by their parchment.

Not your ordinary walnuts in these brownies. Instead, roasted, peeled hazelnuts and a bit of Nutella (a hazelnut-chocolate spread), enhance the nuttiness. Both bittersweet chocolate and milk chocolate add to the depth of flavor. I did a double-take as I bit in. These weren't what I expected, but in a good way. They take brownies to a new level.

In the interest of full disclosure, these are not cake-like in texture. They are dense brownies, my personal preference, and are best topped with your favorite vanilla ice cream. Go ahead and add some brandy or a favorite liqueur, too. The flavor holds up to it.

Hazelnuts, roasted and peeled enough.
We don't need to get crazy about those skins.

I admit the hazelnut processing was not my favorite.  I nearly burned the nuts during roasting, and removing the skins involves rubbing them vigorously with a towel, thus littering a perfectly clean towel with skin bits. Not nearly as easy as blanching almonds. For the first batch, I ended up scraping some skins off with my finger nails. Yuk.

These brownies are also time and temperature sensitive. My first batch (donated for an auction) was a bit dry after baking for 30 minutes.

These deserved a second try.

Dense middle part did not rise as expected.
Not to worry--flavor was dense and rich.

I didn't want to leave the nuts raw--roasted nuts seem to explode with flavor compared to raw nuts. But this time, I wanted a gentle roast. As for coffee beans, if you roast nuts too dark, they make a bitter brew. For the second batch, I roasted the nuts for only 10 minutes, just until the smell wafted out of the oven. Then, I removed only about half the skins, whatever rubbed off easily. Everything else went into the food processor.


On this, my second try, I also watched the baking temperature like a sweet-toothed hawk. I baked at just under 350 degrees and started checking for doneness (moist crumbs adhere to a toothpick) at the 20-minute mark. Due to the slightly lower temperature, though, they needed the full 30 minutes and had some dense spots that barely rose. Guess I should have at least started them off at the right temperature to get the rise going.

Vigilance paid off, though. Full-flavored and more moist, my gardening potluck friends loved them.

Technique Note: On episodes of the Test Kitchen, I've seen the chefs start baking at one temp, then lower the oven temp for the rest of the cooking. Even with cookies, not just pies. Yet, I've never seen that instruction in a cookie recipe. I'll take that hint and try it for the third batch.

Because there will be a next time. And a next time...

The recipe is here, here, and here.