Noah's Ark Brownies

These are go-big-or-go-home brownies. A full pound of butter melted with ¾ pound of semi-sweet chocolate, seven eggs whipped with four cups of sugar into a thick yellow ribbon, and four cups of chopped walnuts folded in at the end. The recipe fills both a 9×13 and an 8-inch square pan, giving you 42 brownies from a single batch.

The technique is what separates these from box-mix brownies. Whipping the eggs and sugar until they form a ribbon (thick, pale, and falling in a continuous stream from the beater) incorporates a tremendous amount of air. When that airy egg mixture meets the dense melted chocolate, you get a brownie with a shiny, crackly top crust and a fudgy, dense interior.

No baking powder, no baking soda. The eggs are the only leavening. That’s why these brownies are intensely rich and dense rather than cakey.

Pro Tips

• Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Chocolate seizes and burns fast, especially in this quantity.
• Whip the eggs and sugar for at least 3-4 minutes. The ribbon stage is important for the texture and the signature crackly top.
• Blend the chocolate into the egg mixture on the lowest speed. High speed deflates the air you just whipped in.
• The smaller pan bakes 5 minutes less than the large one. Set separate timers for each.

Variations

• Swap walnuts for pecans for a richer, more Southern-style brownie.
• Fold in a cup of chocolate chips along with the walnuts for extra pockets of melted chocolate.
• Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the batter right before baking for a salted brownie.