New York Times Tête-à-Tête (I)

If you're reading this blog, you're likely the kind of sophisticated foodie who would have devoured Julia Moskin's article, "Simple Pleasure, American Style" in the New York Times last April. Moskin deftly described the history and defining characteristics of the brownie and sprinkled her piece with technical points from seasoned bakers. By now many bloggers have tried one of the three brownie recipes that accompanied the article: Supernatural Brownies, New Classic Brownies, and French Chocolate Brownies. The goal of Moskin's article seemed to be to pinpoint the perfect brownie recipe; bloggers interpreted the Supernatural Brownies as such since they were the author's favorite, neither too fudgey (like the New Classic Brownies) nor too cakey (like the French Chocolate Brownie).

Jennifer at Bake or Break liked them, as did Jessica at This Mama Cooks. But they didn't cure The Wednesday Chef's craving for a thick, chocolatey slab of a brownie, and with her I empathize. From ribbony batter to fully baked, the Supernatural Brownies resembled good boxed brownies, but nothing more. I should know because the Supernatural Brownies were the first brownies I ever made from scratch, and they gave me little reason to make brownies from scratch a second time. Though the brownies were toothsome - light, chewy, definitely chocolate, in sum perfectly adequate - epitomic of their kind they were not.

The Supernatural Brownies, in fact, could not have been perfect. The bipolar scale on which we judge brownies, based on texture, reflects the gradations of our preferences. If we can't agree on a standard for at least one variable of the brownie, how can we agree that any brownie is perfect?

We shouldn't. When we strain to assign brownies superlative titles, we undercut their culinary flexibility. Let's instead define each brownie by what makes it uniquely satisfying.

In light of all this, I stand by my statement that the Supernatural Brownies are not quite supernatural. My new verdict: these are fantastic 'base' brownies. They are easy to prepare and not overwhelmingly rich, practically begging for the company of caramel, peanut butter, candy, etc. Turn to this recipe when you feel like experimenting; you'll feel no great loss if you ruin a batch.

I was not content to test only Moskin's favorite brownie recipe; I also baked a pan of the New Classic and French Chocolate Brownies, and both had more personality than the Supernatural Brownies. Deserving as they are of their own posts, I invite you to revisit Brownie or Die and see how the New York Times' three 'best' brownies compare in a brutal tête-à-tête.

Disclaimer: I apologize for my painfully mediocre photography skills - made worse by general fatigue and time constraints - which do none of these brownies justice.