Jiggle Butts

on Feb 09 in Slider by Sumi

It’s been a while since the last post. We’ve been working on giving Aloha Howdy a new face lift and it looks like it will be an on going process for the time being. I have been also studying on food photography. I have to tell ya, I’m tired. I’m tired of being concerned about aperture. I’m tired of being concerned about the shutter speed. I’m up to here (my hands on my head) with all the things you need to take into consideration with white color balance. I’m tired I say!

So here’s the deal. I decided that I won’t be perfect. I’m just going to guestimate and learn as I go because no matter how much I learn about photography, it’s all about the light. I’m finding that what they teach me is not going to be an exact science. It has to do with the light, equipment, angle, distance, and what you are trying to accomplish. It has to be my instinct and feel, and I’ll just have to learn and make mistakes as I go. BREathe….and BReathe again…

When the stress hits, I usually bake.

I have been wanting y’all to meet my Jiggle Butts for a while now. And I say that today is a great day for such an acquaintance. I know you all are wondering about the name. But first, let me tell you how I came to know them. They are actually known as Ina Garten’s famous Outrageous Brownies.

When I first made these many years ago, they reminded me of something I couldn’t put my finger on. Ina calls them brownies, but to me, they were somewhere between a brownie, fudge, and truffles. It is easy to understand the reason for this, for Ms. Garten’s inspiration came from the Chocolate Glob in the SoHO Charcuterie Cookbook published in 1983. The original recipe was described to be a blob of chocolate dough filled with chocolate chips and nuts.

At first bite, my teeth pierced through the thin layer of chocolate skin and sank through the chewiness and into the fudgy truffles in the middle. The deliciousness factor is so outrageous that it made me jiggle my butt which resulted from the happy endorphins.

The name also suggest that in case of the frequent overdose, one may actually produce an unwanted jigglies on one’s butt. You can see that you are about to embark into a dangerous zone when the recipe calls for 6 extra-large eggs, 1 pound of butter, and over 2 pounds of chocolates.

I’ve made many batches of Jiggle Butts over the years. Why last Christmas alone I’ve made 4 batches to give as gifts for family and friends.

It is imperative that you follow the recipe exactly. Out of 4 batches I made, only 2 batches came out perfect. The others were fine enough to share with friends, but the texture wasn’t perfectly right. D1 tells me I have too high of standards, but with a name like Jiggle Butts, can you blame me?

Ingredients

from The Barefoot Contessa

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 Tbsp instant coffee powder
2 Tbsp real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

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