These were just a quick treat. The kind of treat that you need when you've had a hard day and your brain keeps screaming CHOCOLATE. Plus, I got to use up the almond paste I had leftover. So it was fudgy brownie deliciousness with a pretty puffy almond lattice. Because food doesn't have to just be yummy.
Almond Lattice Brownies
From Good Housekeeping Best-Loved Desserts
Brownies:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Almond Lattice Topping:
1 (7- to 8-ounce) can or tube almond paste, crumbled
1 large egg
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. In a 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter, semisweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs; stir until well mixed. Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture just until blended. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
In a food processor with the knife blade attached, pulse the almond paste, egg, sugar, flour, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Transfer the almond mixture to a small ziptight plastic bag. With scissors, cut the bottom corner of the bag on the diagonal, ¼-inch from the edge. Pipe the almond topping over the brownie batter to make 10 diagonal lines, spacing them 1 inch apart. Pipe the remaining topping diagonally across the first set of lines, to make 10 more lines and create a lattice design.
Bake until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out almost clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. When cool, cut brownie lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 6 pieces.
Makes 24 brownies