Midnight Brownies and TCM

TCM Ultimate Fan Contest from Schardé Vallone on Vimeo.

I adore old movies. And not “old” as in 1980s old—I’m talking about 1930s old. I must have been around 13 years old when I first started watching classic movies. I remember lying in bed one morning and watching The Outlaw (1943) and feeling like a whole new world had opened up. Now, I could probably name more Golden Era Hollywood actors than current stars.

Naturally, TCM is a staple in my house. Whether I’m baking, doing homework, or reading, the TV is more often than not turned to that channel. There is a special spot in my heart for the channel’s host Robert Osborne. I imagine that if I ever met him, I would only manage to embarrass us both.

In celebration of its 20^th anniversary, TCM held a fan contest in which viewers could submit a minute-and-a-half video of themselves playing the role of host and introducing their favorite film. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Trying to decide which movie to introduce, however, was way too much pressure. But I eventually decided on Mitchell Leisen’s screwball comedy Midnight (1939)—it’s actually one of my mom’s favorites (it didn’t take long to get my mom hooked on classic films too). I won’t give the plot away here, as I briefly talk about it in the video I sent in.

I really love screwball comedies. They are so bizarre and fast-paced and witty, and I love how strong the lead female characters are. The complete sense of escapism in these movies is marvelous.
 

Choosing a recipe evocative of my experience shooting this video submission was also a bit difficult. In the end, it was the name of the movie itself that inspired me. A few years ago, my friend Jordan slept over and when we got the midnight munchies we baked a chocolate cake together. (She is actually my favorite person to bake with, and I don’t say that lightly.) So I made dark chocolate brownies.

These brownies are not for the faint of heart. They are rich, darkly fudgy, sweetly bitter, so deeply chocolately…I could go on. I did brownie research and found six different recipes that I then combined and tweaked to make one of my favorite batches of brownies ever. Since making them, I have definitely snuck one (or two) while burning the midnight oil (which has been almost every night for the past few weeks) and I have a feeling that Jordan would love these too.

On a quick note, I used dark chocolate chips the second time I baked the brownies. The first time, however, involved some pantry scavenging. So feel free to use chopped dark chocolate bars instead of chips.

Midnight Dark Chocolate Brownies (Yield: about 16 brownies)

1 c. dark chocolate chips

8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, cut into 1” pieces

1 tbsp. instant coffee granules

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease an 8x8” pan, line it with parchment paper, then grease the parchment as well.
2. Place the chocolate, butter, and instant coffee in a glass bowl. Set it over a pot filled with an inch of water, and bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Give the chocolate a stir every so often and let it melt until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Be careful that none of the condensation that collects on the sides of the bowl gets into the chocolate.
3. Take the bowl off the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Let the mixture cool for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then stir in the vanilla—you’ll see the batter immediately thicken.
5. Fold in the flour and salt with a rubber spatula, making sure that you don’t over mix the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely before unmolding.