MetaChat - Brownies so good they’ll make your friends puke.

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06 November 2008

Brownies so good they’ll make your friends puke. Perhaps not the best brownie recipe ever, but amusing - and I think most of us can relate. (And I like the blog name.) Anyway... →[More:]

I got to that post while searching for "make your own almond extract." Among the many things I have trouble finding, almond extract seems to be one of them. Have you ever made your own? How did you do it?

Or share any other cool stuff like that you make on your own. I have found some pretty expensive vanilla pods (haven't purchased yet), should I do something groovy with them? What?

post by: taz at: 07:24 | 9 comments

The NYT magazine had some brownie recipes on Sunday. I want to make these blondies (after figuring out something to sub out instead of crushed Heath Bar).

posted by box 06 November | 07:48

I met a girl at a party who has a recipe for killer chipotle-chocolate brownies. They were simply perfect. My new mission in life is to get that recipe.

posted by muddgirl 06 November | 08:26

Almond extract. Interesting. Isn't it one of those flavorings that's over 40% alcohol, like vanilla?

Also, be careful that you don't accidentally make arsenic!

posted by mudpuppie 06 November | 10:15

Ooh, I want that recipe too, muddgirl--chili and cocoa is the best combination since bread and cheese.

posted by box 06 November | 10:32

Mmm, chipotle and dried cherry brownies would be even better!

posted by me3dia 06 November | 11:30

I really like chocolate & zucchini's chili chocolate bites (although I also add cinnamon and nutmeg), but they're not brownies. On the other hand, I absolutely adore Cupcake Bakeshop's Mini Chili Chocolate Cupcakes with Chili Chocolate Ganache Frosting. Brownies are low on my list, but spicy chocolate is high on that list.

posted by crush-onastick 06 November | 11:31

You could cheat and add culinary-grade bitter almond oil to something like Bacardi 151 (CULINARY GRADE VERY IMPORTANT - bitter almonds contain cyanide and are toxic). Or, you could chop up a whole lot of almonds and macerate them in strong alcohol, but the oils in regular sweet almonds aren't particularly alcohol-soluble, so the flavour wouldn't be as good (sweet almond oil is used as massage and skin oil). To do good almond extract totally DIY would mean macerating bitter almonds and extracting the cyanide, which I haven't researched but the bad experiment = death factor is pretty dissuasive.

Anyway, Nigel Slater's Very Good Chocolate Brownies are my go-to brownies, particularly good with vanilla ice cream and crushed raspberries. I'm definitely going to try those chilli chocolate cupcakes, crush-onastick - thanks!

posted by goo 06 November | 13:40

taz, could you use amaretto instead? (Do they sell amaretto there?)

Also, Italians are mad for almond-flavored steamed milk; is there maybe a coffee-syrup trade connection that way?

(Even I am not sure what that last sentence quite meant. Something along the lines of "Maybe check out the places likely to have flavored syrups for coffees, if such places exist.")

posted by occhiblu 06 November | 13:47

Or, if you have 8 weeks, maybe try this almond liqueur recipe but leave out the sugar?

posted by occhiblu 06 November | 13:56

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