The invention of this recipe started with too many leftover egg whites after I made pastry cream. I had to come up with something to do with them, because I didn't just want to throw them out. So, I did what everyone else would do, I googled "what can I make with egg whites." A lot of recipes popped up, but when I saw a recipe for brownies I was really excited. And so I went to my kitchen and started the first step without really reading the recipe.
This turned out to be a mistake, because I didn't realize that I was out of cocoa powder (and my kitchen is usually well stocked with baking items), and some of the other ingredients weren't things I usually buy. Since NJ is still under a stay at home order from Covid-19, I also couldn't just quickly run out to the grocery store to pick things up, because grocery store trips require a lot of time and effort right now. So I stood there with a pot of melted butter and a pre-heated oven and tried to figure out how I could make the brownies with the things I did have, and voila, my quarantine brownie recipe was created. This is a pretty simple recipe, a great way to use leftover egg whites, and these turned out to be some of the fudgiest most delicious brownies I've ever made.
Quarantine Brownies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 bag chocolate chips (11.5 ounces)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9 square baking pan.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt until the chocolate has melted.
- Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, add the sugar and egg whites into a large bowl and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes. Mixture should be somewhat thick and foamy.
- Add the butter and chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix until it becomes incorporated. Slowly mix in the flour until it is well combined.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the center is no longer jiggly and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies contains moist crumbs.
- Allow brownies to cool, then cut into squares and serve.
