Revisiting Brownies

I've posted about these brownies before. However, I posted about them at Christmas time when we are all inundated with sweets and goodies, and it's so easy for a brownie to be overlooked. I found this brownie recipe in this past year's Better Homes And Gardens special Christmas Cookie publication, and it has become my standard brownie recipe. It's a standard brownie, except that it has malted milk powder in it, and that makes all the difference in the world. See, I go back and forth between a cakey brownie and a fudgy brownie as the best version, and this one is the best of both worlds. The malt powder gives it a fantastic texture, and while you don't taste the malt overwhelmingly, it provides a fantastic background flavor that you can't quite identify.

Previously, I have frosted these brownies and sprinkled with crushed Whoppers, which was pretty good. I have also made a ganache to pour over the top, and to me that was the ultimate brownie experience. But this past weekend, we tried them straight up, with no topping at all, and they are still a decadent brownie. They are rich and satisfying and just the quintessential brownie. I have the original version of Malt-Fudge Brownies in the recipe trove, but I do make a few changes now. I leave out the crushed malted milk balls for one. I add chocolate chips to the batter instead (but nuts would be a good addition too), and if I do top the brownies, I find that a simple ganache is the perfect gilding. Malted milk powder has definitely become a pantry staple now for me, as a result of these brownies. I do have other ideas to top these brownies for more of a bar experience- one being a caramel-pecan truffle experience, but I have yet to go that far with them.