Sometimes, or once in a Super Moon, when there is much to be done and you need to boost a sluggish afternoon body, there is nothing better than a bite of a warm, homemade brownie and a sip or two of hot coffee to help you get to the finish line of “a day well lived.”

Below please find the recipe for a very delicious, rich chocolate brownie from one of our favorite bakeries, The Standard Baking Co., in Portland, Maine – a “bakery without spin” where “…you won’t find art work on the walls, fancy coffee drinks or deli sandwiches.” Instead, “the bread and pastry sell themselves.”

How? Simply put, “The Standard isn’t a brand, it’s a philosophy,” writes Jane Newkirk in The Standard Baking Co.’s book, Pastries.

If you ever decide to visit the bakery, located on Commercial Street in the Old Port District, make sure to arrive early before all of the hungry passengers from the cruise ships in port do!

And for the great cup of coffee, check out King Bean Coffee Roasters in Charleston, South Carolina – a 2014 Martha Stewart American Made Finalist – or read about some of the great roasting going on in Maine in the following article from the New York Times, “Maine, One Coffee Roaster at a Time” (January 2015).

Brownies (recipe taken from The Standard Baking Company)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. Dutch-Processed Cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 & 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder (we used good quality coffee grains)
1 & 1/2 cups (7 ounces) chopped unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup (1 & 1/2 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 & 1/3 cups (2 & 2/3 sticks) unsalted butter,
5 eggs, room temperature
3 cups sugar
2 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:
In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder salt, and espresso powder.

In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and butter together over low heat.  Set the pan aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs just until smooth, then add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate and egg mixture.

Pour the batter into the lightly greased pan (9 inch square metal pan or 9×13) and level with a spatula.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan after 20 minutes. The top will be crisp and a tester inserted in the center will come out with moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting.

See also our post on Kona coffee.