After buying a ton of corn syrup to test the Costco Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies, I used some of the surplus to make Maida Heatter's Greenwich Village Brownies. In Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies, she notes her corn syrup brownies were inspired by brownies served at a NYC pastry shop and describes them as very chewy. I've had chewier brownies, but the Greenwich Village ones are still very good. They're satisfyingly chocolate, yet not as heavy feeling as Maida's Palm Beach recipe. One bite of these has you wanting more and more.

Small Batch Greenwich Village Brownies

Unfortunately I don't make Maida Heatter's Greenwich Village Brownies often because the recipe is designed for a 15 ½ by 10 ½ inch pan and I rarely need such a large batch. Having the extra corn syrup motivated me to finally test the recipe a couple of times in smaller batches. I used ⅓ of the ingredients and tested in both a 6x9 inch mini sheet pan and an 8x8 inch square cake pan. Without going too much into pan size, I will say that both batches were about the same thickness even though the pan surface areas were slightly different. And both batches were excellent! I think it had to do with the method I used for baking the small batches.

Bake and Pause Method

The baking method I used for the small batch Greenwich Village Brownies was Alton Brown's "bake and pause". You bake the brownies at 300 for 15 minutes, take them out of the oven for 15 minutes, then return and bake at 300 for another 30 minutes. Baking at a low temperature helps the brownies retain moisture. That's basically the job the corn syrup does in this recipe, but the low and slow bake time is extra insurance. It makes it nearly impossible to overbake the edges, which can happen with small batch brownie recipes.

So here's the small batch version, and you can use either the mini sheet pan or the 8-inch square metal pan. The large Maida size batch is in the recipe card.

Greenwich Village Brownies using Alton Brown's bake and pause method.

Small Batch Almost Greenwich Village Brownies

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
⅓ cup unsalted butter (75 grams)
⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
⅓ cup brown sugar (70 grams)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
65 grams corn syrup (volume is less than ¼ cup)
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt (You can use less if you want)
⅔ cup all-purpose flour (85 grams)
½ cup walnuts or pecans. chopped and toasted
¾ to 1 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Using "bake and pause" method. For the small batch recipe, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease bottom of an 8-inch square pan or a 6x9 inch mini sheet pan and line bottom with a piece of parchment paper. Alternatively, you can just line with foil and grease bottom.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and both sugars just until creamy. Beat in the vanilla and the corn syrup, then beat in the eggs, one by one. Beat in the salt, then add the flour and stir by hand until fully blended. Stir in nuts and extra chocolate chunks.

Spread in the lined pan and scatter more chocolate on top.

Bake in a fully preheated 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Return to the oven and bake for 30 more minutes or until a meat thermometer tops out at 210 degrees F. Alton says 195F which is probably right for some cocoa brownies, but I promise these are better when 210F. It's probably because of the corn syrup. Also, unless you have a super fast instant read, remember to give the thermometer time to reach its final temperature.

Let the brownies cool completely, then chill briefly before lifting from the pan and slicing. Slice while cold. You can store them in the refrigerator, freezer or at room temperature. I like to wrap these individually. As they sit, they get a little crumblier and more commercial-like, but NOT dry.

Maida Heatter's 15 ½ x 10 ½ inch version

Here's the large batch version, for which I did not use "bake and pause". Maida gives her Greenwich Village Brownies a bake time of 40 to 45 minutes. I recommend checking the brownies at 35 minutes, but they will probably take at least 40. Even if you go the full 45, the corn syrup keeps them soft, so with the longer bake they'll be slightly cakier, but still crumbly. Also, the brownies will try to trick you. They may appear to be overbaked, but give them time to cool and completely set and you should be happy with the texture.

Recipe