![the cocoa](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/2669483359_4fa1f4de6d_m.jpg)
But was it really black? You be the judge:
![how black is black?](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2669483429_be937d2327_m.jpg)
Pretty close to black, I say. That's black cocoa on the left, natural process cocoa on the right. And on hands and counters, it looks even blacker. Seriously, I looked like I'd been shoveling coal! So, I got to work, making the recipe but replacing the baking chocolate with the equivalent in cocoa powder and oils (I used a little less than 1/2 black cocoa, natural process for the rest). It passed its first test with flying colors -- the batter was probably the tastiest brownie batter I've ever eaten, and everyone else in the house agreed. Then it was time to bake -- and the result was, well, pretty evil looking:
![surface of an asteroid? no! evil brownies!](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/2670305138_20eaa056b7_m.jpg)
We couldn't wait for them to cool, so I cut few pieces as soon as possible and wow, these are some dark chocolate brownies!! So cool!! Ta-da!
![brownies as black as your EVIL HEART](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2669483613_fd0b66e2a2.jpg)
We loved them. Unfortunately....the following day was when we all started getting sick. So I ended up eating, maybe one of them. Evan ate several though, and said they were great. Emily hated them though -- and she will eat ANY crappy brownie on the planet. She just didn't like the color, mainly. (Although there is a slightly odd taste from the black cocoa -- I saw it described somewhere as slightly chalky, like the taste of the chocolate cookies in oreos.) So I promised her that future batches of these brownies would actually be brown. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of this black cocoa!