Jose-I appreciate the cocoa tip. I was surprised my recipe didn’t state one way or the other. I don’t think I have ever baked with cocoa, this will be a new experience if I ever get around to it.
Baking with cocoa is easy. Just don't sneeze while measuring out the stuff. Or have a fan blowing either.
Cocoa (powder) does lump up naturally, so you may have to sift it, but most recipes will state whether or not you have to do that. And for certain recipes, you may have to use Dutch process or regular cocoa - the alkali levels are different, so it affects the leavening. Most of the time you can use either, but if a recipe specifically states to use one or the other, there's usually a good reason. *Both Hershey's and Nestle's produce both "regular" and "Dutch process" cocoa powders. I've grown particularly fond of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder (it's "Dutched"). A lot of the gourmet cocoas out there are also dutched. In any case...
Really good brownies get most if not all of their chocolate flavor from cocoa powder - not melted chocolate.
