THE Brownies...

These are by far the best brownies I have had in a long time. I can't take credit...my friend Christie shared the recipe, and for that I am forever grateful! These brownies are rich, dense, moist and fudgy...everything a brownie should be. You'll never make them out of a box again. Let's make them!







Ingredients:
3/4 cups melted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped, toasted nuts, optional
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 13x9" pan. Beat melted butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla in a large bowl. Mix in cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Don't beat the tar out of it! This is the prettiest batter I had ever seen. I don't bake much, so I didn't know batter could be beautiful. This batter is beautiful. Stir in nuts and chips. Pour into pan. Bake in a dark metal pan for 20-22 minutes.

See? Batter = Beautiful

As a side note, start checking the brownies at 22 minutes. Mine have typically taken several minutes longer. Just keep checking them until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. I think it's more like 25-27 minutes, but it will depend on your oven, your elevation and whether or not Venus is in retrograde...

This recipe is so quick and easy, so it's a great chance for Homey to help out. She likes butter...

And here's a nifty trick courtesy of Alton Brown--instead of greasing the pan, line it with a sleeve of parchment paper (oh, how I love parchment paper). There should be an excess of paper along the long sides of the pan. The point is to pull the entire slab of brownies out in one fluid motion once they're cooked. When the brownies are done, loosen the short ends with a knife and pull the whole shenanigan out while it's still warm. Using a pizza cutter, go ahead and slice the brownies while they're warm. You'll have perfect squares instead of ripping them to shreds in the pan :)