Fudge Brownies

  I know, I know, brownies aren't exactly sewing... but they are delicious. I used to make these for my dad, but since I live in a different state now, my dad is always wishing for brownies from me. So for father's day this year, I sent him a package full of these:

I didn't send any of the ice cream, I thought it might not ship well... ;-)

  Deliciously chewy, soft fudge brownies with a light crispy crust. Mmm. I started off with the fudge brownie recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook but over the years I have changed them a lot. I like my brownies sweeter and actually a little less chocolate-y than theirs are. Care for the recipe? Here it is:
  Grease two 8X8 pans and heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then pull out these ingredients:

•  10-12 ounce bag of chocolate chips/pieces. I use milk chocolate.
•  2 1/2 cubes salted butter. (You can use unsalted but you will want to add 1/4 tsp salt)
•  1 cup cocoa powder
•  6 eggs
•  4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
•  3 cups sugar
•  2 cups flour

  Yes, there is more sugar than flour in these. They are BROWNIES. They aren't supposed to be healthy.

    Over gentle heat melt the butter and chocolate chips together... you can also use the microwave but I happen to not own one at the moment. Let this mixture cool a bit. Meanwhile:

  Beat your eggs, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla together. Add your melted chocolate/butter and mix well.

  Mix the flour in by hand, but don't overmix it, or the brownies won't be as soft.

  You want it to be a little bit streaky (more than my batter in this picture):

   Pour your batter into your pans

  And smooth the top (or don't, it doesn't make a lot of difference)

  Then bake in your preheated oven for 38-45 minutes, until you can stick a knife it and it isn't batter anymore. You should still get sticky crumbs, just nothing runny.

  Now eat 'em! They are good warm or cold, but they tend to get a little dried out if you leave them out, so keep them tightly sealed until they disappear. They will probably last a couple weeks on the counter (if you don't eat them first) or they freeze beautifully and will last for months. This recipe can be easily halved if two pans is too much. You can also put it all in one larger pan, but you will want to lower the heat to 325 degrees and cook it for about 10 more minutes. Here is the recipe all in one spot:

Thanks for stopping by!