Chocolate craving. Resulted in brownies. Which I've never, ever been good at. Until now!!! These were awesome. They're fudgy (not cakey — I don't really like cakey brownies) and salty (the original recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon salt, but I added 1/2) and not too sweet. You can add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, but Larry doesn't, and neither did I. I ate them for dinner with a giant glass of cold milk while sitting under a giant duvet with all the windows open and the October evening blowing in. Oh yeah.
Crowd-Pleasing (Fudgy) Family Brownies
from Sara Bir in The Oregonian, modified by my friend Larry Payne
Makes 16 brownies
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cold eggs, straight from the refrigerator
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Melt the butter in a high-sided saucepan over medium heat, keeping an eye on the pan so the butter does not burn. When the butter is quite hot (you may hear it sizzling or popping a bit), remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir once and set aside to finish melting while you prepare the pan.
Line an 8-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper, letting several inches hang over two opposite sides to create handles. Grease the pan and foil and set aside.
Now, stir the chocolate and butter mixture until it is smooth and the chocolate is completely melted. With a wooden spoon or with an electric mixer, beat in the sugar and salt, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. (Add the vanilla, if using.) Beat in the flour until the batter is smooth. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out with moist crumbs, not raw batter, about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack or place in the freezer until browies are cool and set. Using the parchment or foil handles, lift the brownies out of the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares and serve!
