Fudgy Brownies

If you prefer a lighter, cakey brownie, skip this recipe, but if you enjoy a moist, dense, fudgy, super-chocolatey brownie, read on! I found this recipe in a magazine long ago, attributed to Katherine Hepburn. As far as I’m concerned, that makes it one classy, sassy brownie! I modified the recipe by scaling it down for an 8 X 8-inch baking pan, and I pumped up the chocolate flavor. My mother, for whom four-o-clock tea is not optional, thinks these brownies come from heaven. (And she’s not just being my mother, if you know what I mean!) The ingredients list includes items which may well already be in your pantry or refrigerator and requires only one bowl. I use a heat resistant/silicon spatula for the entire recipe. (Well, not for cutting the brownies once they’re baked. That would be hard!)

Fudgy Brownies

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped

1 TBSP cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup all purpose flour (Gluten-free flour should work fine, I recommend King Arthur Flour’s blend)

¼ tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts (optional, of course)

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Melt butter and chocolate in a metal or glass bowl over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) – stir together and add cocoa powder
• Off heat, stir in 1 cup sugar and allow to cool about 10 minutes
• Stir in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla
• Stir in flour, salt, and nuts
• Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and spray with vegetable spray (I use two pieces of foil for this operation, folded to fit. You could use parchment paper, if you prefer, though the foil is easier and makes cleaning the pan a snap!)
• Pour in brownie batter and cook about 30 minutes (In my oven, 30 minutes is exactly right – the brownies are starting to pull away from the sides and the middle no longer looks wet, but they aren’t “browned.”)
• Allow to cool completely in pan (one hour minimum) before removing (simply lift the foil out) and cutting into squares. I cut them into 16 squares, which is easy (4 cuts one direction, turn the pan, and four cuts the other direction ~ yes, I’m a math whiz!). They keep really well in the freezer. I wrap them individually in plastic wrap, but I have enough self-awareness to recognize that most people think that’s weird.

Here are photos of the recipe in the melting-chocolate-and-butter phase, and the batter in the prepared pan before it goes in the oven. (Resist the temptation to eat it with a spoon!)