Brownies of my Dreams

I’ve made it my mission for the last couple of months to seek and bake the best brownies on the planet.

That is a lofty goal.

But… go big or go home right?

Right!

Since Brownies are a matter of taste, like everything else, I tried a gazillion recipes that claimed to be the BEST BROWNIES EVER! But I didn’t LOVE LOVE any of them – and like Anton Ego says on the movie Ratatouille – “I don’t like food, I love it. If I don’t love it – I don’t swallow.”

I couldn’t swallow most of the recipes I tried.

And then….

(you know this was going to have a happy ending right? I wouldn’t be writing the post if I were still miserably searching for a Brownie Recipe I could call my own.)

I did it!

With some tweaks and turns I happened upon a Brownie Recipe that makes all of my dreams come true. Fudgity, chewy, with that funky crust on the top. I don’t know why it does that, but Brownies aren’t real brownies without it.

SO, here you have it. The Brownies of my Dreams!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. Butter

2 C. Chocolate Chips (milk or dark depending on your jam)

2 C. Sugar (1 1/2 if using milk chocolate)

2 TBSP Vanilla

8 Eggs

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 C. Cocoa Powder (Note – I use really good quality cocoa powder. you don’t HAVE to, but I think it adds so much to a recipe. My fave is Guittard Dutch processed. Fantastical!)

2 1/2 C. Flour (I love using Cake Flour for Brownies)

1 C. Chocolate Chips (More?! Not a mistake – you’ll see)

Instructions:

Melt butter, chocolate chips and sugar together until smooth. Add vanilla. Beat eggs with salt until fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and chocolate chips. These chips stay mostly whole, giving you those bites of happiness sprinkled throughout the Brownie.

Stir wet and dry ingredients together JUST until combined. Spread in greased 9×13 dish for thicker brownies or a for thinner brownies, use a greased cookie sheet, (I think that’s like 13×18 or something.)

Bake 350 for 25 minutes, for the thin, 40 for the thick. They won’t look done in the middle but will set up in the 20-30 minutes they rest on top of the oven.

Cool completely before cutting. It’s hard to wait, but I believe in you! It’s good to refrigerate for an hour or so before cutting so they are completely set up. If you want them with ice cream – cause who wouldn’t – do the refrigeration thing, then nuke for 20 seconds. Sounds silly, but skipping the cooling means eating them with a spoon.

Which, now that I think about it, doesn’t sound so bad!

NOW THE FUN PART

VARIATIONS!

*substitute the chocolate chips that go in with the flour mixture with Andes mints! If you like Mint, you will LOVE this.

*Add mini marshmallows and pecans with the flour mixture to make Rocky Road Brownies.