Perfecting brownies

Baking is my favorite form of cooking, plus, sweets are often a weakness of mine. So, when I’m itching to bake, the combination goes quite nicely together. Something I have always liked to mix up for a potluck, make for friends or if I just want a sweet snack, is a standard batch of brownies. I have a straight-forward recipe, only 7 basic ingredients that don’t take long to prepare, and I must say is pretty darn good.

However, this recipe hasn’t always been my favorite. When I first started working with it a few years back, it wasn’t quite right. So, through trial and error, I have learned some tricks to perfecting my brownies.

– Don’t add any nuts. Some recipes work with walnuts but many standard recipes aren’t made to just throw nuts into. The nuts break up the texture of the brownies leaving them too dry and crumbly.

– Take them out of the oven a minute or two before you think you should. They will continue to set once they are pulled out and it avoids the possibility of them being too dry.

– If possible, don’t serve them until the next day. With this recipe, for some reason I have always found if it sits over night, not cut and covered in tin foil, the brownies are way more fudgy and delicious the next day.

– It may be obvious, but the chocolate chips are a must! The make the brownies more gooey.

My brownie recipe:

¾ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

½ cup flour

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Butter and flour an 8×8 inch pan. Mix together in an electric mixer the softened butter, sugar and vanilla until it’s a grainy texture. Add the eggs, mix well. Stir in the flour and cocoa powder slowly, scrapping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Finally, add the chocolate chips.

Bake for about 30 minutes but check after 20 minutes, depending on the strength of the oven.

7 simple ingredients

 

Letting the brownies cool