My Favorite Brownies (So Far)

These are from How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. They are everything that I think a brownie should be. The recipe makes a huge pan of deeply fudgy and delicious brownies. They freeze like a dream, and keep well out of the freezer (in fact, they improve if you serve them after a day).

And, they are really amenable to lots of add-ins (pictured above I used white chocolate chips because N likes them, but they are delicious with hazelnuts, candies, dried fruit, pretty much anything you like). I know they sound like they use a ridiculous amount of butter and chocolate, but it's such an easy recipe, and they are so worth it!

Brownies (Nigella Lawson)

1 2/3 cups unsalted butter softened (This is 3 sticks and about 2 TBS)
13 oz bittersweet chocolate (it's worth it to use really good chocolate - Valrhona or Ghirardelli)

6 large eggs

1/2/3 cups sugar

1 TBS vanilla

1/1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13"x9"x2" pan (and you can line with parchment if you like- but I always skip this step!)
   
2. Melt the butter and chocolate (I use the microwave, but you could use a double boiler. In a bowl (I use the Kitchen Aide) beat together the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Measure the flour and salt and mix in a separate bowl.


3. When the chocolate is melted, let it cool a little before mixing with the eggs (otherwise you get scrambled eggs). Beat the melted chocolate into the eggs and sugar, then add in the flour/salt mixture. Beat until you have a nice smooth batter.


4. Scrape into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes where the middle of the brownies stays nice and gooey. I generally give these 30 minutes, but don't go over. They also continue to cook as they cool.


5. It is much easier to cut these after they've cooled overnight. So, cut yourself a nice brownie hot out of the pan, and leave the rest for another day. Your brownie will be hot and crumbly, but they cut quite well and are really pretty if you let them cool overnight.

Please, if you don't ever make a single other recipe that I post, please make these! Of course, right as I was typing this post, my mum called to tell me about a new recipe she just found that involves both melting the chocolate and butter, but then creaming some of the butter in with the sugar. She promised me that there would be days when Baby Icing is quiet and well-behaved, so we'll be sure to try it out!