We ate a pan of brownies

Sounds like a good way to celebrate 36 years, doesn't it?



I bugged my friend Laura for her brownie recipe and she passed along the one she'd been perfecting for a while. (Among other thing, she's got skills in the kitchen.)

They came out great... taste tested by Laura (she approved.) And she also gave me permission to publish her recipe here.

Laura's Brownies (catchy name, right?)

You can make them in an 8-inch square pan or double the recipe for a 9x13 pan. (I doubled it.)

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup walnuts, optional (I left them out.)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the baking pan. (I like to use coconut oil for this.)

Mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and melted butter with a spoon or whisk. In another bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Combine the two bowls of ingredients and stir in the walnuts (if using) and chocolate chips, or put some in the batter and sprinkle some on top once it's in the pan (even better.)

Bake the 8x8 pan for 20-30 minutes. If making a double batch increase the baking time to 35-40 minutes. Don't over-bake! You want the edges set and the middle can still be a little soft.

These were perfectly moist and super gooey, just the way I like them. When I made them yesterday morning I was trying to avoid going to the store for missing ingredients. So, finding only one cup of chocolate chips in the house I raided Jeff's Christmas chocolate to make up for the rest. He had one of those dark chocolate oranges that I chopped up and added to the mix. It worked out great! I don't know if I'd dig an all chocolate/orange brownie, but in combination with the pure cocoa and chips I think it worked out well.

I cut the pan up into a bunch of 2-bite pieces. We had no leftovers from the birthday potluck. These were a success. I wanted more!