I thought of several angles to go about sharing this homemade brownie recipe. One bowl easy brownie recipe? Better than a box mix brownies? They all felt a little cliche. Then I noticed that everything good about this brownie reminded me of all my favorite things about my guy. So here we go. Here are six things look for while brownie recipe browsing/man hunting.
Jump to Recipeone: a little soft in the middle
yes, I put this as number one but for a good reason. who doesn’t like a little something soft to bite into?
We’re talking brownies here!
A good brownie should be two steps away from underdone in the middle. Once all that warm buttery chocolate cools, it will transform itself from almost under-done to fudgy perfection.
two: chewy edges
edg·y/ˈejē/adjective
- Having sharp or pointed corners, or being unconventional
This may shock many of you, but back in my bakery days, we trimmed the edges off all the brownies before cutting them into nice symmetrical squares. Why? I’m a perfectionist I guess. I liked the way they looked all uniform on the plate.
These days I’ve learned to let my hair down. Let the brownies have their crusts and sometimes crunchy edges. Some people like that. I’ve learned that I like that too. It’s my favorite part about my guy. His goofy sharp edges and unconventional ways make him a keeper. Just like a good brownie recipe.
three: made with the real stuff
Now we’re getting serious. Sure, everyone loves sweet and warm, but let’s dig a little deeper and find out what this brownie (or man) is made of:
A good brownie always has good ingredients.
Real butter is the first criteria. If you are looking for a fudgy and chewy brownie look for a recipe that has melted real butter.
Go for high quality. Trust me, your mother will approve.
four: the little touches matter
Things you weren’t looking for but love: A beautiful smile. An-always-too-loud belly laugh? Crispy edges, one bowl, buttery flavor, easy cleanup and ready in the length of one Netflix episode. Count your blessings people. When it’s good, it’s oh, so good!
five: is a little extra
Of course, you’re going to have chocolate in a brownie recipe. But a really good brownie will have more.
Look for a brownie recipe that has more than one type of chocolate.
I love this recipe because it combined the deep dark chocolate flavors of dutch cocoa powder with the little extra chocolate kick from melted semi-sweet chocolate.
You can whip this recipe up in under 20 minutes with basic ingredients you probably already have on hand. ( if you followed my wise and sage rule of thumb above) .
six: hard to resist
You baked a pan of brownies. You did your damage. you nibbled and ate your way through more than you wanted to. You know you should walk away and give those brownies some space.
But they just keep creeping back into your thoughts.
Yup. You’ve got yourself a keeper.
My favorite pan for baking brownies in is this 9 inch square cake pan. Its made of heavy gauge aluminum so it bakes evenly and has a quick release surface that never sticks. If you think you’ll be baking this recipe as much as I do, (which lets be honest, is weekly!) you need this pan!
Perfect recipes are like men. Once you find the right one stick with it!
Craving Buster Brownies
Ingredients
- 10 Tbsp Butter
- 4 Oz Semi Sweet Chocolate
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 ea Eggs
- 1 ea Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Pan spray a non stick 9 x 9 in. baking pan.
- In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate in glass bowl on low heat for 30 second intervals.
- Stir in sugar and mix until well combined.
- Add eggs and yolk. Stir until silky and thick. Approx. 3 minutes
- Add vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add flour, cocoa and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Pour into prepared 9×9 inch pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, but moist.
- Allow to cool before cutting into 9 equal pieces.
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my Old School Banana Bread Recipe
