Brownies from Scratch...

I love brownies, I think they are probably my favorite dessert ever. I had never made brownies from scratch until about a month ago. I always figured it would be difficult and the box mixes usually are pretty delicious. The Ghirardelli ones are amazing! I wanted to give them a try from scratch and they were really simple and incredibly good. I used this recipe from Annie's Eats without a lot of changes, except the chocolate types. I didn't know the difference between semisweet, bittersweet and unsweetened. I was in the grocery store without the recipe and I bought random amounts of each. I couldn't even tell you what combination I bought but whatever it was, it was delicious! This time, I only had 4 ounces of bittersweet and I had a 1/2 bag of chocolate chips (which are considered semisweet) so I just used that and.... they still were delicious. So perhaps the best way to find your perfect brownie is to just use whatever chocolates you buy accidentally or you have on hand. I don't think the type of chocolate matters as much as the proportions for these brownies, it is the wonderful fudgey texture that is soooo delicious. As long as you keep everything else the same, you can play with the chocolate types to your liking. 


Prep: probably 10-15 minutes to get it all in the oven, its quick! 
Cooking: 35-40 minutes


Here is the recipe, which you should follow for the first try at least: 

Ingredients:
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. (hooray, no clean up! and the brownies won't stick!) 

2. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool. (I don't have a double boiler or anything, I use a regular bowl that is larger than the pan and just melt it...pretty much any glass bowl would be considered heatproof I think...) (also, I didn't use a bowl bigger than the pan and it was a HUGE pain in the butt so please don't follow this picture as an example because I couldn't get the bowl out without burning my hand and spilling hot water everywhere...use a bigger bowl!) 

3. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.  

4. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated.  

5. Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer.  Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes.  (yes, there will be sticky crumbs on the fork, this is not your usual "clean fork" test brownie!) 

7. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.  Just pop that aluminum foil out and use a large knife to cut them. Its actually a LOT easier to cut when there are no edges, so I will be incorporating the foil + oil method for all future brownies - boxed or scratch!