Brownies. Not the out of the box, add eggs and oil cakey kind of brownies. I’m talking about the melting the chocolate then vigorously whipping the batter until it is smooth and creamy then sifting in flour and smelling the sweet aroma of chocolatey goodness filling the entire house kind of brownies. And for an extra punch, there are chocolate chips folded into the batter. Genius? Why thank you very much.

I don’t think there is anything more crucial to childhood than brownies. I take that back. There are actually quite a number of things crucial to a happy childhood. That may include dogs, candy, bubble wrap, and I guess it can go on and on. But as fancy as one may make the concept of brownies, it’s always the very basic recipe that that can produce the greatest product. We can always add nuts, peppermint, marshmallows, caramel, and goodness knows whatever else, but a simple classic brownie is all that is needed.

I remember in the awkward phase of life called middle school, they would sell brownies in these rectangular squares that would have both the consistency of a cake and fudge. The top would be nicely cracked and there would be chocolate chips hidden inside. If I must say so myself, those brownies were legit.

Since then, I must admit that I am pretty picky with the kind of brownies I eat. My criteria for a good brownie is quite simple. It isn’t too fudgy where you question if it is completely baked or not and it will fall apart upon pick up, not cakey otherwise we might as well just eat chocolate cake. The top should have a beautiful shiny crackle, no nuts, frills, or other bells (basically the more simple, the better). And this recipe meets every. single. one. The best part about the recipe is that it is so overly simple you cannot go wrong with it. There are only seven ingredients total in this. SEVEN. If you were to make this from a box, you need the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Four ingredients. For just three more, you can have beautiful, crackly topped brownies in just the same amount of time.

Brownies

recipe adapted from Savory Nothings

10.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I use half semi-sweet half dark for a richer chocolate taste)

6 Tbsp butter

3 eggs

3/4 c sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

1 c flour

1 handful chocolate chips, lightly dusted with flour

Preheat pven to 300 degrees and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler.

Cream the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl until all combined. Vigorously whisk a small amount of the melted chocolate into the batter to temper the eggs. Once it has been incorporated, whisk in the rest of the chocolate.

Sift in the flour and pour in the remaining chocolate chips. Fold until no flour bits remain.

Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 40-45 min, then cool completely before cutting in to serve.