I used to always make brownies from a box. Why not? Easy, cheap, fast. So I don’t entirely remember why one day I made brownies from scratch, using the recipe from Marc Bittman’s (excellent) cookbook How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food. However, make them I did and discovered that not only was the recipe delicious, but it’s not actually that hard and it doesn’t take that much more time. And, although it’s hard to beat the cost of a $5 box of brownies, if you’re anything like me, you already have these ingredients lying around the house. Give it a try and see if you can go back to boxed brownies!
Delicious, Easy Not-From-A-Box Brownies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 1 Dozen
Ingredients
- 2 oz Unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 stick Unsalted butter (I go ahead and use salted), softened, plus a little for the greasing pan
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
- Pinch Salt
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan, or line it with aluminum foil and grease the foil. (I grease the pan and do not bother with foil.)
- Combine the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is just about melted, remove from the heat and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Gently stir in the flour, salt, and vanilla. Pour and scrape into the prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until just barely set in the middle. It\'s better to underbake brownies than to overbake them. Cool on a rack before cutting. Store, covered and at room temperature, for no more than a day.
- ***In the book, there\'s an excursus on ways to alter the recipe, which I haven\'t used, but think that they could be great additions. I\'m more of a plain brownie kind of girl and this recipe is fantastic on its own, but the alterations I am sure are great, too!***
