The Ultimate Brownies

Rich and chewy, chocolatey and fudgey…to sum it up, the ULTIMATE BROWNIES! Quick and easy to make, the only bad thing about these brownies is how fast they disappear!

I made these brownies because EVERYONE IS DOING IT! My friends have all made them and they have all raved about them. Some of my baking buddies now make these brownies at least once a week because their friends and families ask for them constantly.

I don’t normally do something just because everyone is doing it. I usually listen to that age-old advice of parents everywhere – “Would you jump off a bridge just because everyone else is doing it?? No, you wouldn’t! Make your own decisions!”

But this is one time that I’m going to tell you to follow the crowd. Jump on the bandwagon and just do it!

The recipe for these brownies comes from my good baking buddy Helen. She readily admits that her sister-in-law was searching for the best brownie recipe and finally landed on this one. But it has become known as ‘Helen’s Brownie recipe”. I mean, when you find perfection, why change it??

There is no need to re-invent the wheel aka perfect brownie recipe. Helen shares these brownies and so many other amazing recipes on her site, Please check her out!

I recommend that you stock up on the cocoa powder because these will become a staple.

I made two slight deviations to Helen’s recipe. The first was to add some espresso powder. This really bumps up the chocolate flavor. But don’t worry, your brownies will not taste like coffee!

The second modification was that I used peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips. There are two reasons for this:

1. Ummm, peanut butter and chocolate! Need I say more??
2. I have made a lot of chocolate chip cookies lately and am almost out of chocolate chips! I apologize for this discrepancy and will rectify it immediately! Until then, I’m sorry (not sorry) that I used peanut butter chips!

So go check out Helen’s site – https://bakersanonymous.org . I love the way she categorizes recipes – unfussy, a little bit fussy and fussy.

The Ultimate Brownies

Recipe by Tanya Ott

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Ingredients

• 226 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter

• 450 grams (2 1/4 cups) granulated sugar

• 125 grams (1 1/4 cups) dutch-processed cocoa powder

• 1 Tablespoon espresso powder, optional

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 185 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

• 1 cup chocolate or peanut butter chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease, or line with a foil sling, a 9×13″ pan.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and stir until hot but not bubbling. Remove from heat.
• Stir in cocoa, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Allow to cool slightly so that you don’t cook the eggs. Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until incorporated. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until the middle is set. Cool completely before cutting.