The Holy Brownies

I admit it, I love box brownies. I grew up on them like most of us did, and I feel like brownies are supposed to be chewy around the edges, with a crisp little edge at the top, and a flaky lighter brown top that crumbles like the top layer of a croissant. (Is your mouth watering yet?) So a few years ago I set out to create that kind of brownie from scratch. I made brownies every night for a week (my 7 roommates at the time didn't mind taste testing), and made the Perfect brownies. Then promptly lost the recipe. Two years later I got over it and tried again, and this recipe is the result. It stands up to my roomie's brownie scrutiny, so it's gotta be pretty good.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, of course. But. These brownies will blow your mind. Well, maybe not, but they will melt in your mouth. Theyliterally dissolve on your tongue, if you eat them when they've cooled just enough not to burn you. You can leave off the coconut, or replace it with chocolate chips or peanut butter chips or marshmallow creme, or flecks of sea salt. There are so many ways to dress up a brownie, though I assure you these need no dressing up. If you don't have brown sugar handy, just use granulated sugar for all of it.

The Holy Brownies

1 1/4 sticks butter
4 1-oz squares of baking chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a 9" pan with cooking spray or lightly butter it.
In a sauce pan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat. If it gets too hot, the brownies will be grainy and taste burnt. It should take at least 5 minutes to melt.
Remove the sauce pot from heat and whisk in the cocoa until fully blended, then whisk in the sugar, then eggs one at a time, then vanilla, and finally the flour.
Pour into the pan and sprinkle an even coating of coconut on top. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the edges are solid and the middle is still a little gooey. In my oven, the brownies puff up a full inch but settle back down flat when they cool. Do not be alarmed if it starts to look like cake while it's baking.
Let cool at least ten minutes before cutting, longer is better.

Extra Nutty Brownies

Brownies come in all kinds, from cakey to fudgy and everywhere in between. Generally I prefer really fudgy brownies, practically fudge with a little flour thrown in. These are not that. I'll post a fudgy brownie recipe soon. In the meantime, these are still really good, I mean, how can you go wrong with brownies? These are moist and chewy but cakey around the edges, full of pecans and walnuts with a richness that begs for milk, with just a little extra vanilla and salt in the mix to really bring out the flavor of the nuts. You can add more nuts, like macadamias or almonds, or trade them all out for peanuts for a different flavor experience altogether.

Extra Nutty Brownies

Prep time 10 minutes, Baking 30 minutes.

4 1-oz squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 tbsps strong coffee
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease an 8" square baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
In a small sauce pan on low heat, slowly melt the butter, sugar, and chocolate, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula (preferably a heat-proof one). Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the flour and salt, stirring well, then add the nuts and stir them in. Pour into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Cut into squares once they're cooled for cleanest edges. If clean edges don't matter to you, dig in as soon as the steam stops.