Small Batch Brownies

Phil has been going to the coffee shop to do his studying lately, and he went yet again last night, so Lily and I had two hours to kill before we started our bedtime routine. We had less than half of a bag of chocolate chips left and I felt like baking, so I googled "small batch brownies." I stumbled upon the recipe blog Cookie Madness and decided to make these brownies. Oh my goodness, they are awesome! I have never made homemade brownies that I thought were better than a package of Ghirardelli brownie mix from the store. But these are it. They have a delicious crunchy top layer but a fudgey interior, and the kicker is that they aren't too sweet. I like bittersweet chocolate straight out of the bag and these have the perfect amount of chocolate and sugar that keep them from being over the top, milk chocolate sweet. And with the "small batch" you won't feel quite as guilty if they dissapear in one day.

Small Batch Boudin Bakery’s brownies

1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz) plus extra for greasing
4 ounces Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate
2 1/2 large eggs – (to halve an egg, crack 1 and use 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups (3.19 ounces) flour
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for glass pan, 375 for metal. Grease your pan with butter.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add chocolate, turn off heat, and stir until melted from the residual heat. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.

Beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. You can do this in a stand mixer or with a hand-held, but I used a stand mixer since the beating time is so long. Beat in the melted chocolate (which should be slightly warm, but not piping hot at this point), vanilla and the salt. By hand stir in the flour until it is almost combined, then add the nuts and continue stirring gently until all flour disappears. I do this with a heavy scraper.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth to the edges, and bake in the center of the oven until puffed and almost set, about 38 to 40 minutes.