Classic Brownies

Yes, pretty much all old-school brownie recipes had nuts in them. If you don’t like nuts, just hang on, I’ll put up a recipe without them. These are about as moist a brownie as I like. Some recipes have so little flour in them, they might as well be fudge. Not being a fudge person, this is as far as I’m willing to go. Start by lining an 8″ square pan with aluminum foil. Cut two long strips that are just under eight inches in width…

…and lay them in. Grease the pan with butter.

Now then. Melt your chocolates together in the microwave as directed in the recipe below. When the chocolate is fully melted and still warm, add the butter pieces and whisk until they’re melted as well.

Whisk in the sugar.

Yes, it will make the chocolate appear as though it’s “seized”. Trust me though, it hasn’t. Add the eggs one by one…

…and your espresso powder and vanilla.

Lastly, and lightly, whisk in the flour and salt. Whisk only as long as it takes to incorporate the flour.

Then, with a spatula, fold in the nuts.

Then just spread the whole mess into the pan and bake about 35 minutes, until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

There now, that was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Miracle devices, these bar cookies. So little hassle, and so much reward.

To de-pan them, cool the pan on a rack until the brownies are room temperature, then just lift them out in one piece by grasping the edges of the foil lining (it helps to have another set of hands for that maneuver).