the baked brownie.

Ok guys. Oh. My. Goodness. Theeesseeeee brownies. Just think about all the good food words - rich, dense, super chocolate-y, perfect, delicious - multiply them by 1,000,000 and you have an accurate description of these babies! I want to live in these brownies and then eat my way out of them. Gosh. 

I've made these three times in the last week. Once just because I wanted to try them, then for my worship team, and finally for my coworkers. Every single person RAVED about these brownies and I cannot get enough. I ate a whole pan by myself...despite the fact that these have a whole cup of butter in them. Woops!

Make these immediately and share them with everyone you care about. Or share them with someone who doesn't like you because these will definitely change their minds. Or be like me, make a whole pan and eat them all by yourself while watching the Real Housewives of All the Cities...I wish I was kidding.

Baked Brownies - Yield 24 delicious, perfect brownies
slightly adapted from the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking Cookbook 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed, light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter the sides and bottom  of a 9x13 inch glass baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

Put chopped chocolate and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water, and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold flour gently into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour is visible.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.

Let the brownies cool completely, then cut, and eat!

these are worth every bit of dirty dish cleaning and crumb sweeping.