The Brownies

A year ago, I decided on a whim to start making snacks for my husband's work group. I figured this would be a win-win-win situation. I'd get to practice baking without the end results tempting me, my husband would be the hero of his engineering group, and his co-workers would get a mid-afternoon sugar high. These brownies were one of the first things I baked for the group, and I get endless requests for them. They've almost become my signature item. If there's an occasion for me to ask "what should I bring?" there's a decent chance the answer will be "bring the brownies." I can't recommend this crowd-pleasing recipe enough.

THE BROWNIES

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar with melted butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour about 1/4 of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined, smoothing out any lumps. Continue adding the flour mixture in batches, mixing well after each batch. You might find the batter thick and difficult to work (at least I do, but I have no arm strength). Resist the temptation to use an electric mixer. Brownies are always better when hand mixed. The results will be worth it! When flour mixture is fully incorporated, stir in chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. With brownies, it's very important not to over bake them. When in doubt, pull them out! Allow to completely cool before cutting. Makes 24 brownies.

Source: Allrecipes