Brownies

I love to make brownies because they are a crowd pleaser. It's perfect for if you want to have a dessert for a party since you can make them ahead of time and reheat them in the oven. I like to serve them with vanilla ice cream and to make it fancy chocolate sauce and whipped cream. If you don't have a lot of time go ahead and use a packaged brownie mix. They're simple and usually turn out well. I think the from scratch version adds a depth of flavor but the box mix is still quite good.

Side Note: I can't believe this is entry number 50! Thanks to everyone who reads this and I hope I can feed you all at some point in the future.

Ingredients:
6 squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached allpurpose flour
1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Melt chocolate and butter together in microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, or on stove top in heavy saucepan on very low heat. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

3. Stir sugar into chocolate until well blended. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts or chocolate chips until well blended.

4. Spread in greased 9x13-inch glass baking dish. You can use butter or pam to grease dish.

5. Bake 30 minutes. I like to rotate the pan half way through cooking. Do not overbake. Test doneness with a toothpick. Place into the center and if it comes out clean, it is done. If batter is on the toothpick cook longer.

6. Cool in pan. Cut into squares. If you want to reheat it for later, pull out of oven slightly underdone so when you reheat in oven, the brownies aren't dry.