Easy Brownies

In the late 1960s, I prepared brownies for the first time without my mum using a recipe from cookbook author Paula Peck. I made adjustments to that and a related version by Marion Cunningham throughout the years. My girls explored a little more as they gained cooking skills. Nonetheless, we never truly deviated from the originals. You can make a real, gorgeous brownie as long as you use as little flour as possible and avoid using chemical leavening, such as baking powder.

INGREDIENTS

Yield: About 1 dozen brownies

3ounces unsweetened chocolate
8tablespoons (1 stick) salted or unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
1cup sugar
2eggs
½cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt if you use unsalted butter
½teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

PREPARATION

Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When chocolate is just about melted, remove from heat, and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Meanwhile, grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. If you like, also line it with waxed or parchment paper and grease that.
Step 2
Transfer mixture to a bowl, and stir in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add flour (and salt and vanilla if you are using them), and stir to incorporate. Stop stirring when no traces of flour remain.
Step 3
Pour into pan, and bake 20 to 30 minutes, or until set and barely firm in the middle. Cool on a rack before cutting.

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