The Most Scrumptious Brownies Ever!!!

Well, for the past couple of weeks I've been perfecting my brownie making skills and I finally think I've got this recipe the way I want it, ever so slightly crunchy and chewy on the outside and soft and moist and crumbly on the inside. I did my own twist on a recipe from Hershey's Homemade, a cookbook that was given to my mum some thirty odd years ago, shortly after her wedding. This cookbook is truly wonderful! The recipes are simple, yet delicious. And there's such a wide variety of things to choose from, too.

You can purchase this cookbook used from amazon, here's a link –

http://www.amazon.com/Hersheys-Homemade-Recipes-Todays-Lifestyles/dp/B000BGRWHC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309232233&sr=1-2. 

But anyway, back to the brownies...

Ingredients

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

2 cups of sugar

3 tsp. of vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup of cocoa 

3/4 cup of flour

1/2 tsp. of baking powder

1/4 tsp. of salt

And if you really want to, you can add a cup or so of nuts 

1.  Heat your oven to 335 F

2.  Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch metal pan or glass baking dish.

 I always use a glass dish. I think it helps the brownies, which are really thick, to cook all the way through and not brown too much.

3.  Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside. Make sure that all the ingredients are completely mixed. 

4.  Sift the cocoa into a bowl and set it aside too.

5.  Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Slowly add in the sugar whisking the whole time. Add the vanilla and continue whisking. Add the eggs one by one whisking for 30 seconds between each addition. After the final egg is added, whisk the mixture for 2 minutes.

6.  Get a wooden or plastic spoon and thoroughly mix the sifted cocoa into the butter and egg mixture.

7.  Now, for this part of the recipe, you need to be quick and very gentle. Make sure the flour mixture is completely combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter and cocoa mixture and fold them together thoroughly and gently. Mix quickly or the brownies will be flat and dense. 

8.  Pour the batter into the dish or pan and pop it in the oven for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle of the brownies comes out nearly clean. 

9.  Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Cut the brownies and serve. 

Enjoy!