The Best Brownies - one bowl, fudgy, double chocolate brownies

I'm pretty excited I get to go home on Wednesday. I haven't been home in six months, so this is exciting. I have been lucky enough to see both my parents in this time, but not my brother. We talk mostly to send each other funny things we have found on the internet. But lately I've actually had conversations with him and its cool - my roommates have been so busy studying lately I'm glad I've had him to talk to. It's going to be good to see him again - I've already planned out some stuff to bake - he's not big on sweet things, so this was hard.

He sent me this picture and said he thought of us when he saw it:

I'm not sure what to say to that.

Also my roommates introduced me to this incredibly funny tumblr - whatshouldwecallme. Seriously, go check it out. These are three of my favourite gifs (mostly because they apply directly to my life):
- My relationship with my siblings
- When you're alone in public
- When I see someone eyeing my food

Also the entire time I've been writing this post I have been listening to the same two songs. And singing along. Loudly. My roommates probably want to kill me. 

I thought, given the insane number of brownie recipes I have bookmarked, it was about time I actually did one. This recipe is pretty much a combination of most recipes out there - I've made it about every second day for the last couple of weeks, and I can assure you of its brilliance.

These are one bowl brownies, quick to both make and bake, and deliciously rich. You can use a microwave to melt the butter and chocolate - hell, I advocate doing it this way instead of taking your time over the stove. No need to mess around here. They are dense, fudgy and not remotely like cake. There is a lot of chocolate, but less sugar than in some other brownies. Also, use the best chocolate out there - at least 75% cocoa. This means the chocolate does all the talking in these brownies. They are very rich - just how I like them!

This will probably be the first thing I make my brother when I get home on Wednesday. They are perfect if you are craving chocolate or need to whip up something quickly for a party or an afternoon snack.

And I swear - these are way better than any package mix (and package mix brownies are my guilty pleasure). I hope I did a good job selling these in the title of the post, and in the post itself, because I swear, if there is one unhealthy thing from this blog you should treat yourself to - it is these. You won't regret it.

Level of Difficulty: Super easy – they are one bowl!

Average Cost: $ - the good chocolate is often expensive though – I buy a ton of blocks when they are on special. I admit people do stare at me when I load my trolley with chocolate blocks.

Menu Options: You can change the recipe rather easily – the amount of chocolate and chocolate chips can be changed to suit your taste. If you prefer milk/sweet chocolate, you can change the type of chocolate.

Makes 21 small brownies – this is how I cut them to restrict how many I eat, but you can cut them into however many brownies you want.

What you need:

-          100 – 200 g dark chocolate - depending on how rich you want these. In all honesty, I use 200 g of 85% cocoa chocolate. Use unsweetened or ‘dark’ chocolate. For the best results, make sure the chocolate is at least 75% cocoa.

-          ¾ cup butter

-          ½ cup brown sugar

-          1 cup sugar

-          3 eggs

-          1 tsp vanilla

-          1 cup flour

-          1 tsp salt

-          ½ cup of dark chocolate bits (unsweetened chocolate bits work best)

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a brownie pan and line it with parchment paper. I always advise this because it so easy to remove the brownies from the pan.

Break up the chocolate and place in a large, microwave proof bowl with the butter. Microwave the butter and chocolate in 30 second increments until the butter and chocolate have melted together.

In the same bowl, provided it is large enough, add the sugars. Whisk until the mixture is well combined.

Add the eggs and vanilla at once and whisk until well combined.

Sift the flour and salt into the mixture and using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture together. Be careful here not to overmix the brownie batter. You want to mix until the last of the flour strands are fading because you will mix the mixture again in a minute.

Stir the chocolate bits into the mixture. This won’t require a lot of stirring – make sure the chocolate bits are evenly spread throughout the mixture and there are no flour streaks.

Pour the batter, which should be heavy and thick, into a brownie pan. Place in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes. Keep an eye on the brownies after 20 minutes because you don’t want the edge of the brownies to burn. The mixture may seem slightly undercooked when you first take it out of the oven, but once it has cooled the brownies remain fudgy yet firm.

Allow the brownies to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Of course, I rarely follow this advice. Usually I take the brownies out of the oven and cut them and then burn my mouth when I eat them straight away. These would make the great basis of a sundae when hot (and cut into larger squares then usual) – paired with ice cream and caramelised bananas. I find these brownies are amazing hot and would make a perfect dessert, if cut into bigger sizes. They are pretty good at room temperature – not quite as brilliant as when the chocolate bits melt in your mouth. But once cooled completely and put in the fridge, they are dense, fudgy and still rich. And better than any package mix. They make the perfect snack, and if cut into 21 small pieces like I suggest, you will be able to stop yourself from eating too many.