Classic Brownies

Once upon a time, a young adult named Keryn had free time. It was glorious. But that dream is no longer. For the past week weeks I’ve been playing catch-up and my baking has been overlooked. Although I have a plethora of orders coming up, I have been completely divulged into school, work, making sure I get in a 60 minute walk, losing my kindle and buying a new one, and cutting off half of my hair (I got a lob aka “long bob” and I LOVE it).

Although my days have been jam packed, there is always a time to whip up some brownies.

See, I am a brownies spokesperson. I think they’re the quickest, most versatile, and scrumptious desserts out there. Can really anyone do wrong by showing up with brownies? No.

I’ve made a lot of brownie recipes. Regular amped-up box recipes, vegan recipes, mug brownies…you name a brownie, I’ve attempted it. I do have my favorite recipes that I recommend all the time, however this time when I was preparing I realized I had a problem. I was out of cocoa powder. No!

The one thing in my life that is semi-organized is my baking cabinet. I have a list of inventory, what products I have, where they we

re purchased, how much, etc. While it’s not always orderly, I know in my organized chaos where everything is. Which is why I was so angry when I realized my cocoa powder was gone. I usually have 2-3 boxes (I use a lot of cocoa powder) handy and I was shocked I used it up.

So, I needed a recipe sans powder. Simple.

What constitutes a “good” brownie? That’s entirely up for personal opinion. I like mine to taste like pure fudge and batter, and some prefer a cakey-taste. I would fight for the edge piece, and others want the center. It’s completely subjective. In this case, all I was looking for was something warm and chocolatey in my mouth.

I found this recipe from Jessica in the Kitchen and I was not disappointed. If I’m being honest with myself, I will accept that I ate 75% of the tray within a course of 2 days. Don’t judge me! It was a hectic week. I shared the other 25%.

To begin the brownies, sift in your dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking soda. Put aside.

Melt the 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave for 30-second intervals until it’s silky

Whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar and water in a separate bowl. To be honest, if I were to remake this recipe, I would switch the water with milk. Combine for 2 minutes using a whisk and then add the vanilla extract. To make my brownies extra chocolatey, I used chocolate extract from my favorite spice shop.

Next, drizzle in the melted chocolate into the wet mixtures and mix gently. Add in the dry ingredients and mix using a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined. Add in chocolate chips or other mix-ins. Try the batter because it’s amazing.

Pour the batter into an 8x8 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool and eat!

Classic, Chewy Fudgy Brownies

recipe from Jessica in the Kitchen

Ingredients

• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons water or milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips, melted
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate chips in microwave for a minute, stirring after to see if chips have melted. If not, microwave in increments of 30 seconds until completely melted.
3. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sugar and oil and mix until combined for about 2 minutes. Add the water and the vanilla extract. Add to the dry mixture to the wet mixture and melted chocolate chips and stir for about 3 minutes until combined.
5. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
6. Pour into a greased, parchment lined, or a greased foil-lined 8x8 square pan. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.