Surprise #2: B's Bodacious Brownies Recipe [Public]

The sweet aroma of chocolate wafting through the air almost makes up for the fact that the whir of an electric hand mixer distracted you from reading. B remains oblivious to your presence, continuing to cream softened butter until it becomes a pale yellow in the mixing bowl with each rapid rotation of the beaters. They seem too intent to notice you anytime soon, but you smile faintly at the look of extreme concentration on their face.

This doesn't seem to be stress baking, but B may be making the brownies to share with Mrs. Dorran, which means every step in the recipe will be double, if not triple, checked.

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Below you will find the recipe for B's Bodacious Brownies; it yields a fudgy chocolate dessert that is rich enough to require some whipped cream on the side or maybe some milk. They are tender and decadent, but the best part is that they can come together pretty easily. Please enjoy!

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated, white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

B typically uses Hershey's Special Dark cocoa or dutch-processed cocoa and tends to add a little extra; it depends on how chocolate-y you like things.

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Prepare an 8-inch square pan by lining with parchment paper before spraying it with a non-stick baking spray or by using a combination of butter and flour.
• Measure out all of the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder) and combine them in a medium bowl, whisking until everything is blended. Set this aside for now.
• In a small bowl, crack the two eggs and lightly whisk them. Set this aside for now.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat to avoid any boiling. Remove it from the heat once entirely melted and stir in the sugar first until it's a yellow, grainy blend. Now, add the eggs and then the vanilla. Once you have a blend of all of the wet ingredients, you can pour the dry ingredients into the saucepan. Mix them until you get a thick brownie batter without any dry areas, but try not to beat or overmix the blend.
• Spread batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Check them initially after 12 minutes and then go from there with adding time by using touch/sight.

Fun Extras

• B will sometimes add chopped up walnuts to the brownies during the batter stage to add a bit of texture, probably around a ½ cup, before popping the brownies in the oven.
• These can be iced after they have been cooled. B typically uses an American buttercream recipe with a hint of vanilla before doting the white frosting with mini M&M's for color.
• These brownies freeze exceptionally well when wrapped and stored in a freezer bag; you can make a batch, cut them up, and store them for when you might want some chocolate.