For the next recipe in my Fake Supermom series, I’m sharing a gooey brownie recipe that is rich and chocolatety and to-die-for, and truly almost as easy as making them from a box.

Almost …. you do have to go to the store for special chocolate and have some basic ingredients on hand.  Go for this 60% cocoa Ghirandelli chocolate.  It’s so yum, and no guilt ladies because research this week has answered the question of can chocolate be good for you by saying YES!

Handed down from my one of my best friend’s Amanda (a baker and cook extraordinaire!), this gooey brownie recipe can be tailored to your liking.  If you’re obsessed with limiting sugar for your kids, you can reduce the amount of sugar below and they will still be yummy.

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (try 1 cup for less sweet)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
• Line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides.
• Melt butter and chocolate together (either microwave or pan on stove); do not let boil.

• Set aside the chocolate and butter and let cool to room temperature about 10 minutes.
• Mix in the sugar.  I tried this amount last night and did find it to be sweet, so don’t worry about cutting down on the sugar by 1/2 cup!

• Whisk in eggs, one at a time.  If you’re a wimp like me, by now your wrist is probably hurting!

• Now, whisk in vanilla.
• Gradually incorporate the flour and the salt.

• Here’s my completed mixture all ready to go in the pan!  Try to do a better job than I did of leaving the parchment paper about two inches on all sides — it makes getting the brownies out a lot easier.

Brownies in Pan

• Place this in your oven and bake on the center rack for 40-45 minutes.  What you see here is a DOUBLED RECIPE and beware that when you do this, the cooking time can be longer and you can end up with a very crusty top and a very gooey brownie … but you might like that.

• And here’s the finished product.  I did have to check numerous times to make sure these were cooked last night; you can see the poke holes!

• If you’d like to make this into a fancier dessert, add fruit, vanilla ice cream, and some whipped cream.

• Enjoy!!!  xo Melissa

Questions, comments, concerns??  Comment below and I will do my bestest to get back to you as soon as possible!  xo Melissa

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