Yummy Food I Make - Classic Brownies!

Ingredients

Brownies

• 3/4 cup butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 1 tblsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped medium

Frosting

• 1/4 cup + 1 tblsp butter
  
• 7 tblsp Hot water, to start
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• dash of salt
  
• 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
  
• 9 tblsp cup cocoa

Directions

1. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment, ensuring the paper goes up the sides to avoid sticking. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350˚F.
   
2. Melt chocolate and butter in heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
   
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and salt until light and foamy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Beat until mixture is creamy.
   
4. Fold cooled chocolate mixture into egg mixture until just combined. Fold in flour. Fold in nuts.
   
5. Pour batter into prepped 9x13 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting parchment overhang.
   
6. Frost brownies as a slab then cut them into squares and serve. (Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or, ahem, in the freezer until your resistance gets the better of you.)

Frosting

1. In a small heat safe bowl, melt butter over heat/pot of simmering water if you prefer.
   
2. Pour hot water over butter, and stir to melt further.
   
3. Add vanilla extract, and a dash of salt(optional). Stir.
   
4. Add icing sugar and cocoa. Stir well. (You really gotta use your arm here!) Continue to add icing sugar and cocoa until flavour is how you want it. Add more hot water if needed - must be moist or it won't stick to the brownies!!

I made these for a BBQ I went to today. I took all but 5 brownies from the 9x13 pan (because they wouldn't fit in the container), and everyone loved them! I took home an empty container! That's pretty amazing. I'm truly thrilled/proud since I sort of smushed together two brownie recipes to get this, and somehow ended up with truly amazing brownies! Moist, chocolatey, dense, delicious! Not too sweet, yet lots of chocolate flavour; moist but not gummy. Yay! Just what brownies should be, in my opinion. I'm so very pleased! And really simple to make! :D