Is there anything better than a warm brownie fresh out of the oven? I really don’t think so. My mom used to bake brownies from scratch when I was growing up when everyone else’s mom made them from a boxed mix. Are those boxed ones good? Sure, but they’re nothing like homemade. I always wanted to say to those boxed mix moms, you know making brownies from scratch isn’t that hard. Good thing I was a shy kid, something tells me those editorial comments wouldn’t have gone over well…
Always in search of the best brownie, I’ve made dozens of different recipes over the years and I think I’ve finally found it!
Classic Brownies with Flaky Sea Salt:
10 tablespoons butter (1 stick + 2 tablespoons)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2/3 cup flour
Flaky sea salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a medium pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted take the pot off the heat and stir in the sugar, cocoa, and salt until combined. Stir in the vanilla and eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the flour until just combined, don’t over stir!
Pour the brownie batter into the parchment lined pan and spread evenly. Top with a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Bake for 28 – 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs.
Cool slightly and cut into pieces of your desired size, I usually cut them into 12 brownies.
Enjoy!
This was adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s best cocoa brownie recipe.
Tips: Use Dutch Process cocoa if you want an even deeper, richer brownie. For a jazzed-up brownie feel free to mix in anything you like, chocolate chips, nuts, peppermint patties, the options are endless!
Equipment:
This Williams Sonoma Goldtouch 8 x 8 pan is my all time favorite pan for baking. It bakes everything evenly and produces the best chewy – not burnt – corners and edges.
