Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

I realized recently that every food blog HAS to have a good brownie recipe.   Brownies are just one of those staple desserts that are always a safe bet when it comes to satisfying hungry friends.  The problem is… there are so many brownie recipes out there that  I am usually skeptical when I find a new one– how am I supposed to know if it’s actually “the best brownie recipe ever”? They all claim to be the moistest, fudgy-est, richest recipe out there, but we all know that just isn’t always true!

I made these because photographer Emily has been asking me to make something with chocolate for a while now.  She mentioned it once or twice last week, and while I was lazing around looking for recipes last night, she said in this small, quiet voice… “can you please make brownies?!” And being a woman myself, I know not to argue when a girl wants chocolate.  Whenever I have an intense chocolate craving, that first bite of whatever bar, cake, brownie, heck- even bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup that I can get my hands on is a time-stopping moment.

Whenever people tell me that they only make  boxed brownies, I sort of want to laugh because homemade brownies are so easy! And they taste better.  You can make this recipe with just one bowl too- the reduced mess was especially appealing to me when I made these at 11 at night.  Anyway, because of my above rant, I won’t say these are the best brownies in the entire world or anything like that, but they are really, really good!  These are super dense and chewy, and the almond extract  gives them a unique flavor that you don’t find in a lot of other chocolate recipes.  Nom nom nom.

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips, preferably dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F . Melt chocolate and butter together. Whisk until smooth. Add sugar and stir until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and whisk after each addition until smooth. Add vanilla and almond extracts and stir.

Add in flour, baking powder and salt and fold gently until just mixed together. Gently stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into 9″ x 13″ pan. I use a glass pan so I don’t have to prep anything. If you use a metal pan, I suggest lining it with parchment paper first.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tester inserted into brownies comes out just slightly moist.

Cool on wire rack and store covered in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Let Them Eat Cake (and Ice Cream)

Pictures by Emily- check out her portfolio!