My best, very best brownies (one bowl, no mixer)

For me a good solid, I can eat anytime brownie is one that is not gooey, not fudgy, but almost like a deep, rich heavy, dense cake-like texture with flaky, crispy top and edges.
Don't get me wrong I like gooey, but not all the time.
If I'm making brownies with quality chocolate, I want them to taste like a rich cake.
They say a truly good brownie is one that leaves you very thirsty.
I bring you such a brownie.
Get out your ice cold milk.....

This will be your go-to brownie.

Ridiculously easy to make, since we do it all in one bowl.
I stress in the recipe (cook notes) and I have to stress here to use a high-quality chocolate with a high cocoa  count--it truly makes all the difference in taste, texture and how it melts.

Follow along with me...it's just so easy to do....










They are seriously the best I've ever made.
Please make sure to read through the cook notes before baking.

my best one-bowl, no mixer brownies
from vanillasugarblog.com (loosely based on Boston Cooking School recipe)
print recipe

14 TB butter, plus 1 TB more for greasing pan
dusting of high quality unsweetened cocoa powder for coating brownie pan
1 cup high-quality bittersweet chocolate chips
½ cup high-quality milk chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
¾ ts sea salt
1 1/2 ts pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
2 eggs, room temp, beaten well
1 cup chopped walnuts
extra sea salt for the tops of the brownies before baking

cook notes:
the benefits of using high-quality chocolate really make these brownies.
Choose a chocolate like Ghirahdelli, Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, etc… that has a high cocoa count (50-80% is perfect).  I use Ghirahdelli chips and cocoa powder (Walmart has really good prices of this brand).
The sprinkling of the sea salt on top of the brownies is not mandatory and will not make the brownies “salty”; it is meant to enhance the flavor of the chocolates in the batter.  This is a deep chocolate tasting brownie and they need a little more salt to truly bring out the chocolate.
Please make sure your walnuts have a rough chop; keeping them whole won’t taste as good.
When you melt the butter and chocolate, please use a nice low flame so the melting goes smoothly and the chocolate doesn’t get too hot, which will make it taste bitter/burnt.  And let this liquid mixture cool a bit before adding to the egg mixture.

Preheat oven to 350°.
Butter up well an 8 x 8 baking pan, then coat with unsweetened cocoa powder. Set pan aside.
Melt the butter and chocolate chips together in a small saucepan over LOW heat, stirring constantly. When melted take off heat, set aside to cool a bit.
In a large bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar, beat well, add in the vanilla extract, and mix.
When the melted chocolate has cooled down a bit (warm ok) slowly add it in to the egg mixture, a little bit at first, mix really well, then more as you go along.
Next dump the flour right on top of the mixture, then sprinkle on the sea salt.
Using a spatula mix until JUST combined, lumps are ok!
Dump the walnuts and milk chocolate chips on top, and with 3-4 strokes fold into batter.
Pour batter into greased and cocoa-dusted baking pan.
Sprinkle top of batter with just a little bit of sea salt.
Bake for 30-38 minutes. Mine were done at the 35-minute mark.
You know they are done when the center is not runny/jiggly.
If you use a cake tester you will get some crumbs; this is fine.
They take a while to firm up, so if you try to remove them from the pan they will break apart.
Let em cool a bit, before removing from pan.

Makes 9 brownies.