Blog Swap: Brownies Two Ways, Take 1

It's blog swap time!  During a swap, several bloggers put their names into a pot and you are randomly assigned a blog to cook from.  This round, I was matched with Nicole over at Cookies on Friday.  I enjoyed checking out all her goodies, but inspiration struck when these from-scratch brownies appeared on my screen. 

With real chocolate melted right into the batter, they were everything I'd hoped for and more.  Stay tuned for Take 2 tomorrow!

Adapted from Cookies on Friday, originally from  America’s Test Kitchens Family Cookbook

INGREDIENTS

8 oz quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semisweet instead)

8 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1-1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8-inch square pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in the microwave.  (For the microwave method, heat chocolate and butter at 50% power for 1-3 minutes or until melted, stopping frequently to stir.)  Allow mixture to cool until warm but not hot.

Whisk the cocoa powder, sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt together in a large mixer bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until no streaks remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes.

Allow pan to cool on a wire rack.