This was the culprit:
It looks so small and insignificant, but let me tell you, this little sucker deprived me of my oven just at the start of the fall baking season.
I suppose there are good sides to not being able to bake, namely the reduction in caloric intake probably. But that doesn’t make it okay!!!
Anyway, in full celebration of a working oven again (thanks so much Dad!!!!), I whipped up a batch of my go-to brownie recipe. These are super fudgey chocolate chunk brownies. While a cakey-brownie can be nice, I definitely prefer the fudgey ones, especially when they are a little underdone . . .
Oh, and the key ingredient is definitely the chocolate chunks. Texturally, they are a great compliment, especially because they stay slightly melted hours, or even the next day, after the brownies have finished baking. Biting into a big brownie and getting a bit of melty-chocolate . . .mmmmmmm good!
Anyway, the recipe for these brownies is fairly simple:
1. Preheat your oven to 350, and prepare a 9×9 pan either with parchment paper or something like PAM
2. Mix together 1/2 cup of butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla; add 2 eggs (pre-lightly beaten)
3. Add in 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, and 1/4 tsp salt
4. THEN sprinkle in 1/4 tsp of baking soda, and mix it in
5. Finally, stir in 2 cups chocolate chunks, pour the batter into your dish, spread it around, and bake for 25 minutes. With brownies, it’s okay if your tester toothpick doesn’t come out completely clean.
Ah, here they are. These brownies have a great crinkly thin top layer but maintain the richness in the substance below. I have a few other brownie recipes (like my “hot chocolate brownies”), but this one is great because it is simple, classic, and definitely a crowd pleaser. AND, if you manage to save any beyond the first hour after they are baked, these taste great the next day as well . . . or the next day, and the next day . . . but really, what is the likelihood of really finding that out?