Decadent Brownies

I think I've said once or twice on here that I love chocolate.  I really, REALLY love chocolate.  If you've had a bad day, nothing cures it more than anything with chocolate.  Truffles.  Reese'e cups.  Hershey's kisses.  Cookies.  But brownies. Brownies are special.  Brownies, to me, are the ultimate chocolate treat.  And the batter?  I've been known to make brownies just to eat the batter.

These brownies are special.  The brownies are what dreams are made of.  They have chocolate chips mixed into the batter.  And they have a frosting.  Chocolate frosting.  Can't you just taste it already?  All that delicious chocolate-ness?  (The picture below doesn't have the chocolate frosting.  I couldn't wait - the brownies were still warm.  Some things in life, you just can't resist.  Warm brownies is one of them.)

And my husband will tell you that you cannot make these brownies without having ice cream to go with it.  Specifically Blue Bell ice cream.  That's just his opinion though, you can use whatever vanilla ice cream you want though :)

Decadent Brownies
from Best Loved Hershey's

Brownies
3/4 c. Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
2/3 c. Butter, melted and divided (if using unsalted butter, please add 1/4 tsp. salt)
1/2 c. Water, boiling
2 c. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/3 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 c. Chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Stir cocoa and baking soda together in a large bowl, adding 1/3 c. of butter.
Pour in your boiling water and mix until thickened.
Mix in your sugar, eggs, and the final 1/3 c. melted butter until smooth.
Add in the flour, vanilla, and salt (if using) and mix it all together.
Finally, mix in the chocolate chips.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Allow brownies to cool completely before topping them with the frosting below.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
6 Tbsp. Butter, softened.
2 2/3 c. Powdered Sugar
1/2 c. Cocoa Powder
1/3 c. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla

Beat the butter in a medium bowl.
Add in the powdered sugar and cocoa, alternating it with milk, beating until spreadably smooth (you may need to add more milk to get the right consistency).
Stir in the vanilla.
Spread over cooled brownies.

Lady Brownies

Tuesday was Valentine's Day which meant CHOCOLATE!  But Tuesday had another meaning for me.  It was also my husband's birthday.  So now, it's story time.  Many people have heard the old adage - the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  Well, it's an old adage for a reason - it works.  The very first time I met my husband, I made him my homemade spaghetti.  And, yes, it was awesome.  However, the first dessert I made for him didn't show up for another two months and it was these brownies (actually, I tell a lie - I think I had strawberry pie at the ready when he came the first time but the first time I made something from scratch at his apartment were these brownies).  Ryan found out very early on that Paula Deen was my favorite Food Network chef (still is).  So he wasn't surprised when I arrived at his apartment with my cookbook handy.  I had made these brownies previously for my best friend and they're some of my favorites!  Now, it wasn't until years later and Ryan and I had moved in together, when he said something to me that I found rather interesting... "You said these are Paula Deen brownies, right?"  I nodded.  To this he said, "So where's the butter?"  *cue confused look*  So I checked and rechecked the recipe.  Sure enough - no butter!  It must have been a misprint or something because Ryan and I found is so strange that Paula Deen (the woman who has FRIED butter y'all) would have a sweets recipe that did not include butter!  Misprint or no, these brownies work!  Give these butter-less brownies a shot and I promise, you won't miss the butter (I never did)!

Lady Brownies
(recipe from The Lady and Sons Savannah Cookbook)

2 c. Sugar
1 c. Canola Oil
4 eggs
6 Tbsp. Cocoa (Ghiradelli)
1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
1 1/2 c. Self-Rising Flour (Market Pantry - Target brand {I'm out of KAF SR flour})
1 c. Chopped Nuts (optional - I'm not the biggest fan of nuts in brownies so I left them out of mine)

Preheat oven to 325.
Combine sugar, oil, eggs, cocoa, and vanilla bean paste in a bowl using a mixer!  (Please, please use a mixer - this batter is very heavy and it will give your arm a workout if you mix by hand.)
Add flour and mix.
Pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.
 

Calories - 265 per serving (16 servings total)