Fudgy brownies

Not to diss on Greece or anything, but I think that they are missing a God from their mythology. I think there was a recipe God named Culinarionius. He smiles from above sitting on a throne of stainless-steel pots wearing a bright red apron with a poodle on it and invokes the ability to find good recipes upon people that have the intention of sharing delightful food with others. Now, this Culinarionious has been good to me lately. I have hit the jackpot of delicious recipes lately. And, by the way, if I find a bright red apron with a poodle on it sitting on my doorstep anytime, I think I just might freak out. Back to the recipe- these brownies! Oh. My. Goodness. They are incredible. They aren't fudge-like, but they are fudgy. They are slightly cakey but more chocolatey. Just go make them. Culinarionius helps me find recipes. Describing them... that skill must come from another long lost Greek God.
Fudgy Brownies:
source: King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion Cookbook (an awesome book I checked out at the library)

3/4 c butter (1 and 1/2 stick)
2 c sugar
1 c cocoa
1 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1 T vanilla
3 large eggs
1 c flour
1 c chopped nuts (optional)
1 c chocolate chips (optional- but honestly- who doesn't want chocolate chips in brownies?)

Preheat the oven to 325 and lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.


Once the butter is melted, add the sugar. The two lovely cups of sugar. Stir it until the sugar is mixed in. Cook this over medium-low heat for about five minutes. You want it hot but not bubbling. Some of the sugar will begin to melt. The mixture will become shiny and any passerbyers will say, "Wow. That butter-sugar mixture is starting to look like a shimmery sea of butter at sunset."

Once that is heated, add the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. And, in case you were wondering, 1 tablespoon is correct. That's more vanilla than I am used to seeing for sure. Stir all that in until incorporated.

Drop the eggs in, one at a time. Whisk to combine each one.

Finally, add the flour. A whisk didn't work quite so well, so use a wooden spoon or something to stir this up.

Add the chocolate chips, if you are human. If you're a robot or some kind of extraterrestrial, you can go ahead and leave the chocolate chips out. Pour the mixture into a pan.

Bake for 30-33 minutes. I cooked mine for about 32 minutes. When you poke the middle of the pan with a toothpick, it should come out clean or lightly covered with crumbs. Let them cool. Now, in my house, cooling means about two minutes out of the oven because we can't keep our hands off of these things after we have been smelling chocolate baking in the oven for the past 30 minutes. They are really, really good warm out of the oven.

Now, this picture down here was not a mistake and it wasn't taken by one of my kids. I took it because as I dished up a brownie for myself on a paper towel, a little thin flake came off the top of the brownie. Sometimes I do boxed brownie mixes, and I love that little layer. Never have I found a homemade recipe that does that... until now. Woohoo! There's just something about it.

Here is another close-up of the brownies. Look at the chocolatey goodness under that thin, flaky crust. Good golly, Miss molly. Get out the milk!