Pure evil

Very Chocolate Brownies
Taste of Home Baking Classics Copyright 2008

2/3 cup salted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
4 cups (24 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a heavy saucepan, bring butter, sugar and water to a boil, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, stir in two cups of chocolate chips until melted; cool slightly.
Beat in vanilla extract.
In a large bowl, beat eggs.
Gradually add chocolate mixture to eggs; mix well.
Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to chocolate mixture.
Stir in remaining chocolate chips.
Spread into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes about 36 bars.
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You know I can usually control myself around sweets. Yes, I indulge, but moderately. If the guys at home won't make something disappear fast enough, I'll take it to work. If it's not all that enthralling, I really have no qualms about tossing sweets away. I guess that's wasteful but better to add to a landfill than my ass. A good portion of sweets that don't get taken to work end up in the trash here - we're only two adults, a preschooler and an 8-month old who's a long way from helping us eat this stuff so of course we can't polish off entire cakes, entire batches of bars, dozens of cookies, etc. I'd rather get rid of it and move on to the next recipe.

But these brownies, these evil, evil, brownies completely ruined my diet. I should have taken them to work but, hmm, somehow I never got around to it. The boys weren't eating them fast enough at home and I could NOT throw them away. I just couldn't. I admit it, I'm not that strong.

I tried freezing them at one point but they were pretty good straight out of the freezer too. Funny thing is that I didn't think they were all that great when I first made them but there is something about recipes that use lots of chocolate and eggs and little flour that seem to get better a day or so later.

So I warn you, make these at your own risk. They are extremely fudgy, with a crackly top and they're studded with chocolate chips. There is no 'best ever' brownie but this certainly was one of my favorites.

Question of the Day: What food did you last lose control over? I wish I could say it was these brownies but I've moved on to avocados.