My Favorite Brownie Recipe!

In the spirit of a blessed Sunday, I hereby bequeath to you all my favorite brownie recipe. Yes, there are a lot of them out there and, perhaps, even better ones but this is my standby recipe and it shows up on every Christmas cookie plate without fail. Okay, there have been times when helpful family have overdone the quality control and I had to bake another batch . . .

My Best Brownie Recipe!

12 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups (four sticks) butter (Margarine just won't work)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups granulated sugar
8 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped nuts (your choice but I prefer pecans)
2 tablespoons Kalua (coffee liquor)
   or a tablespoon of instant coffee mixed in a bit of water.
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup finely ground nuts (optional but it makes the brownie more moist and flavorful)

Vegetable spray a large baking pan, about 13x9-inches. I like using two 9-inch square pans. Use what you have on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and chocolate together and let cool while you get on with the rest of the ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, put in the sugar. By hand, thoroughly mix in the butter/chocolate mixture. Hand mixing keeps the brownie dense and chewy. Add the vanilla, eggs, Kalua, orange zest, and 1/4 cup of finely ground nuts and mix well, still by hand, not a mixer.

Mix in the flour. After there is no trace of the flour visable, add the nuts and spread into your chosen baking pans.

Depending on the size pan you chose, bake for about 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with only moist crumbs not uncooked batter!

Cool thoroughly before cutting in desired size bars or pieces.

This makes a big batch but they freeze well.  Bake them on a cool day and then enjoy them when it's too hot to turn on the oven.

Ideas . . .
For a really decadent brownie, you can add in 1/2 to one cup of chocolate chips, white chips, peanut butter chips, etc.

Substitute peppermint extract for the vanilla and coffee and leave out the nuts.

Bake the regular recipe and leave out the nuts entirely.

Frost with a thick, chocolate buttercream frosting when the brownies are cold, refrigerate until the frosting is hardened a bit, and then cut.

Use for a dessert with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.