BROWNIES = CHOCOLATE, FAST

My sister is the baker in the family, and she can whip up a delicious dessert like nobody else. But she swears by her boxed brownie mix - a cheap one from the bargain store, no less. I know she tweaks that a little, but the real secret is in the under-baking. Just enough time to cook, barely enough time to even set.

Now those are indeed some excellent brownies that she makes, but I just can't sneak the box in my house. My wife, lovely and principled as she is, insists that we make our own brownies.

Luckily, the brownie recipe my principled wife has carried around for the last twelve or so years is both quick and easy (one pot, one spoon, one pan!)...and if you can get the cooking time just right, these too are some decadent brownies. Seeing as I'm not a fan of the iced brownie, I haven't bothered to give you a recipe for the icing. You can figure that one out on your own.


BROWNIES IN A FEW MINUTES
1/4 butter
1 cup granulated sugar
6 heaping tsp. cocoa
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Take a large saucepan, heat it up enough to melt the butter.
Remove from heat, add sugar, cocoa.
Beat in eggs (either by hand or with your mixer).
Add flour and vanilla. Mix well.
Add chocolate chips. Mix gently.

Bake at 375 degrees in a greased 9x9 pan. Keep an eye on them. You're aiming for 10-13 minutes. You want them to still be a little soft.

To serve, ideally, trim off the outside edges (toss'em out, or break them up freeze as bits for your next ice cream night) and slice up into two inch squares. But if you didn't over cook these, you may just want to keep the edges as they are, and cut up the entire pan to serve.

Serve on their own, or with ice cream, drizzled with a lightly flavoured thick cream or warm chocolate sauce, topped with a thick fruit sauce, or whatever else pleases you.

Time from initial chocolate craving to serving? Less than 20 minutes.