Super Duper Awesomely Gooey Chocolate Brownies

Welcome to my first legit post.

This was one of the first things I ever made (March 2012), since I moved out of College catered halls and into this amazing realm of cooking independence at my new pad. I was hosting a small party at my new crib of awesomeness, which is more formally called 'Tosakanth's Crib of Awesomeness',  because my house-mate was on holiday and thought it would be the best time to host a little gathering for my little friendas in Sydney, and also because I love hosting things.

My friends are suckers for brownies. I think it's a Sri Lankan thing. Brownies are considered to be this divine food fit only for the gods, so you vacuum it up at the sight of it because no one cares about manners when it comes to gooey chocolatey goodness.

Anyway, moral of the story--- my friends absolutely adored it, which made me extremely happy. We also won the Cricket match against some country we were playing at some random tournament, somewhere in the world. Win-Win!

Your challenge : give it a go and let me know (oh-hey, I'm also a lyrical genius)

Ready --- Steady --- Cook

Super Duper Awesomely Gooey Chocolate Brownies

Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies

 INGREDIENTS:

140g Butter
280g Sugar
85g unsweetened Cocoa Powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon Salt 

1/2 teaspoon pure Vanilla extract
2 large Eggs, cold
65g All-Purpose Flour
2/3 cup walnut, pecan, macadamia pieces (optional)

Cooking Chocolate chopped/Chocolate chips (optional)

 METHOD:

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 160°C. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

1.   Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water (double boil).

2.   Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test.

3.   Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added. [Note, this step works just fine in the microwave]

4.   Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon.

5.   Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one.

6.   When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.

7.   Stir in the nuts and extra cooking chocolate/chocolate chips, if using.

8.   Spread evenly in the lined pan.

-Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Just keep an eye out, my oven takes various times to bake. Let cool completely on a rack. 

-To cut with clean lines, you can put it in the fridge or freezer for a bit.

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. 

adapted from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Best-Cocoa-Brownies-108346

Challenge Accepted ???

Enjoy!

Tosakanth