Homemade Chocolate Brownies

I found this recipe in my grandmother’s collection and had to try it out to see if it was the one she made all the time. Turns out it is, and that she originally received the recipe from a friend! I wish I had gathered more of her recipes and tips before she passed, but it has been fun to recreate favorites and decipher her old recipes. For this recipe you can use whatever chocolate you prefer or have on hand. I have used semi-sweet chocolate chips to make these several times, and they turned out to be delicious. If you like really chocolatey, gooey, fudgy brownies, then instead of nuts you can add more chocolate chips at that step. We love these the most paired with our homemade whipped cream recipe!

Homemade Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 egg

½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted

¼ cup butter

2 ounces chocolate (or ⅓ cup of chocolate chips)

½ teaspoon vanilla 

½ cup nuts, broken or chopped (optional) 

¼ teaspoon salt (*this was not in the original recipe, but I found the addition of a little bit of salt enhances the flavors)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter and chocolate separately.
3. Stir sugar into melted butter, add unbeaten egg, melted chocolate, sifted flour and vanilla and beat well.
4. If adding nuts, fold in broken nuts now. 
5. Line a square pan with parchment paper and spread mixture evenly in the lined pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Using the parchment paper to help, remove brownies to cool on a cooling rack. Remove paper and cut in small squares. 
6. Serve with a cold glass of milk, ice cream or homemade whipped cream.