Writer’s Block Brownies

When I am procrastinating (or when I am genuinely stuck for writing ideas) I like to bake. This recipe is a composite of approximately 50 brownie recipes and countless trial-and-error batches that I tried during a particularly bad stretch of writer’s block one summer. I really recommend using Ghirardelli chocolate here – it makes a difference. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Northern California girl ☺

Writer’s Block Brownies

1 stick of unsalted butter

2 bars (4 oz each), of Ghirardelli baking chocolate (either Milk Chocolate, 60% Cacao or Semi-Sweet)*.
Break one bar into squares (you will be melting this, so don’t worry about how the chunks look) and chop the other into bite-sized pieces (you will be stirring these whole into the batter so make them the size you want to bite into once the brownies are done)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and make sure the rack is in the middle.

Butter and flour a 9-inch square metal baking pan.

Melt the butter and the chocolate bar you have broken into squares in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth.

Take the pan off of the heat; while it cools a little bit, whisk the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Set the bowl aside.

Add the sugar and vanilla to the chocolate and butter mixture in the saucepan; stir until the mixture is smooth again. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the mixture becomes glossy (a wooden spoon is best for this).

Stir the dry ingredients and the bite-size chocolate bits into the saucepan, until everything is just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 18 minutes or until the center of the pan is no longer gooey.

Do not overbake – if anything, error on the side of underbaking these, because they will still taste delicious (and will come together more) once they have cooled. Be careful taking them out of the pan – I usually cut the brownies into 4 squares and remove one square at a time. Then I cut each square into 4, for 16 brownies total.

* For something extra special (and with an added kick), try chocolate with chipotle chili in it! I like Redstones Red Chili & Chipotle Dark Chocolate