This is one of those recipes you can use to impress a date or just because you don't feel like using a box mix. This is also one of those recipes where if you're hoping for the best taste or to impress someone, seriously, spring for better cocoa. I've made these with $2 a box cocoa powder and $10 a box cocoa powder and believe me, the more expensive cocoa was incredibly worth it. The recipe is so simple with so few ingredients that the ones you use really need to be good because there's no other flavors to cover it up. Scharffen Berger makes an absolutely fantastic cocoa that you can use here that will give just stupidly amazing results and a single can is enough for two batches - so while the $10 price tag looks hefty, that's about $5 a batch... only a dollar or so more than a cheap box of brownie mix.
But you can still use plain old Hershey's powder and they'll be good! I've scattered in some photos of the process so if you see a link that will take you to a pic of what that stage should look like. Because I made these at night some of the photos are not food blog quality so hopefully you'll forgive me. Follow the link at the end of the post for nicer, fancier, professional photos taken by someone else.
You will need:
10 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt if you aren't using salted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (can be skipped)
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat your oven to 325F/160C. Line an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and grease the foil with cooking spray or a little butter. Leave enough foil outside the pan that you can use it to pull the brownies out to cool later.
Mix together the sugar and cocoa powder and butter in a microwave safe bowl (you can also do this with a double boiler if you do not have a microwave). Microwave it in short bursts, stirring often, until the cocoa/sugar/butter mixture is sort of gritty and is almost uncomfortably hot to the touch if you stick your finger in there. Let the gritty mix sit until it is warm to the touch but no longer hot (so that you don't scramble the eggs), and then mix in the eggs and vanilla until it is glossy and smooth.
Add the flour and stir until you can no longer see white streaks in the batter; mix another 40 strokes or so after that. Pour into the prepared 8x8 pan and bake in a 325F oven for about 20-35 minutes or until they are set on the top and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out moist with batter and crumbs. I go with 30 minutes as a default and they are generally ready to come out of the oven around that time. Let them cool completely on the counter or put them in the fridge partway through to help speed it up. These will be pretty damp, dense brownies that are a little difficult to cut cleanly. Serve with just about anything, or by themselves. Two small squares made with the Scharffen Berger cocoa and a glass of nice red wine is a really simple but very impressive dessert for a date night in!
These are from Smitten Kitchen, which if you have a wee tiny kitchen or are trying to get by with not a lot of kitchen tools is a pretty good resource for that sort of thing. Several of my favorite recipes are from there so that blog will show up again!
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