• Prepare two different bowls with the ingredients listed below. Your melted chocolate and butter bowl will be the one that eventually holds all ingredients, so this should be largest.

prepare baking pan

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

  Prepare your baking pan:

  I use a 9" x 13" pan so that my brownies are the thickness I require for my version of "perfection." If you like thinner brownies, use a larger pan so that the batter can be spread thin.

  Cut a sheet of parchment to fit into the longest sides, and give yourself about 6" extra of those two sides so that you can "pull up" the brownies out of pan and after they have cooled.

  Spray the bottom of the pan with your favorite non-stick spray, or liberally spread with a pat of butter.

  optional dusting: Sprinkle the top with unsweetened cocoa if you wish. Do not dust pan with flour. This tends to leave a bitter aftertaste on the outside of the brownie crust.

bowl A: double broiler for chocolate

• Create a double-broiler to melt the chocolate and butter together.

  First, place 1-2 inches of water into a saucepan. Place on medium-low heat. Once you see tiny bubbles forming in the water, it's time to place a glass or metal glass bowl (A) onto the top. The trick to melting/tempering chocolate is to be sure additional moisture is not added, while it's over a heat source. I recommend always using a baking spatula and not a wood spoon (since wood retains moisture) to mix while melting.

  Use the spatula to coat the chocolate with the butter.  Bring heat to low if the water starts to boil. We want a slight simmer at most. Continue turning the chocolate for a few minutes until totally melted and completely smooth.
  
• Remove the bowl from heat, and set this aside to cool. Before mixing in the rest of the ingredients, the chocolate should cool for 10 minutes (set a timer). This is done so that we don't 'cook' the eggs in the second part of the recipe.

bowl B: ingredients before adding to chocolate

• In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract (and if you're using it, the fresh-brewed espresso). Whisk or blend with a spatula by hand. There's no need to beat with a machine but do what you think is best. There's a fine line to over-mixing this recipe so be aware.

  Incorporate the dry ingredients. Mix until everything is totally combined.
  

add bowl B to bowl A

• Pour the bowl B mixture into the chocolate of bowl A.

  This is done so that everything is totally combined. Again, don't over mix.

  Option: Add chocolate chips into the batter mix now, or wait until after you've poured the batter into the pan to sprinkle on top.

let's bake

• Place the pan at the center rack of your oven. For this size pan, the brownies are done after 35 minutes. I wouldn't leave them in for longer than 45 minutes. The method of checking the center for a clean stick won't work with brownies because of the amount of chocolate. Don't overbake or allow for dark-browning/burning at the edge or top. Once done, allow to cool.

  Brownies will inflate while baking, and then deflate or flatten a bit in the cooling process.

  Lift the parchment paper "up" to remove the entire sheet of brownies from the pan. Cut and serve, or put the pan in the refrigerator to cut and serve when you are ready. I like to cut them into portions, individually wrap them and then place them in an air-tight container, so that they do not stale and I can enjoy them at least two days later, if there are any left.

  Save me a corner!