Pretty Darned Good Chewy Brownies

In all honestly, I don't suppose the web really needs one more picture of brownies, grins.  But I'm thinking that no blog is complete without at least one brownie post so this one is mine.

Back (several!) decades ago when I was took home ec in high school, our teacher gave us a little tri-fold pamphlet from (I think) Hershey's chocolate that maybe had a half a dozen recipes on it.  One of the recipes was the best brownies I've ever eaten in my entire life.  Now, through numerous moves and not realizing what I treasure I really had, I've since lost that recipe, and for whatever reason it's a recipe that Hershey's no longer has available.  And I've looked.  High and low.  Asked on recipe sites.  Bought a old-fashioned Hershey cookbook.  Googled.  It's gone, gone, gone.  I think it's probably because it was a little more work that most brownie recipes; as I recall it asked for both powdered chocolate, as well as melting chocolate squares, and nowadays, who has time for that?  Well, for that recipe, I'd make time.

Anyway, enough grief sharing over lost treasures.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I dislike fudgy brownies.  BIG dislike.  Even bigger than that:  frosted brownies.  No words.  Then again, I'm not a fan of cakey brownies. Not the BIG dislike of their fudgy or frosted cousins but I can give them a pass.  Enter the chewy brownie, that compromise that seems to say, hey, I'm not a wannabe fudge candy or a wannabe cake.  I am my own brownie.

I'm going to keep looking for that elusive perfect brownie recipe from decades ago, but in the meantime, this recipe is pretty darned good.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 stick), melted
2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a 9 inch x 9 inch baking pan and set aside.

Combine sugar, butter and water in a large bowl.  Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.  Combine flour, cocoa and baking powder and salt in medium bowl and add to the wet mixture. Stir in nuts.

Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few sticky crumbs. Let cool before cutting into squares.