Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Variations

This is the basic recipe. Variations follow after the recipe.

1 cup butter, cubed

6-oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chopped walnuts

Confectioners' sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until blended. Stir in chocolate mixture. Add flour, mixing well. Stir in walnuts.

Spread batter into a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Do Not Overbake.

Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. If desired, dust top with confectioners; sugar. Cut into bars.

The basic recipe (above) is 3rd from left. The variations are listed below.

Raspberry Brownies on left above. Mash up 1/2 cup of raspberries and stir into the above batter. Garnish with a few fresh berries on each brownie, optional.

PB -M&M Brownies, second from left above. Stir some peanut butter M&Ms into the batter before baking. After brownies are cool, top with some fudge frosting and sprinkle with come chopped pb M&Ms.

Rocky Road Brownies, on right above. During the last 5 minutes of the brownie batter baking time, pile on some mini marshmallows and some chopped pecans. When cool, drizzle with some chocolate sauce.

The basic brownie and the variations are all from TOH 2015.