These homemade brownies are the perfect dessert. I have eaten them hundreds of times and I still look forward to the aroma as a hot pan cools on my stove top. The dense crumb and intense chocolate flavor will please even the most devoted chocolate lover. They are my go-to when asked to bring a dessert to a pot-luck since they are decadent and almost as easy as a mix. The ingredient list is short and simple, you don’t even need to get out the baking powder or baking soda. (Having to retrieve the teaspoon and the baking powder are the two steps that stop me from making cookies for an afternoon snack.) This recipe comes from my Great-Grandma but my mom is the one who had the ingenious idea of adding the chocolate chips. The morsels of melting chocolate when warm is the reason I often receive requests for this recipe.
These are fantastic dishing them up after just letting the brownies cool for a few minutes or you can let them cool so they stack on a plate nicely for a pot-luck. The gluten free version, just substituting a gluten free flour mix 
for the regular flour works wonderfully since the chocolate hides the bitterness of the GF flour. Since I have both gluten free and gluten loving members at my house, I make two batches at the same time, just being careful with cross-contamination. The recipe is easy enough to make two times over and I that is the main reason we eat them so often after Sunday dinner. I usually make the 9X13 recipe for the 5 of us and then half the second batch for the GF version and make it in an 8X8 pan.
(This recipe calls for 5 ounces of baking chocolate. My mom has historically bought Bakers, but I love the Ghirardelli 
that sits right next to the Baker’s
at Wal-Mart. In desperation I have found that melting chocolate chips also works in a pinch, but only high quality like Ghiradelli or Guittard. We are bittersweet chocolate lovers, so we go heavy on the unsweetened chocolate. Lighten up the chocolate and mix in some semi-sweet if you are more of a milk chocolate kind of person. Experiment a bit to find your perfect combination, your neighbors will love you for it. My current favorite is three ounces of 100% cacao, two ounces 60% cacao of the Ghiradelli chocolate. My perfect combination is also always changing…)
5 ounces baking chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (GF substitue if making for a GF friend)
8 ounces of chocolate chips
Butter and flour a 9X13 pan.
First, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, melt butter in a double boiler, or if you are lazy and willing to take a risk of burning your chocolate, melt over very low heat in a saucepan. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. My parents always use a double boiler. I never do. I just watch the chocolate very carefully and make sure not to burn it.
Remove the pan from the heat! You don’t want the dough too hot or it will melt the chocolate chips when you add them in a minute. Add the 2 cups of sugar and stir to combine. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to incorporate after each addition. (This is important. The brownies taste better if you love them a bit.) Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour a cup at a time until combined.
Add the chocolate chips, saving a few to sprinkle over the top, and stir to make sure they are evenly distributed. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the brownies. Then pour into the 9X13 baking pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the brownies have pulled away from the side of the pan and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs. Be careful not to overcook.
- 5 ounces baking chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour (GF substitue if making for a GF friend)
- 8 ounces of chocolate chips
- Butter and flour a 9X13 pan.
- Melt butter in a double boiler, or if you are lazy and willing to take a risk of burning your chocolate, melt over very low heat in a saucepan. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. My parents always use a double boiler. I never do. I just watch the chocolate very carefully and make sure not to burn it.
- Remove the pan from the heat! You don't want the dough too hot or it will melt the chocolate chips when you add them in a minute. Add the 2 cups of sugar and stir to combine. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to incorporate after each addition. (This is important. The brownies taste better if you love them a bit.) Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour a cup at a time until combined.
- Add the chocolate chips, saving a few to sprinkle over the top, and stir to make sure they are evenly distributed. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the brownies. Then pour into the 9X13 baking pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the brownies have pulled away from the side of the pan and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs. Be careful not to overcook.
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I’ve tried these last time I visited and they were amazing. I didn’t know they came from Grandma’s kitchen. Must try!
I would love to know the temperature at which these bake! I made the whole recipe before realizing that the oven temp was not posted in the recipe- I used 325. We’ll see how they turn out.
So sorry! Thank you so much for letting us know. The oven temp should be 350°. I hope they still turned out delicious.
You might try http://www.auntiesfoods.com for a great gluten free flour that tastes as good as regular non gf flour. No after taste
Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it.