Fudgy Crumbs

I love potlucks.

Yes, because of all the awesome food that people bring to show off and proudly uncover for you to dip into and pile onto your plate, anxiously awaiting that question that every cook loves to hear: "This is delicious! Can I get the recipe?"

Of course you can. Wink Wink. Big grin.

I just happen to have a whole pack of recipe cards and a fresh Bic pen right here.

This is a whole genre of cooking in and of itself. Generally, the trail of recipes can be traced to one source. The back of some box, can, or a label of some sort. Through many years of attending potlucks and also being pulled aside at one point and given some of the most valuable cooking advice I've ever received, "Honey, if you look for the recipes on the backs of boxes and food packaging, you'll never go wrong," I've perfected some pretty awesome recipes. Sure, I've adapted a few to my own tastes or zipped them up a notch here and there but at their very core, they wouldn't exist if I hadn't ripped them off from some food packaging.

In honor of that advice, I give you a recipe for some very delicious brownies. I mix them a little bit in my own ways but I'll let you do your own experimenting. Here, featured on the back of Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Squares, is the recipe for:

Baker's One Bowl Brownies

4 squares Baker's Unsweetened 3 eggs
Baking Chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped Planter's pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13x9 inch baking pan with foil, with endsof foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and pecans; Mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan or wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into 24 squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. Makes 24 servings. 1 brownie each.

Cake-like brownies: Prepare as directed, stirring in 1/2 cup milk along with the eggs and vanilla, and increasing the flour to 1 1/2 cups.

BONUS! If I tear the packaging apart (which I'm not going to do because where else would I wrangle my unsweetened chocolate? >:( Ingrates) there are also recipes for:

One Bowl Brownie Variations!

One Bowl Chocolate Frosting!

AND

Wellesley Fudge Cake! (GASP!)

Be sure to email me if you want that recipe!

Or, um, buy a package of Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Squares.

*cough*