Simply The Best Chocolate Brownies2

4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into 1/2 oun

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2 ounce

3 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

Butter and flour a square baking pan. Sift together dry ingredients. Melt butter in a double boiler; add chocolate and melt. Beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate mixture until well combined. Add dry ingredients. Add sour cream.

Place batter in prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.

Variations

Macadamia chocolate chunk

Add 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (cut into 1/4 inch chunks) to the batter. Add another four ounces semisweet chocolate to the top, along with 1 1/2 cups raw, unsalted macadamia nuts. Add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.

Peanut-Raisin

Add 1 1/2 cups raisins to the batter. Spread 1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts on top. Add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.

Hazelnut Brownie Cake

Pour 1 recipe of the basic brownie into a 9-inch cake pan, and bake as directed above.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

12 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

In a double boiler, melt chocolate into boiling cream to form a ganache. Pour 1 cup of ganache over 1 cup chopped hazelnuts. Cut cake in half and spread hazelnut-ganache mixture in between the layers. Pour plain ganache over cake as an icing. Pipe ganache which has been refrigerated for 10-15 minutes onto the cake in the form of stars as decoration.