Therapy Brownies

To me, baking is therapeutic. I have a thing for baking. No, not the mixing of pre-fabbed boxes of substances they call "brownies" or "cookies", and certainly not heating a can of something labeled "crescent rolls", but the actual mixing of ingredients to create baked goods. There is something about bringing together the perfectly measured amounts of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, and winding up with a perfectly baked pastry that just makes me happy. No matter what kind of mood I may be in, baking is almost guaranteed to cheer me up.

Baking is a science, an art. It takes practice to perfect, and even when you've achieved perfection you can have an "off" day and end up with a total flop. It happens. There is a reason that there is an entire specialty school especially dedicated to baking - it's not easy. But is sure is therapeutic. Something about cutting in butter and blooming yeast, digging fingers into fresh dough and forming beautiful little baked goods. Baking is a stress reliever, releases endorphins and clears the mind. One of my goals in life is to learn to perfect the more difficult baked goods - croissants, puff pastries, turnovers, tarts. The ones that require almost tedious amounts of folding, chilling, mixing, but ends with an edible piece of art, equally appealing to the eyes as the taste buds.

Tonight's therapy came in the form of brownies. Simple, delicious, brownies. Melting fresh, bittersweet chocolate with cocoa and butter, mixing sugar with eggs and sprinkling in flour, creating a rich, dark batter you could eat with a spoon. And my favorite part of the recipe? "Wait 2 hours, or until completely cool, before cutting." Yeah, right. As soon as that baby's cool enough to keep from burning my fingers, it's history! And the best part of this therapy? Eating a warm, fudgy brownie with a cold glass of milk at the end of a long day.

Fudgy Brownies
5oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2c butter
3tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2c sugar
3 eggs
1c flour

Melt chocolate, butter, and cocoa powder in microwave 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Allow to cool slightly
Beat together sugar and eggs
Add in melted chocolate mixture, stirring until completely mixed
Add flour, stirring until just incorporated
Pour into greased 8x8 baking tin
Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes

Allow to cool 2 hours before cutting (or cool slightly and dig in, because with those smells wafting through the house there is no waiting 2 hours!)