Flakey-Top Fudge Brownies

Makes: 16 small brownies, or 9 big brownies Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs

• 1 and 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup neutral oil

• 1/2 cup melted, salted butter

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 3/4 cup dutch-process cocoa powder

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer,* begin whipping eggs and add the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, until all the sugar is added. Continue whipping until much lighter in color and the sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. You can test if the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a small amount of the mixture between two fingers, and there should be no, or almost no, grittiness.

3. While the eggs are whipping, melt butter, chocolate chips, and oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir to make sure the ingredients are well incorporated.

4. Once the chocolate and butter has completely melted, stir in the cocoa powder and vanilla, making sure no clumps remain.

5. With the mixer on a low speed, stream in the warm chocolate and whip one more minute.

6. At this point, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold in the salt and flour until just combined. You want to stir this the least amount possible while not leaving any clumps of flour behind.

7. Pour batter into a 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper and smooth the top.

8. Bake for 30 minutes. The knife will not come out clean because of how gooey they are, but the residue should look like tiny bits of cake/brownie, not like batter.

9. If you want the brownies to be structurally sound, let the brownies cool until the parchment paper can lift the entire tray of brownies without them caving inwards, which will likely take a couple of hours. You can cut them up when they are still warm, but they will fall apart very easily and the tops may flake off (but they will still be delicious).

10. Enjoy your Flakey-Top Fudge Brownies!

Notes:

*This could also be done by hand if you want a workout, or with a hand mixer.