Brownies From Scratch

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Melt butter and chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Remove top of double boiler and stir sugar, flour, eggs, salt, and vanilla extract into chocolate mixture until batter is smooth. Fold walnuts into batter; spread into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cut brownies while warm.