Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Valentine's Day is coming up. But we've been spreading out our celebration (mostly because our weekend is jam packed already). Yesterday we went out for our annual "hunt for the next great pizza place." And today I decided to bake up the chocolately goodness I had been planning. I couldn't decide what to make--truffles, brownies, cake, fudge. I asked Kevin his favorite form of chocolate. He said fudgy brownies in chocolate ice cream.

Done.

For the greatest brownie recipe ever I knew just where to check--Annie's Eats & Brown Eyed Baker. They are two of my most trusted foodie bloggers and when I discovered their top brownie recipe overlapped, I knew I had found what I was searching for. This recipe was easy to execute, but different than the other brownie recipes I had worked with. I think I'll save this for special occasions as it is truly rich and thick and delicious and divine.

Maybe this is something you should share with your loved ones this Valentine's.

Ingredients

5 oz. (~2/3 cup) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 oz. (~1/4 cup) unsweetened chocolate, chopped

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters

3 tbsp. cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. salt

1 cup flour

Directions

Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. (Annie notes: "It took me a while to get the flour evenly incorporated and I was worried it would affect the texture of the brownies, but they turned out fabulously – no need to worry.") Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares as desired. Store in an air-tight container.

Serve with chocolate ice cream.

And...if you're my husband...

Iced Java Mocha syrup.

And peanut butter.

And chocolate chips.