Best-ever brownies

I've been MIA this week. I spent last weekend trying to get well. I think that thanks to a lot of sleep I am significantly better. But even by Wednesday, the most exciting thing to blog about was how my sinuses were clearing thanks to using sinus rinse. But I don't think you want any more details than that.

So on to something else. I got an issue of Bon Appetit in the mail the other day. I'm not really sure why, but I was intrigued by the cover that had the headline, "Best-Ever Brownies." I have said before that I believe in making brownies and cakes from a box mix, and my experience with making brownies from scratch has reinforced this belief. But I was still intrigued by the magazine.

I discovered I had all the ingredients (of course the only thing I could come up with for dinner was grilled cheese), and I need to take dessert somewhere tonight so I decided to make the brownies. And I have to admit, they are the richest, moistest brownies I've ever had. I have not yet served them to anyone (hopefully I have enough left for tonight), so this is only my opinion but they are really good brownies. Here's the recipe:

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter

• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces (I only had salted butter, so I cut back the salt.)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, chilled
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup walnut pieces (I left these out.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. 

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend.

Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies.