Brownies

Many elaborate brownie recipes exist, but these are simple, simple brownies, and thus my utter favorites.

First, heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, grease an 8X8 pan.  Get it really really greasy.  I use butter, of course.

Assemble your ingredients.  You need

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup good cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• a bit of salt

Now: melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.  Once it's melted, take it off the heat and stir in the sugar and the cocoa.  Stir, stir, stir.  Use a wooden spoon and a small child.  One about seven or eight years old is good.  Once the sugar and cocoa is mixed in really good, beat in the eggs.  The small child is no good for this step since you'll have to beat them in hard and the child will whine that her arm hurts.

Beat in the vanilla and then the flour and salt.

Use a rubber spatula to spread into the pan, and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Take it out sooner if it smells done sooner.

You can give the sauce pan and spatula and wooden spoon to the kid to lick, but be careful -- sometimes the sauce pan is still a bit hot and the kid will whine if she burns herself.  (Rotten kids!)

Cut up and serve with ice cream or real whipped cream or all by themselves.