Saucepan Cocoa Brownies

Three little brownies in a row

Sometime the limitations of our pantries cause us to be inventive. This is one such case and I couldn't be happier.

I wanted to make brownies but I didn't have unsweetened bakers chocolate in the pantry. I didn't have it in the pantry because I hadn't replaced the what I'd used the last time I made saucepan brownies. But I did have cocoa.

The beauty of saucepan brownies is that it uses the heat from melting the chocolate and butter to make the sugar cream nicely. Since everything is mixed in the saucepan you use fewer dishes! Fewer dishes is always better.

Since I only had cocoa in the house I'd see if the heat was still a good thing. It most definitely was!

These will make a dense chewy, not cakey, brownie.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8 inch pan by lining it with parchment sprayed with cooking spray.

8 ounces butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a saucepan gently melt butter. Off heat and add sugars. Mix until well combined. Add eggs. Beat thoroughly with a whisk until the sugar isn't granular looking. Add cocoa, vanilla, flour and salt. Mix until well combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

They are tall, so you can cut them small. Yum!