For the Love of Brownies

I have always had an intense love for chocolate. You could say, I love it a choco-LOT. When Valentines Day approached, I figured, "hey, why not spread the love with brownies?" Because my one true love is chocolate. In my efforts of equal want and need for something chocolatey, I made heart brownies! So, without further ado, I present to you…*drum roll* the recipe!:)

For the brownie:

• 16 ounces chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips)
• 1 1/3 cup butter
• 2 1/4 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup milk

For the topping:

• 7 ounces chocolate
• 1/4 cup white chocolate

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt your butter in the microwave or over the stovetop. Whichever is butter for you! Set aside. Then, roughly divide your chocolate and melt half. I know it seems like a choco-lot! While it melts, line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.

Tip: I like to smear a little bit of butter on the pan before putting the parchment paper on, it causes it to stick and not fall off.

Combine the sugar and melted butter. I suggest using an electric mixer. Once all sugar and butter lumps are gone, gradually add your eggs in one-by-one. Then, your vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. I have found this to be an eggs-ellent method!

Sift your dry ingredients together- the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Fold and incorporate it into the batter. If it becomes sticky and too thick, add the milk. Then, add in in the other half of your chocolate chips (or cut up chocolate). Trust me, these brownies will be legen-dairy!

Spoon your batter into the prepared baking dish. Using a spatula will make it easier to spread evenly across. Then, put it into the oven for around 40 minutes, checking throughout the process. It will be ready when a knife comes out with a few cooked clumps of brownie on. You want it to be moist and fudgy, not hard and over-cooked!

Allow your brownie to cool to the touch until taking it out. Then, take a cookie cutter of your choice (I used hearts) and cut away! Toward the end you’ll have lots of brownie scraps. You can either use them as a topping for ice cream, use a rolling pin and re-roll them out for cutting, or simply just eat them! (That’s what I did at least…)