Brownies on a rainy day

It rained today. I never thought I’d miss rainy days. Basements getting wet. Walking across campus getting soaked. Running to shelter only to find that the bottoms of my pants are soaked up to my knees. Hydroplaning into the car in front of you. Dealing with restless students (for some reason they were always more rowdy on rainy days). And worst of all, having to deal with frizzy, I mean curly, hair.

But in our city we don’t have rainy days very often and I do miss them. The freshness that it brought to our exhaust-saturated, dusty city was like the freshness you feel from taking a shower after rolling around in manure (not that I’ve ever done that). So, since we couldn’t (actually, chose not to) walk around and get anything accomplished in the rain, we went home and made brownies.

Here’s the brownie recipe that I used with a few modifications if you need them in your part of the world. They’re the best brownies we’ve ever eaten (please take into account where we live – McDonald’s actually sounds good now) and they’re super easy to make.

ONE-BOWL CASHEW-CARAMEL BROWNIES
(Modified version: ONE-BOWL BROWNIES)

6 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped (170 grams bittersweet chocolate, or whatever kind they have where you are)
¼ cup butter (unsalted if you have it)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
pinch salt
½ cup unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped (they’re great without the cashews)
6 ounces milk chocolate-caramel baking chips (plain milk chocolate does the trick)

1. Heat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan (round works too) with nonstick foil (or spray stick foil with oil/cooking spray), leaving extra foil on 2 side edges.
2. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
3. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla into chocolate mixture. Stir in flour and salt until incorporated. Fold in nuts and chips.
4. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of brownie comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging. Remove from oven and cool briefly on a wire rack.
5. Use the overhanging foil to lift brownie from pan. Cut into 16 squares.