Recipe Corner: Disappearing Brownies

In college, I was the brownie baker. Birthday? The brownies outside your door were from me. Party in the lounge for the Super Bowl? I was the one dashing in and out of the hall kitchen, starting a new batch every time my single baking pan was free of the last one. Granted at that point I was just adding chocolate chips to Betty Crocker mixes, but they were still a hit.

Now that I have a real kitchen, stocked with actual baking essentials, I prefer to start from scratch, which I did this weekend - after the cruel, ridiculously early adjustment to Daylight Savings Time (which, at this latitude, means the sun doesn't rise until almost 7:30 - ugh), I figured everyone was due for a sweet treat on Monday. One of my co-workers asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd post it here as well. The name of the recipe is also co-worker inspired, since these brownies never last long. In fact, the first time I brought them in, I don't think I even got one after lunch...

Warning: While I don't mind the occasional sacrifice for healthfulness, I hate doing anything halfway when it comes to baked goods, so these are very chocolate-y and very sweet.

Disappearing Brownies
Servings: ~24, depending on how you cut them
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: ~20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy. As long as you have all the ingredients, can mix and set a timer, they'll be a hit!

Ingredients*:
1 cup SmartBalance 50/50 (or margarine, or butter)
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup Egg Beaters (that's the equivalent of 4 eggs)
1 cup all-purpose flour**
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I've made the same recipe with sweetened cocoa powder when I've realized I'm out of unsweetened halfway through the recipe, and it doesn't push them into the "Yuck! Too sweet!" zone.)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
chocolate chips to taste

*This halves easily if you'd rather make an 8" x 8" or 9" x 9" pan.
**You might also try these with half (or more) whole wheat flour - I haven't tried it, but I think I will next time - and experiment with some brown sugar rather than all white.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Add the vanilla and beat in the eggs (substitute).
4. Pour in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; stir wet and dry ingredients until well-blended. (Real bakers will tell you to mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then blend the dry mixture with the wet - I'm too lazy, hate doing more dishes than absolutely necessary and have never noticed a difference anyway. I dump all the dry ingredients on top of the wet mixture, stir them together a bit on top first, then just mix away.)
5. Stir in chocolate chips to taste. (I think I use about 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup, but you could easily use 12 oz. without it being too much.)
6. Pour evenly into a 9" x 13" pan (I line mine with parchment paper sprayed with Pam - again, cutting down on unnecessary scrubbing.).
7. Sprinkle chocolate chips across the top if desired.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350°F (this depends on your oven - mine is electric and runs very hot), or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool before cutting.
9. Enjoy!...and only share if you want to. (Also in this vein: don't forget to lick the bowl and eat a handful of chocolate chips out of the bag!)

What are your brownie baking secrets, or favorite treats?