Brownies are one of the easiest things you can possibly bake.  It just takes one bowl and one pan.  Clean up is easy, even easier if you lick the spatula and bowl  before  you wash them!  This is a classic brownie recipe.  It’s the recipe I grew up on.

I find this recipe to be great for kids, it’s that easy.  You can melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave so you don’t even need to worry about little ones trying to use a double boiler on the stove.

My boys certainly love helping make these brownies.  They can do it all on their own for that matter.  It just requires supervision to make sure the batter makes it into the pan and not straight to their mouths!

They like the instant reward of being done quickly, unlike cookies that generally require several sheets in the oven and scooping each cookie out (not that they mind getting the cookie dough on their hands).

These are more of a cakey brownie.  Don’t get me wrong, fudgy brownie are great too, but that’s another post.  These have a nostalgic factor for me since this is my grandma’s recipe.  I only made two modifications.

I doubled the recipe (we always made this in an 8×8 pan growing up…not enough to last in this house with three boys or have enough to stash in the freezer).  I also added espresso powder, I like how it enhances the flavor of the chocolate.

You can easily add things in such as nuts, chopped chocolate, chocolate chips, dried fruit, M&Ms….  With it still being back to school time these are a great special treat to pack into a school lunch.  Or on a picnic.  Or for your lunch at work.