If.

Hey.  Let's forget about work for a few minutes.  Go ahead and minimize that mind-numbing spreadsheet.  Put your phone on "Do Not Disturb" mode.  The weekend is only four days away and I vote we do something fun.  Let's play a round of "If..."

Album

Movie
Food
Drink
Something sweet

If you could watch/listen to/consume only one of each for the rest of your life, what would you pick? 

Album:  Hmm.  Three-way toss up between Amy Winehouse - Frank, the Sweeney Todd soundtrack and N.E.R.D. - In Search of...

Movie:  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Food:  Pizza.  I know.  So predictable.  A suitable answer for a kindygartner.  But this is a craving that never goes away.  Pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at suppertime!  The jingle engineers over at the Bagel Bites HQ had the right idea, even though I never questioned the fact that suppertime and the evening are pretty much one and the same.

Drink:  iced tea, unsweetened or Yards Pale Ale

Something sweet:  a fudge brownie

Now, my choices aren't necessarily my all-time favorites.  The key here (since we are talking eternity and all) is replay value.  For example, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours = one of the best albums of all time.  But would I want to listen to it everyday?  With the exception of The Chain, probably not.  My favorite dessert is a butterscotch bread pudding they serve Berry White's restaurant.  Freaking insane.  But would I be able to eat it everyday?  No.  It's a dessert I prefer to save for special occasions or every other week, whatever comes first.

Now a brownie, on the other hand, is an entirely different story altogether.  To bite off the words of Juno MacGuff:  as far as sweets go, brownies are totally boss.  They are the cheese to my macaroni.  And I could, without a doubt, eat one every day until the end of days.

I used a boxed mix for the Sex Panther brownies a few weeks back but it wasn't until a hankering hit the other day that I realized I didn't have a go-to recipe for "from scratch" brownies.

King Arthur came to my rescue.

 Seriously Ridiculous Fudge Brownies

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Makes 2 dozen brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder (I omitted this)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups chocolate chips (omitted these, as well)

Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

In a medium saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter.  Stir in sugar.  Heat until the mixture is hot (but not bubbling) to help dissolve more of the sugar.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the cocoa, salt, baking power, espresso powder (if using) and vanilla.  Beat in the eggs.

Add the butter mixture to the bowl and stir until smooth.  

Finally, add the flour (and chips, if using them) and stir once more until smooth.  The battle will be thick like delicious, chocolate-y mud.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.

Cool completely before hacking in.

Yep.  Great replay value.

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