Hello, Sweetie

The word “diet” isn’t exactly a part of the Jersey Girl’s vocab.

Actually, it's banned here.

But, since November 2009, I am officially 10 pounds lighter.

Yay, me.

No, I’m not popping Kardashian-endorsed pills or taking part in Gwyneth Paltrow-style fasts/cleanses.

Shudder. Shudder. Shudder.

In addition to exercising my bootie off and not eating seconds come din din time, I’ve pretty much ixnayed baking as a pastime. Doing so has wounded my soul, but a skinny girl’s gotta do what a skinny girl’s gotta do.

That said, there comes a time when enough is enough.

That time was Friday.

So, allow me to introduce you to an Insanely Fabulous Brownie.

This brownie tastes awesome with a really big glass of milk, if you are

The Husband. If you are the fabulous wifey, the brownie in question pairs

perfectly with a tall glass of insane wine that you may have been consuming all night long and a trashy magazine and/or mindless movie.

These brownies are decadent and delightful all rolled into one Pyrex square dish of yumminess. So much better than that nonsense from a box. Eek.

And you can totally make these even if you don’t have a mixer in the house. (I don’t know how you live without a mixer – standing and handheld, but different strokes, for different folk, I s’pose.)

All you need is a pan and a wooden spoon.

And a kick-ass workout routine come Monday morn. (I exercised for an hour on Friday in anticipation of my awesome fantastic brownies and on Saturday, too, so get off my back.)

Brownies are happiness.

So come and getcha some.

The brownies await a sharp knife.

Brownies
From “Cookies” in the Williams-Sonoma Cookbook Series

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup cake (soft-wheat) flour, sifted
¾ cup semisweet (plain) chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8-inch square glass baking dish or metal pan.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and chopped unsweetened chocolate. Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and, using a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the mixture and stir until just blended. Stir in chips, if using.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly, smoothing the top. Bake the brownies until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost completely clean, about 30 minutes, or about 5 minutes longer if using a metal pan. Do not overbake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 2 ½-inch squares.

Makes 9 large bars.

Please note: The Jersey Girl uses a glass Pyrex dish and Nestle’s semi-sweet chocolate chips. In addition, she uses 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate and 1 ounce of semi-sweet chocolate, instead of 3 ounces unsweetened; and she always bakes with extra-large eggs instead of large eggs, as called for in the recipe.