Rich Double Chocolate Brownies

I've been hunting for a GREAT homemade brownie recipe forever. I wanted dense, fudgy brownies that used ingredients I always have around the house. Finally, I broke down and created one. I combined a couple of the recipes that were best, and added my own creative tweaks, and the results were absolutely delicious!

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 9

Ingredients

• 1  cup  melted butter
• 1 1⁄4 cups white sugar
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 3⁄4 cup  quality cocoa powder
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄4 cups flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1  cup  semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X9 inch cake pan. Other sized cake pan can be substituted, but a larger pan will result in thinner brownies, so reduce the heat to 325.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in sugars, cocoa powder, eggs and vanilla. Once fully incorporated, add salt, flour and baking powder. Mix. Last, add chocolate chips and nuts (if desired).
3. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into center comes out almost clean. Top should be crusty, and sides should be separated from the pan.