The Ultimate Brownies

I'm getting close to deadlines for my book, but am still madly working. I hope to return to a regular blogging schedule soon. In the meantime, I thought I'd share these brownies with you which may be the best I've ever tasted. The secret is in using Dutch-processed cocoa, not the regular stuff. Hershey's makes a "special dark" blend that's pretty close; this looks like the regular cocoa but has a red slash on the label across the front. Sadly, I've noticed over the last 2-3 years that my regular sources of Dutch-processed cocoa have disappeared.

Enjoy, dear friends!

Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) Dutch-processed cocoa
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
chocolate chips (5-6 oz)

Oven 350F. Grease 13x9x2 inch pan. Bake about 30-35 min, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Icing

1/4 cup (1/2 of one stick) butter, melted
6 T Dutch-processed cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar
milk

Mix first four ingredients. Add about a cup of powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of milk. Keep alternating sugar and milk until consistency is correct. Be careful because a little milk goes a long way. Swirl on brownies, and sprinkle jimmies on top if desired.