Mrs. Fields' Super Fudge Brownies

Mrs. Fields' Super Fudge Brownies - made December 1, 2013, adapted from Mrs. Fields' Cookie Book by Debbi Fields

It's holiday baking season so I'm falling back to my baking standby of brownies.  Since I like to give a variety of sweets in the treat bags I give out when I see my friends, brownies are a given.  They're easy to mass produce, I can bake them ahead of time, portion them out and put them in the freezer until they're needed. Plus, they're chocolate.  Nothing else needs to be said after "chocolate", right?

Since I don't have time for failures, I went with a standard brownie recipe from Mrs. Fields and of course had to add chopped up Hershey caramel kisses because they were there. Literally, there, in my pantry, perched at attention, waiting to be sacrificed atop the next brownie to come out of the oven. As the name implies, these were super fudgy brownies.  Helped to that super fudgy status by underbaking and letting them set.  I took the pictures when they were still a little warm so they look a bit mushy but once they had cooled completely and set, they were just fudgy goodness.

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips
Caramel-filled Hershey kisses, cut in half, optional for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 x 8" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine unsweetened chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler set over hot water.  Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs until light in color.  Add sugar and blend on low until thoroughly combined.
4. Add vanilla and melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture.  Blend on low speed until smooth. Add flour and mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into greased pan.  Smooth surface with a spatula and bake on center rack of oven for 45-55 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes of baking, turn off oven and sprinkle top of brownie with chopped caramel Hershey kisses if desired.  Let the residual heat from the oven melt the Hershey kisses over the top of the brownie.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Cut and serve.