The best brownie you might ever eat

I will be the first to admit I am not a fabulous chef. I can follow recipes and produce items which resemble their intended results, but I am not adept at throwing together whatever I may have in my refrigerator to produce a scrumptious meal. I believe such skills are a sign of a true chef. That being said, here is one such recipe I followed with the additional of a chopped up chocolate bar at the end (I have made this recipe twice and used a Hershey's milk chocolate bar the first time and this time I added a Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate bar) Also, I opted not to put in the nuts. I have to admit this is one of the best brownies I have ever eaten because it is chocolately, dense, moist and yet not doughy.

• 
  
• 
  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil; butter foil. Set aside.
2. Place butter and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water; stir frequently, until almost melted. Remove from heat; stir until completely melted.
3. Whisk in sugar and salt until smooth; whisk in eggs. Gently whisk in flour just until smooth (do not overmix). Fold in nuts, if using.
4. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (they should form a ball when rolled between your fingers), 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
5. Use foil to lift brownie cake from pan; peel off and discard. Cut into 16 squares.

Recipe taken from Everyday Food, May 2005