Bon Bon made these most perfect brownies for our Valentine’s Day dessert. They passed the “Does it have enough chocolate?” scale with flying colors.

Picnic Brownies (Lion House Bakery Cookbook)

4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round pans. In top of a double boiler or a microwave safe bowl, melt unsweetened chocolate and butter. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, vanilla, salt; add to melted chocolate mixture and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and mix well. Divide batter equally into prepared pans. Spread evenly and sprinkle top of each with chopped nuts and chocolate chips. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted an inch from center comes out clean. (Do NOT overbake!) Allow to cool completely before cutting. Run a thin knife between pan and brownies and turn upside down. With knife that is longer than brownies are wide, cut brownies by pressing knife straight down through the brownies; cut each into 8 wedges. Makes 16 brownies. These brownies store and stack well, for easy portability.

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