Not-Diet Brownies

I know, I know... I'm supposed to be eating healthier and lighter these days, since I need to make sure I fit into that wedding dress in August. But over the years I've learned one thing about myself and sweets - if I'm really craving something specific, and especially if it's chocolate, I might as well just eat it. I know all the little low calorie tricks in the book about how to curb a chocolate craving... 60-calorie pudding cups, a cup of diet hot chocolate, a teensie-weensie handful of chocolate chips... trust me, I've tried them all. But if I'm craving a brownie or a candy bar or a piece of cake - and if, heaven for bid, it's already in the house - no amount of 60-calorie pudding is going to satisfy me... after I've eaten all six cups in the pack I usually still wind up eating the thing I was craving in the first place. Might as well just eat what I want and enjoy it! ...and then make sure I'm a super good girl for the rest of the week. :)

Well, these brownies are a product of such cravings.

I don't know what was going on, but a couple of weeks ago all the food bloggers I read were making something with chocolate. Annalise at And Now for Something Completely Delicious posted this sinful looking recipe about Brownie Chunk Cheesecake... and then there was this Almond Joy Cheesecake from The Curvy Carrot... and then the Giant Double Chocolate Cookies from Annie of Annie's Eats... it looked like chocolate cravings were going around like the flu! The more decadent pictures I saw the more I wanted needed chocolate. And my coworkers kept asking me when I was going to bring goodies in again... seems those cookies I brought in over Christmas were quite the hit...

...so I caved. I'd like to say that I made these wonderful, fudgy brownies for my coworkers, but they were really for me. And I intended to only eat one, but that little glass of milk, sitting there still half-full after my first one, was just begging for one more. Wedding diet approved? No. Totally worth it? Oooh yes.

Not-Diet Brownies

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) of melted unsalted butter
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar in a large, heat-safe bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and heat until hot but not bubbling. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in cocoa, salt, baking powder, coffee granules, and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each until smooth. And flour and stir until smooth; fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted in the center reveals wet crumbs, but not raw batter. Cool completely on a wire rack.