Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup whole wheat (soft) or all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt and baking powder. Add nuts if desired. Pour batter into 8x8 glass dish, and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

Notes

• If you have a hard time getting the brownies out of the pan after cutting them, you may want to check the date on your baking powder. They will still taste great, but after I got some fresh baking powder, they rose a lot higher and came out of the baking dish much more smoothly.
• These are excellent with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream on top!