Right on target ... and brownies!

With just one more week to go in National Novel Writing Month, I'm right on target: 38,302 words today, 50,000 a week from today.

World's Best Brownies -- Seriously

The recipe for these brownies comes from The Great Book of Chocolate by David Lebovitz. SpecialEd and I have tried a lot of brownies (he's the baker, I'm the taster, of course), and these are by far the best. They're cakey and fudgey and perfect. You're welcome.

Dave and Kate's Remarkable Brownies
Yield: 16 brownies (who is he kidding? 6 to 8 is more like it)

8 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C walnuts or pecans, toasted (don't skip the toasting) and chopped
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Butter an 8-inch square cake pan and lightly dust it with flour, tapping out any excess. Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the chopped chocolate and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and mix in the sugar, then the eggs and vanilla.

Stir in the flour and salt, then the nuts and chocolate chips. Scrape the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

*The cutting will go much more smoothly if you can curb your impatience and wait for the brownies to cool completely. Ask me how I know. Also, the author says that they can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Right, like there'll be any hanging around that long.