Brownie Bites from Scratch

I have been craving chocolate something fierce lately. Since I worked out 4 out of 5 days this week, I decided to indulge myself tonight. Besides, I was tapping into my inner Betty Crocker already today.

I've used this recipe a few times now and just love it. It's a recipe from Betty Feezor who used to be on TV. Because I always have the ingredients on hand, I never buy brownie mixes anymore!

Scratch Brownies from Betty Feezor via Cyndi Allison

• 1 cup butter or margarine (melted)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla flavoring
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup cocoa
• 2 cups plain flour
• optional - nuts, raisins, chocolate chunks, caramel pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream margarine and sugar. This works well with a mixer, but you can do it by hand.
3. After the creaming stage, do switch to a spoon for mixing. Brownies tend to get tough if worked too much.
4. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix just until smooth.
5. Pour in cocoa and flour. Again, mix until smooth and lumps are broken up. But, don't go to wild on the mixing.
6. If you want to add extras, just fold those in easily.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes in 2 pans size 8 inches by 8 inches. You can use a larger pan like the 9 x 9 and cook for a little longer-25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. If you use a single pan, then the Scratch Brownies are thicker.

I have made this recipe in an 8x8 pan and they turned out fantastic. Tonight I split the batter into two bowls and added white chocolate chips to one, and Andes mint chunks to the other. Then I scooped the batter into greased mini-cupcake pans and baked them for about 14-15 minutes. The result was delicious, homemade brownie bites, perfect for indulging my chocolate craving!