Thanksgiving Dessert Break

Well, we have officially entered the home stretch, Thanksgiving is a mere days away! As you may expect, I'm all abuzz. I went with Mother to the store today to gather the necessary supplies for this year's feast and it only further heightened my excitement. But, before the glorious day of thanks can come, I must get through two more days of work....it's a good thing I like my job. 

Mother also has a shortened week at la escuala, but it's dominated mostly by parent-teacher conferences. Since the teachers have to stay late at school on conference days, they have a potluck dinner for them where they divide course and days among the various grade levels. Mother was tasked with dessert. When she told me this, I was thrilled as that's my dream dish to bring to any occasion (I'm probably stating the obvious here). She, however, was not as jazzed about it. Actually, I think the conversation went something like this:

Mother: (disgruntled tone) I have to find a dessert to bring for conferences next week. 

Me: Oh how exciting! You're so lucky! What are you bringing?!

Mother: I don't know. I hate baking. I'm not a baker. I'll probably buy something, but I don't know what.

Well, I simply couldn't let that happen. Thus, I told her I'd throw something easy together for her to take in and she could even claim it as her own. Since her only lift in this scenario was buying the ingredients (most of which she already had on hand), she was game. And, since I already had a recipe in mind, it was a fairly lift for me as well. 

I made this recipe a few weeks ago, for my parents actually, and not only did they love it (and my dad isn't even a chocolate fan), but it's super easy and requires minimal dishes and prep time (perfect for Thanksgiving when there never seems to be enough time and the piles of dirty dishes are never-ending). If you're looking for a non-pumpkin dessert to add to the Thanksgiving table, I highly recommend this gem.

One-Bowl Chocolate Chunk Brownies

Adapted from Picky Palate

Sorry I couldn't cut into these for a better shot...but check out those beautiful chocolate chunks! 

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup all-purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chocolate chunks

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 13x9 pan

2. Place butter into a large mixing bowl and microwave until melted and hot, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Pour in chocolate chips and stir until mostly melted

I'll be honest, I hate this part. I've made this recipe twice and my arm never ceases to feel like it's going to fall off...but silver-lining, a little arm workout while baking?!?

3. Add flour, salt and sugars. Mix a few times then add eggs, yolk, and oil. Mix until well combined 

4. Finally, add chocolate chunks and stir until evenly blended into the batter

5. Transfer batter to prepared baking dish, spreading evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until cooked through

*I will caution that these brownies are fairly rich, so a small piece goes a long way :)

4 DAYS TIL THANKSGIVING!!