Tina’s Brownies

For the brownies:
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, or bowl in microwave. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix until thoroughly incorporated. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and salt; add to butter mixture and stir until just mixed. Pour into a greased 9×13 dish and bake for 20-25 minutes (or up to 35 sometimes; just go with your instincts and check often!) or until middle is still just the slightest bit “gooshy” if you poke with your finger, but by no means is the batter still raw. It is very important not to overbake! When done, take out and immediately pour icing over top. Let cool completely so that icing can firm, and then serve.

For the icing:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; add cocoa and milk and stir until mixture boils. Off heat, add vanilla and powdered sugar and stir until icing forms.

Note: These can be made lower fat and healthier by substituting applesauce or pumpkin puree for 1/2 cup of butter and using whole wheat flour. Also, this is an old family recipe, much perfected by trial and error (but still not perfect), so if you make it, be sure to leave a comment or review to tell me what you think!