Easiest, Yummiest, Quickest (and Most Homemade) Brownies in the Universe

Courtesy of Mark Bitman, these brownies take about 7 minutes to assemble and 20 minutes to bake (i.e., they're just as fast and easy to make as brownies from a box, but they don't have any hydrogenated oils or other nasty things in them). And people swoon over them.

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 stick butter (plus more for greasing the pan)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla (optional, and I usually leave it out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and 8-inch square pan.

Heat butter and chocolate together in the microwave until almost completely melted. Stir to blend them together completely. (Remember to cover your bowl so the contents don't splatter your microwave! You can, of course, also do this on the stove, but it gets another pot dirty.)

Stir in the sugar.

Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Add flour, salt, and vanilla (if using). Stir until there's no trace left of the flour.

Bake 20-30 minutes or until the brownies are set and barely firm in the middle.

One recipe makes about 12-ish medium brownies, or more smaller ones. The recipe can easily be doubled.