Chewy fudgy brownies

3/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

2 cups sugar*
1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, or white wheat flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, optional*

*Note: When using chocolate chips, I use half the sugar (1 cup).

When adding chocolate chips to brownies, cakes, muffins etc. take reserve a little bit of the flour from your recipe and sprinkle it onto your chocolate chips. Then add the chips in at the appropriate time and stir together. The flour will keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom. I learned this tip from watching Ina Garten on Foodnetwork.com.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease 13x9 pan.
In medium sized microwave-safe bowl, or in
medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter then
add sugar and stir to combine. Return mixture
to the heat or microwave briefly, just until
hot (110-120) but not bubbling; it will become
shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this
second time will dissolve more of the sugar and
provide a shiny top crust on your brownies. Stir in cocoa, salt,
baking powder and vanilla. Whisk in eggs,
stirring until smooth, then add flour and nuts
 and chips, stirring until smooth. Spoon into prepared pan.

Bake for 29 to 32 minutes, until a cake tester
comes out clean, or with just a tiny amount of
crumb clinging to it. The edges should be set,
but the center still soft. Remove from oven and
cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Some substitutions:

For wheat/gluten free brownies omit flour and double the cocoa powder. This tastes just as good as the regular recipe, it just has an extra chocolate flavor.

For egg free brownies, substitute about 1/4 cup applesauce for each large egg you use. Also decrease your sugar.  Notice, I did not say decrease your non hydrogenated margarine. This needs to remain the same if you hope to have a chewy brownie consistency. About 1/4 cup smashed banana could also be used in place of a large egg, but  bananas have a stronger flavor than applesauce, so you can always taste them in your baked goods. Still it is a nice thing to know for banana bread or muffins.

I've already made this recipe dairy free. The original recipe called for butter. I use Smart Balance, but any non-hydrogenated margarine will do. Just make sure it has Parve or parv written on the outside of the product. Parve/parv marks a product as dairy free.