These brownies are fudgy and amazing - with a great crinkly-crunchy top and perfectly chewy edges. I've made this recipe a few times now, so I figured I should share them here. And best of all, these brownies are made with cocoa so they're super easy!

I found this high altitude brownie recipe on The Bake-Off Flunkie blog (she has lots of other yummy stuff, too!) and fell in love after the first time I made them.

P.S. For those of you at not-8000-feet-altitudes, try adding an additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to the brownies! I can't test it myself, but I know it'll take you guys a little less time to bake these.

Step 1: Ingredients + Tools

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter (cooled) OR 1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup milk of choice
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I've always used canola oil in these and they turn out fantastic, so I'm sure butter would be even better!

tools:

9x13 inch baking pan
aluminum foil
cooking spray
an oven set to 350 F / 175 C

Step 2: Mix Up the Wet and Dry Ingredients and Preheat the Oven

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, flour and baking powder. Mix until nice and homogenous.

Note: to properly measure the cocoa and flour correctly, spoon the ingredients into the measuring cup and then use a butter knife to level them off. If you scoop, you'll pack too much into the cup!

In a measuring cup, combine the milk, vanilla, oil or butter and eggs and whisk well until you can't see any big flecks of egg yolks.

Step 3: Combine Wet and Dry

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well with a spatula. You want to mix just until you don't see any dry bits. Don't over mix trying to get every single lump - the brownies will come out tough!

Step 4: Prep Your Pan

This is optional, but I find it really helpful. Brownies can be tricky to get out of the pan, so I like to line my pan with aluminum foil and then spray it with cooking spray. It makes getting them out of the pan after they've cooled very easy. :)

Step 5: Baking

Pour the batter into your prepped pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Pop the brownies into a 350 F oven for 30 minutes.

During this time the brownies will rise quite a bit and then sink everywhere but the edges.

The middle of the brownies will still be fairly soft, but they'll firm up as they cool. I say this because they will look underdone, but they ain't. ;)

Step 6: Cool and Enjoy!

Once the 30 minutes are up, pull the brownies out and let them cool in the pan on a baking rack for at least a half hour. An hour is best!

You'll know they're cool enough once you can easily lift the aluminum foil and the brownies don't bend in the middle.

If you make these, I'd love to know what you think :D