I imagine everyone who writes a food-blog dreams of one day opening their own restaurant or cafe (if they haven’t already), or landing Frank Bruni’s job at the NYT. Me too. Throughout high school and college, I worked in ice-cream shops and cafes, and since then I’ve been dreaming of my own place. Reading Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet only made things worse. So, if I can’t open up my own shop yet, I might as well bake.

These brownies are simple and delicious. I used 99% unsweetened Michel Cluizel chocolate—well worth the money. You can add nuts if you like, but personally, I don’t want anything to detract from the chocolate. This is Alice Medrich’s recipe for “Classic Unsweetened-Chocolate Brownies,” followed exactly. Next batch I’m going to play around with them and maybe add 1/4 cup less sugar. I also plan on letting the next batch of batter sit covered in the fridge for a night or two before baking because Medrich says this makes dark-chocolate brownies more chewy and delicious. I just couldn’t wait that long last night!

I’m actually not sure if it’s appropriate to post published recipes verbatim on a blog, even if you give credit. Can anyone answer this for me? For now I’ll just give you a picture of my little ones on a cute strawberry box-top: