You can imagine my excitement last week when I realized I already had all the ingredients to make brownies. All of them! Half a bag of chocolate chips in my pantry?! My eggs weren't broken or expired?! Emily's coming over for dinner later?! Let's do this thing.

If you're messy like I am, make your counter mess-proof. I like to wrap up my mess in wax paper and throw it away at the end.

Feel good about yourself by eating an apple in hopes that you won't eat all the batter.

A bowl pretending to be a double boiler. Boil some water, put a heat-proof bowl on top, and melt the chocolate chips with the butter. Stir a lot - chocolate burns. The non-stir-ability of doing this in the microwave is what keeps me doing it on the stove-top.

Hellooooo chocolate-y goodness. Feel free to eat it now before the salmonella issue comes up in a few steps.

Stir in the sugar once the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.

Get your eggs and your vanilla, then pause wondering if the heat in the chocolate mixture is going to accidentally cook your eggs. Mix up your dry ingredients while you wonder. Don't take a picture of it because no one cares about white powder in a white bowl.

Decide you've waited long enough, and stir in the (lightly beaten) eggs and vanilla. Switch to a whisk after you realize the wooden spoon isn't doing the trick. Wish you would have done it in a bigger bowl. Be happy you didn't slosh it everywhere during the mixing process.

Add the wet stuff to the dry stuff. Switch to a spatula so you can scrape up all the dry stuff on the bottom.

Pour it into your prepared 8x8 with the bottom already greased. Go to put it in the oven (at 325), then put it back on the counter for a picture. Put it this close to the edge of the counter because you like to live dangerously.

Be annoyed that this took three stirring utensils. Wait 26ish minutes.

Resist.

They cut prettier when they're cool, and you want them pretty when people (in my case, just one) come over later.

Why yes, two of us DO need an entire pan of brownies. What of it?

I hate brownie edges, so I eliminated them.

Blurry picture, delicious brownies.

For this occasion, I found and used this recipe. For a special occasion, I have a brownie recipe that might kill you. No need to risk death on a random Thursday, but maybe next time.