White Chocolate Brownies

Chocolate Cream Pie Murder

## Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* ¼ cup powdered sugar ***(No need to sift unless it's got big lumps.)***
* ½ teaspoon baking soda
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 1 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* ¾ cup salted butter ***(1 and ½ sticks, 6 ounces)***
* 6 ounces white baking chocolate squares ***(I used Baker's)***
* 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 large eggs, beaten ***(just whip them up in a glass with a fork)***
* 2 cups while chocolate chips or vanilla baking chips ***(an 11-ounce bag will do—I used Nestlé)***
* ½ cup finely chopped pecans ***(optional)***

## Directions

* Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.
* Line a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with heavy-duty foil. Spray the foil with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Set it aside to wait for its yummy contents.
* Place the flour, powdered sugar, baking soda, salt, white sugar, and brown sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on LOW speed until they are thoroughly combined.
* Place the stick and a half of salted butter in a microwave-safe bowl. ***(I used a quart Pyrex measuring cup.)***
* Break the white chocolate baking squares in pieces and place them on top of the butter.
* Heat on HIGH in the microwave for 1 minute and then stir with a heat-resistant rubber spatula. ***(If you don't have one, you really need to buy one. They're not expensive and they're dishwasher safe. You'll use it a lot!)***
* If the white chocolate squares are not melted, take the spatula out of the bowl and return the bowl to the microwave. Heat the butter and chocolate mixture for an additional minute.
* Let the bowl sit in the microwave for 1 more minute and then take it out and stir it with the heat-resistant spatula again. If you can stir it smooth, heat it in increments of 30 seconds, letting it sit in the microwave for 1 minute after each increment, until you can stir it smooth.

**Hannah's 1st Note: You can also do this on the stovetop over LOW heat, but make sure to stir it constantly so it won't scorch.**

* Stir the vanilla extract into the melted butter and white chocolate mixture. Let it continue to cool on the counter.
* Add the eggs to your mixer bowl and beat together at MEDIUM speed until they are thoroughly incorporated.
* Feel the bowl with the white chocolate and butter mixture. If it's so hot it might scramble the eggs by adding it now, wait a few minutes until it's cool enough to add.
* Turn the mixer down to LOW speed and slowly pour the white chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract mixture into the mixer bowl. Mix this until it's combined, but do not over-beat.
* Roughly chop the white chocolate chips into smaller pieces. ***(I used my food processor with the steel blade in an on-and-off motion.)***
* Take the bowl out of the mixer and fold in the pieces of white chocolate chips by hand. ***(You can use the same heat-resistant spatula that you used earlier.)***
* If you choose to use the pecans, stir them in now.
* Scoop the batter into your prepared pan. It will be very thick. Use the same rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and get every wonderful bit to tasty butter into the cake pan.
* Smooth the batter out with your impeccably clean hands and then press it down evenly with the back of a metal spatula. Make sure the batter gets into the corners of the pan.
* Bake your White Chocolate Brownies in your preheated oven at 350°F for exactly 23 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! If you do, you'll end up with dry brownies.
* When you take your brownies out of the oven, set them on a cold stove burner or a wire rack to cool.
* When the White Chocolate Brownies are cool, frost them with White Chocolate Fudge Frosting. ***(Recipe follows.)***