Skip the box of I-cannot-pronounce-those ingredients &amp; make your own tasty brownies!  I like that we always have these ingredients on-hand &amp; I can have a batch in the oven in just five minutes.
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:large;"><span style="font-size:18px;">::: Cocoa Brownies :::</span></span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">1/2 c. butter (1 cube)
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Preparation:  Preheat the oven to 350° F (?180° C).  Grease the bottom of a 8?x 8? baking pan.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">In a small saucepan, start melting the butter over very low heat; remove from heat when almost melted.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the:  sugar, eggs, vanilla, &amp; (now melted) butter.  Leave the mixer in your cupboard for this recipe, just mix together with a whisk &amp; some old-fashioned arm strength (the melted butter makes for very light work).  Add the cocoa, flour, salt, &amp; baking powder; mix using the whisk again.</p>
Pour the batter into the pan and spread with a spatula.  Bake in the pre-heated oven for ?25-27 minutes (we do 30 min. in our Italian oven).  The end result will have tiny air holes throughout and will pass the clean toothpick test.

SERVE after waiting for at least five minutes for the temperature to drop to a wont-burn-your-mouth level.   The trick with these brownies is that they taste cake-like right out of the oven and progress to a fudge-like consistency over time.  So thirty minutes after coming out of the oven, they have a richer, more chocolatey, fudgy taste.  It's magic.  It's definitely a test of will power to wait for the brownies to transform to the height of their brownie flavour.  [Maybe I should have added "self-control" to the ingredient list...]

<em>*use a plastic knife to cut your brownies and you will get nice, clean edges.</em> :D

MODIFICATIONS:  sometimes I sift confectioner's sugar over the brownies for presentation (esp. during holiday time b/c it looks like snow!).