Favorite Brownies & Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I have been searching for a good brownie recipe for a long time. I really like my brownies fudgy and slightly gooey, but every time I try to make homemade brownies they turn out pretty cakey. I hate to admit it, but I actually like brownie mixes better. But I would rather make homemade so I can control what's in there (no HFCS for us, thanks!). I found this recipe and thought I'd give it a go. I did add some chocolate syrup in the mix, and they turned out very good! Thick, fudgy, yum! No more boxed mixes for me! They would be great alone, but I also recently found this frosting recipe I love, so I put that on top. Next time I might add a layer of mint frosting in the middle.

Favorite Brownies (adapted from the Open Pantry)

1 cup Butter

1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

2 cups Sugar

4 Eggs

1 1/2 cup Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

2 tsp Vanilla

1/4 cup chocolate syrup

Melt the butter, add the cocoa and sugar and mix together. Add in eggs, mixing well. Add the remaining ingredients, mix, and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (from Stephanie’s Kitchen)
½ c. butter, softened
1/3 c. cocoa
2 2/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cream, half & half, or milk (I use milk)
1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Blend butter and cocoa until creamy. Alternately add powdered sugar and cream/milk. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

*You can make vanilla buttercream by replacing the cocoa with more powdered sugar, or make variations by substituting the vanilla for other flavorings in chocolate or vanilla buttercream (try almond flavoring, coconut, raspberry, orange, lemon, mint, etc.)