Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Remove from microwave, stir in sugar, and melt both for 30 seconds. Stir again and melt for 60 seconds more. You want the sugar and butter to bubble up slightly, but not burn. This amount of time should do the trick.

Step 2

Remove mixture from microwave and stir in bittersweet chocolate. This should melt the chocolate completely. If it doesn’t, put it in the microwave for another 15 seconds. Whisk in all other ingredients except chocolate chips. Gently fold in the chocolate baking chips if using!

Step 3

Pour batter into a parchment lined 8″x8″ pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into 9 large squares.