Chocolate chip bars!

...Yeah, I know I never got around to blabbing about the Oscar Wilde essay more. ONE OF THESE DAYS.

In the meantime, a recipe to soothe the sting of betrayal:

Chocolate-chip bars:

Grease and flour a 9x9 square pan. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

In a small saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has completely melted and browned. It will bubble vigorously; when the bubbles turn tan, you can turn the heat off.

Meanwhile, put in a large bowl:

1 c brown sugar (I like dark brown sugar for the extra flavor)
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Pour the browned butter into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Add:

2 eggs
1 c unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Stir well. Add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks, or milk chocolate if you really want, or butterscotch chips would probably be yummy too), stir only until mixed, and pour the batter into the pan.

Bake at 350 F for 30 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cut into 16 pieces with a sharp knife once cooled. Small pieces are better than big ones for this recipe, guys. It's all butter, sugar and chocolate.