Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 35 minutes, plus time to cool

Makes: 16 2-inch square brownies

This is a brownie of contrasts: sugar-crunch bottom, fudgy center, crackly top.

Salted butter, softened, for the pan

1 tablespoon granulated sugar, for the pan

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

2 whole large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup almond meal (aka almond flour or ground almonds)

Prep: Rub some of the softened, salted butter along the bottom and sides of an 8-inch baking pan, as glue. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang. Butter the parchment paper across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar and tap pan to spread sugar over the butter. Heat oven to 350.
Zap: Tumble chocolate and cut-up butter into a mixing bowl. Zap to melt, about 2 minutes. Stir smooth.
Mix: Using a wooden spoon, stir in, in order: eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar and almond meal. Stir until batter is thick and glossy, about 1 minute. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
Bake: Slide pan into the middle of the oven and bake until top of brownie is glossy and puffed in the center and a toothpick poked in the center comes out speckled with crumbs (not slicked with batter), about 35 minutes.
Serve: Cool in pan (about 1 hour or as long as you can stand). Grasping the paper overhang, lift brownie out onto a cutting board. Slice into 16 squares. Enjoy … obviously.