National Chocolate Day comes on October 28 every year. Why? Who knows? But if you ask me, every day is National Chocolate Day at our house, and I'll be happy to double dip on October 28 with a great excuse! Maybe a chocolate croissant to begin the day, and then I'll move on to these amazing brownies.

Connie Weis, a successful professional baker, has penned an entire book devoted to "Extreme Brownies." By extreme she means they are her unique creations and are more complex than the traditional plain brownie. This doesn't mean complicated. There may be a few more steps than usual, but the recipes are all doable for a Seriously Simple Cook. I have chosen this recipe for its pure celebration of chocolate.

In addition to sweets like Tuxedo Brownies or Cookies and Cream Extreme Brownies, you'll find plenty of tips and techniques to guide you through any brownie you like. She offers advice about using the right ingredients, equipment, techniques and even pan preparation so really any recipe is user-friendly. I particularly appreciate her instructions for cutting brownies that have clean edges. FYI, you need to make all the recipes a day before serving because her instructions require the brownies to be well-chilled for cutting clean-edged squares.

This is Connie's signature brownie. Besides perfect texture, this dark, rich brownie has true chocolate flavor and is the treat she reaches for when she is really craving chocolate. Surprisingly, the cocoa powder brings more to the flavor party than the bittersweet chocolate, so she suggests using a very high-quality, high-fat (at least 20 percent) Dutch-processed dark cocoa powder. All you need is a cold glass of milk to accompany these chocolate gems. Enjoy.

Connie's "PMS" Brownies

Excerpted from "Extreme Brownies" by Connie Weis (Andrews McMeel, 2014)

Makes 12 large squares or 24 smaller bars.

Vegetable shortening for pan

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter

2 cups (12 ounces) 60 percent cacao bittersweet chocolate chips

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