Fudge Brownies

1 Cup butter - softened
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 Cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup chopped walnuts

Melt 1/2 cup butter and chocolate in small saucepan over low heat; set aside to cool.

Place remaining 1/2 cup butter, sugar, and vanilla in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds. Turn to speed 6 and beat about 2 minutes. Turn to speed 4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating 15 seconds after each addition. Stop and scrape bowl.

Add cooled chocolate mixture. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Add all remaining ingredients. Turn to stir speed and mix until well blended, about 30 seconds.

Pour into greased and floured 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack and cut.

I decided to make these brownies last night. I proceeded as instructed by adding the sugar, butter and vanilla to my mixing bowl, and mixing according to the instructions. After mixing for the 2.5 minutes, the mixture was very grainy. The best way to describe it would be to say it consisted of small butter beads, with sugar attached to the butter. I continued on through the rest of the instructions. When I got to the "pour" part, there was no pouring going on there. It was way to thick. I had to scoop it out of the bowl, and spread it around with a spatula. As the brownies cooked in the oven, I was eager with anticipation. However, the final product was very much a disappointment. Eating them is basically like eating a square of chocolate and butter flavored sugar. 


So what went wrong? What I'm guessing is that my butter was not as soft as it should have been. After the damage was done, I found another brownie recipe that calls for adding melted butter. Please let me know if you agree with this assessment. Assuming that the butter not being soft enough was the cause of the problem, at the point where the sugar, butter and vanilla were combined, could anything have been done to salvage the brownies?