Zingerman's Magic Brownie recipe fits on one page. Plus, it's delicious.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

To be fair, only a portion of the recipe actually covers the actual baking part of the recipe. Many (many!) pages deal with the conditions that must be met in order for the brownies to be considered up to par for our men and women in service.

"There shall be no foreign material such as, but not limited to, dirt, insect parts, hair, wood, glass, or metal."

"Any evidence of rodent or insect infestation shall be cause for rejection of the lot."

The Pentagon brownie ingredient list is pretty short, and to be frank, boring: sugar, flour, eggs, cocoa, salt, shortening, chemical leavening, dextrose, flavoring and nuts. It gets more interesting when you get to the part that calls for the brownies being "completely enrobed with a continuous uniform chocolate coating (see 3.2.14) in an amount which shall be not less than 29 percent by weight of the finished product." Nearly 30 percent chocolate enrobing may seem extreme, but perhaps it makes sense when you consider that the brownies are expected to last up to 3 years.

NPR sent the Pentagon recipe to a Washington, D.C. area bakery for a taste test, and described the results as: "dry, crumbly and dense. But they did taste as if they might last quite a while if boxed up and shipped to a war zone."

When it comes to brownies in Ann Arbor, Zingerman's Magic Brownies are widely regarded as among the best in town, and the instructions fit on one page with room to spare. The company made its recipe available to the readers of Midwest Living magazine, and is reprinted below.

Zingerman's Magic Brownies from Midwest Living

Ingredients 13 tablespoons butter (no substitutes) 6-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped 1-1/2 cups sifted cake flour or all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 eggs 2 cups sugar 1-1/4 teaspoons vanilla 1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions 1. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a heavy small saucepan, heat the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until lemon-colored and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture. Beat on low speed until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Stir in walnuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until brownies appear set.

3. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Makes 15 servings.

Jessica Webster eats brownies for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at jessicawebster@annarbor.com.