Essentially, there
are three types of brownies: cakey, chewy, and fudgy. Me? I like chewy. If I
wanted cakey, well, I'd have cake; if I wanted fudgy, I'd have fudge. No, a
brownie to me is dense, richly chocolaty, and a chewy wonder.
I was going through some old recipes, waxing nostalgic as I often do, and ran across this one from the early 80s. I actually remember making these way back when, and then, as I recall, was quite bereft when I later lost the recipe. Flash forward 31 years -- and I cringe at the thought, or maybe that was creaking, who knows? -- and the recipe has been rediscovered and excavated and all set to try. Frankly, I was leery. My tastes have changed a lot since I first started cooking and baking. I wondered if what I liked back then would still be something I would like today. My philosophy, of course, is that anything chocolate-related is always just fine, so, with company coming to watch baseball, I decided to make these for dessert.
This is an easy recipe, requires only a medium-large (I used a 2-quart to be on the safe side) saucepan, and involves nothing at all unusual by way of ingredients. It is also, thankfully, as good as I remembered.
These brownies are simple and unassuming. I watched as people ate them. I think they were expecting something simply adequate, so it pleased me enormously to see their looks of surprise, exclamations of deliciousness, and quick grab for another. With summer picnics and barbecues in the offing, add this recipe to your pile of easy crowd-pleasing desserts. You won't be sorry.
Chewy Delicious Brownies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 generous tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 extra-large eggs, beaten to blend
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Spray an 8ʺ x 8ʺ pan with cooking spray. Line with foil, allowing two inches of foil to hang over either end, and spray foil with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a heavy medium saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, cocoa, and vanilla until well incorporated. Cool. (If you are in a hurry, as I was, set pan into a large mixing bowl filled with ice.) Whisk in eggs until well blended, then, with a wooden spoon, stir in flour just until blended. Fold in pecans.
Pour mixture into prepared pan, smoothing top evenly. Bake until brownies test done, 25-30 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes. Lift out with foil “handles” and transfer, top down, to a cutting board. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.
I was going through some old recipes, waxing nostalgic as I often do, and ran across this one from the early 80s. I actually remember making these way back when, and then, as I recall, was quite bereft when I later lost the recipe. Flash forward 31 years -- and I cringe at the thought, or maybe that was creaking, who knows? -- and the recipe has been rediscovered and excavated and all set to try. Frankly, I was leery. My tastes have changed a lot since I first started cooking and baking. I wondered if what I liked back then would still be something I would like today. My philosophy, of course, is that anything chocolate-related is always just fine, so, with company coming to watch baseball, I decided to make these for dessert.
This is an easy recipe, requires only a medium-large (I used a 2-quart to be on the safe side) saucepan, and involves nothing at all unusual by way of ingredients. It is also, thankfully, as good as I remembered.
These brownies are simple and unassuming. I watched as people ate them. I think they were expecting something simply adequate, so it pleased me enormously to see their looks of surprise, exclamations of deliciousness, and quick grab for another. With summer picnics and barbecues in the offing, add this recipe to your pile of easy crowd-pleasing desserts. You won't be sorry.
Chewy Delicious Brownies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 generous tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 extra-large eggs, beaten to blend
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Spray an 8ʺ x 8ʺ pan with cooking spray. Line with foil, allowing two inches of foil to hang over either end, and spray foil with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a heavy medium saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, cocoa, and vanilla until well incorporated. Cool. (If you are in a hurry, as I was, set pan into a large mixing bowl filled with ice.) Whisk in eggs until well blended, then, with a wooden spoon, stir in flour just until blended. Fold in pecans.
Pour mixture into prepared pan, smoothing top evenly. Bake until brownies test done, 25-30 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes. Lift out with foil “handles” and transfer, top down, to a cutting board. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.
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1 comment:
Pattie, you're killin' me. Have I mentioned I'm on this clean eating weight loss plan? No brownies for me! Well....maybe just one....Mimi xxx
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