Brownies are my son’s favorite snack. Full of chocolaty goodness, they can be chewy, gooey or cake like. Brownies can also have other ingredients such as carmel, nuts, cream cheese, peanut butter and other yummy goodies that are only limited by one’s imagination. Blondies are brownies without the chocolate. Brownies are often served as desserts or snacks, but we think they are best warm from the oven served with ice cream ( a la mode).
The brownie made it’s first public appearance during the 1893 Columbian Exposition. A chef at the Palmer Hotel created the small chocolate cake at the request of Bertha Palmer. She wanted a dessert for the ladies attending the fair that would be smaller than a piece of cake, and easily eaten from boxed lunches. These brownies featured an apricot glaze and were filled with walnuts, and they are still being baked at the hotel according to the original recipe.
Young bakers who are just learning how to bake usually start with brownie recipes. Boxed brownie kits are readily available in the supermarkets and are quick and easy. Usually, these mixes require eggs, water and perhaps some vegetable oil. It is best to pre-treat the pan with Pam or grease to prevent sticking. It is best to remove the pan from the oven when the edges are pulling away from the edge. Sometimes the toothpick may still come back moist when inserted in the middle. Depending on if you like the more cake like brownie or the chewy brownie will also determine the cooking time.
Brownies can be served with ice cream, whipped cream or be frosted.
There are also some brownie recipes that can be made in the microwave.
The new perfect brownie pan helps take the guess work on when the perfect brownie is done by making each brownie bake evenly so that each brownie has the crispy edge and the chewy center.
Filed under Brownies by on Jan 2nd, 2010. Comment. 
Want a quick chocolate fix?
This simple brownie recipe is sure to please the chocolate lover in you.
Rich and chocolaty this recipe is easy to whip up and a great recipe for sharing with friends.
Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip Brownies
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 Cup plus 2 Tbps flour
- 2/3 Cup brown sugar
- 3/4 Tsp salt
- 2/3 Cup sugar
- 1 Tsp baking powder
- 1/3 Cup baking cocoa
- 1/2 Cup Ghirardelli chocolate chips (I add 1 Cup )
- 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
Wet Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 Cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
To Prepare Brownies:
In a bowl, beat eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients and stir well.
Spread into a greased 9inch square baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 34-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.
This recipe makes 16 super-chocolaty brownies!!!
To make a share with friends, simply do the following:
1. Layer the dry ingredients only from the recipe above into a 1-quart glass jar.
2. Close the jar with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Type the recipe above on a decorative recipe card.
4. Punch a hole in the upper-left corner of the recipe card and thread a pretty ribbon or yard through it for tying around the neck of the jar.
Filed under Brownies by on Jan 2nd, 2010. Comment.
Simple Brownie Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 c Butter
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 c Brown sugar — packed
1/2 cup Almonds — coarsely chopped
2 Eggs — beaten
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup Flour
Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan.
Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a boil; turn off heat.
Cool for 5-10 minutes.
Rapidly stir in eggs, being careful not to cook them.
Add vanilla. In bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
Stir into sugar-egg mix.
Pour into a greased 8″ square pan.
Sprinkle with almonds and chocolate chips.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Jan 3rd, 2010. Comment.
I love to bake and brownies are my son’s favorite treat, but when I saw the TV as for the Perfect Brownie, I had my doubts. With all of the other “As Seen on TV” gizmos that have come and gone, I thought this would be another flash in the pan. But then again, having a whole pan of evenly baked brownies with a little crust on the edge and a soft center did seem appetizing.
The Perfect Brownie Pan, came with a removable tray bottom, a stand and dividers made of non-stick coating as well as a Gooey and Chewy Recipe Booklet and 10 stencils to decorate the tops of your brownies. The pan itself is of good quality and is nonstick, but I still recommend using a bit of oil or spraying with Pam before adding your brownie mix to the pan. The recipe booklet is decent, but you can find many of the recipes for free online. The stencils are very cute and there is one for just about every holiday. The stand and removable tray bottom are also nice accessories. The sides drop down and the bottom stays up on a pedestal that easily displays the brownies. I thought for sure the batter would leak at the bottom, but amazingly enough, it worked just fine.
On my first test run of the Perfect Brownie Pan my son kept peeking through the oven window to watch their progress. Soon the timer started beeping and my son scrambled to help me pull them out of the oven. The smelled and looked divine. We impatiently waited for the batch to cool and then we gently pulled the dividers out. To our surprise the dividers slipped out with ease, not messing up one single brownie. My son grabbed a brownie out of the middle of the pan and took a bite. He was definitely impressed. The recipe I had used was one of our favorites, but sometimes the brownies in the center of the pan came out undercooked and too gooey. We were impressed that the all the brownies were baked to perfection. It was perfectly crusty the outside just like that of an edge piece and the inside had just the right amount of ooey gooey goodness.
Since then my son and husband have also become confident enough to bake brownies on their own, not waiting for me to get home from work. I would definitely recommend this product to any level of baker, from the casual holiday baker to the pro, the Perfect Brownie is the way to go.
Want more free brownie recipes? Pick up my book “Big Book of Brownies” before you go.
Filed under Brownies by on Jan 3rd, 2010. Comment.
Ingredients:
1 cup Butter or margarine
4 oz Unsweetened chocolate
2 cup Sugar
4 Eggs
1 cup All purpose flour
2 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Chopped walnuts (or Pecans)
1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate
Directions:
In a 2 quart saucepan melt butter or margarine and unsweetened chocolate over low heat.
Transfer chocolate mixture to a large mixer bowl.
Add sugar, mix well, add eggs, one at a time, beating just till blended.
In a mixing bowl stir together flour and baking powder.
Add to chocolate mixture along with the vanilla, mix well.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 13x9x2 inch baking pan.
Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and chocolate pieces.
Bake in oven at 325 degrees F about 45 minutes or till done.
Let cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
Filed under Brownies by on Jan 3rd, 2010. Comment.
