Brownies


                                       
There is almost nothing that says mom and home, safety and love, like a pan of homemade brownies cooling on a rack, filling your house with good smells.♥ Running home to my mom after school, breathlessly opening the door to our house, this smell is what often greeted me.  Brownies are one of those family recipes that inspire loyalty, everyone thinks their way is the best . . . but if your family hasn’t hooked up with a brownie recipe worth fighting for, may I suggest them the way my mom made them, chewy, bendy and full of walnuts. Turn on your oven to 325° and I’ll show you how she did them.
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The best part of this brownie recipe is that the whole thing is made in one pan and then poured into a baking pan.  You don’t see that very often.  Most recipes want you to separate an egg and beat the yolk and fold in the beaten white separately.
My team: +1.
So here we go . . . if you have my Autumn Book, you can turn to page 107 and prop it up in front of you; otherwise, I’ll give you the whole recipe at the bottom of this post.  First thing is to butter an 8″ square baking pan.
Melt 2 oz. of good unsweetened chocolate with 1/3 c. real butter . . .
When they’re melted and stirred together, turn off the flame and beat in the egg, sugar, and flour.
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Stir in 3/4 c. of chopped walnuts and a tsp. of vanilla.
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Then do what comes naturally, pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly with a spatula, and pop it in the oven.

Pull it out after 30 minutes.  For chewiest results, these brownies should be cooled completely before eating. This is not easy to do.  Then cut them into squares.

Finally, they’re ready — you can eat them directly from the pan like many of the normal people do, or put them on a darling cake stand to make your table look beautiful . . . Adding a paper lace doily gives the whole scene that “professional” look!

Although at this point do we really care about professional?  No, we do not. 

But still, there is always something to be said for cute. 

B  R  O  W  N  I  E  S

  • 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
  • 1/3 c. butter
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 c. flour
  • 3/4 c. chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven 325°.  Butter an 8″ square pan.  Melt chocolate and butter in lg. saucepan.  Stir in rest of ingredients in the order given.  Spread evenly in prepared baking pan.  Bake 30 min.  Cool completely for chewiest results.  Pour the milk.  ♥


33 Responses to Brownies

  1. Martha Ellen says:

    These are the best brownies I have ever made! Believe me I’ve made many recipes. My husband is a chocoholic and I’m not too far behind! If you’re looking for the best brownie, give these a try. Trust me they are dangerously delicious and so easy to make! Thanks Susan! ♥

  2. Mary McCatherine says:

    I love that you SHOW how to make things…not just tell.

    • sbranch says:

      It’s fun to take the pictures, although one of these days I’m afraid, with my buttery, floury fingers, the click button on the camera is going to be stuck closed!!

  3. Bonnie Lippincott says:

    Good! My husband can’t eat nuts . . . so I put in chocolate chips! Yummmmm.

  4. Susan Elizabeth Roubal says:

    You had me at “…melt the chocolate and butter”! I can tell these are going to make mix buying a thing of the past! Can’t wait to try them!
    Susan Elizabeth, a home
    baker since age 7

  5. daniela medina says:

    Susan, i like a lot your blog, put me a smile on my face and happines in my heart, happy valentines day!!!!

  6. Suzanne says:

    I LOVE this recipe!! I cut mine with a heart cookie cutter, and then placed them on heart shaped doilies on my cake stand. My 14 yr old son even commented on how pretty it looks. Of course, I think his comment was intended for the CHOCOLATE brownies…he love brownies any way they come! 🙂
    Happy Valentines! Thank you for making my Winter days so bright! XOXOXOX

  7. Marcia says:

    It’s a drizzly, cold Sunday afternoon in south Texas, and I think these are the perfect way to warm up my house! xxooxxoo

  8. Wendy Louise says:

    Just made the brownies and my home smells amazing, I hope they make it to my Valentines tomorrow. My children are newly married and all so hard working, they’re in for a wonderful surprise along with heart healthy soup for their dinner. I am having so much fun this winter with your blog, tons of Thanks!!!!!

  9. Janet says:

    Susan – can I ask your opinion about adding a small amount of instant coffee or finely-ground espresso powder to chocolate recipes? I’ve heard a number of people mention this recently – supposedly it really “brings out” the flavor of the chocolate and apparently without leaving the least little taste of coffee behind. Now I love chocolate and I love coffee – and I guess it’s worth a try. But I’d like to hear the opinion of someone I trust… and not one of your recipes that I’ve tried has ever disappointed in the least. So you I most definitely trust!

    • sbranch says:

      Coffee and chocolate go so beautifully together, I don’t think you would go wrong, say for instance, when you’re making Brownies, if you wanted to add a tablespoon of coffee to it … try it, it won’t be horrible, that’s for sure, and you might like it! Joe won’t eat chocolate ice cream that doesn’t have coffee in it!

      • Janet says:

        Oh thanks for replying and so quickly! OK then… next time I make your brownies I’ll add a tablespoon of Starbucks [most excellent] espresso powder and we’ll see what happens. You’re right – it sure can’t hurt anything – and something about it just sounds really appealing to me. PS – where does Joe get chocolate ice cream with coffee in it? Not just at Mad Martha’s, I hope? Is it coffee flavoring or ground coffee that adds texture to the ice cream?

        PS – your rice salad with the vinaigrette-style dressing and veggies [from ‘The Summer Book’ I think] is such a hit at my office I’m no longer allowed to bring anything else when we have parties. Even in the winter… :>)

        • sbranch says:

          Mmmm, love that rice salad, so pretty too, in the summertime, I add lots of flower petals to it! Joe gets his ice cream at the supermarket; he likes the ones with names like espresso chocolate chip. Mad Martha’s is closed in the winter, so he gets it anywhere he can!

          • Janet says:

            Thanks for the ice cream info – I’ll have to prowl the frozen dessert section of the market next trip – because chocolate ice cream with coffee sounds wonderful. Now if I can find potato chip ice cream I’ll be all set [my favorite junk food]. These days someone probably actually makes that too!

            I love the look of the rice salad too – so VERY summery. People ALWAYS comment on it. I always try to serve it in a big white bowl to really set it off. I wonder how it would work in hollowed-out [and perfectly-ripe] tomatoes or maybe bell peppers? Uh-oh, I feel some summer-itis coming on. Can’t wait! And thanks again. You are THE BEST! :>)

          • sbranch says:

            Mmmmm, summer tomatoes! Can’t wait!

  10. Janet says:

    PS – I just noticed the pan in the second photo from the top here. My mom had one just like it when I was a kid – a nice weight to the pan I remember – not flimsy, cleaned up great and perfect for chocolate cake, brownies, meatloaf, roast chicken. She had 6 kids in 7 years… I wonder how many times that pan went into our oven? I wonder how many times I washed it? Had to be 100s – maybe even 1000+. Wow.

    Hey Mom – the older I get, the more I am Blown-Away-Impressed by all you did… and thanks Sue for inadvertently providing a great little memory here. :>)

    • Janet says:

      Just wanted to drop a quick note to say that I tried “coffee in the brownies” and they were BETTER THAN EVER – something I didn’t think was possible. No discernible coffee flavor left behind – not that that would have been a problem – but there was SOMETHING extra to the whole deal. To say the coffee ‘enhances’ the chocolate would sum it up just about perfectly, I guess. Thanks again!

  11. Lisa Nelson-Jones (East Tennessee) says:

    Just wondering if these yummy brownies would be just as delish without the walnuts?

  12. Tammy W says:

    Hi Susan! I’ve been busy working all week. And when I need a break, I steal over to my homepage (your blog) and get inspired. This week, I stumbled across this recipe and decided this weekend would be the time to try it. Just had TWO of these brownies with a glass of milk (and considering I’m almost out of milk and I live in the south and they are calling for 2-5 inches of snow tonight, I can’t find more milk for miles). They were delicious! Tried them with dark cocoa and it was just the right thing for my chocolate craving today. Thanks for the warm pick-me-up on a cold winter’s day!

  13. Going to definitely make these this week..they look wonderful.. with love Janice

  14. Barbora says:

    I’ve made these brownies three times since I discovered the recipe. My husband is crazy about them. Today he asked me if we had any brownies left and I told him no. Then he asked if I still had the recipe. I had to laugh. I made him a batch and there might be one or two left for breakfast. I only have a nine inch square pan so the brownies are thinner and I bake them for 20 minutes. Love this recipe, it’s the best! Thank you Susan.

  15. Sandra says:

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful brownie recipe. I’m going to try them this week and fill my home with the aroma of baking and love!

  16. Hobbyköchin says:

    Hi Susan ,
    a really cool retro food blog, which I really like . Also your statement with the images is great . Seeking a typical food of the United States and bin has shared with you . I’ll bake your prescription at our English group in Germany to tell . Many greetings and further says Claudia

  17. Cadie says:

    If you only have semi-sweet chocolate squares, could you just reduce the amount of sugar by a little bit?

    I’m giving these a try tonight!!

  18. Joanne Condlin Lawson. a/k/a Jody Condlin says:

    Just made a batch and 12 minutes left. House smells amazing. Can’t wait to try them. Thanks!

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