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Brownies are
definitely America's favorite bar cookie (square). It is hard to believe that
they began their life in a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog over 100 years ago
(1897). Brownies are so named because of their dark brown color, not because
they contain chocolate. In fact, the first brownie recipes didn't even contain
chocolate. When I looked in Fannie Farmer's 'Boston Cooking School Cook Book'
the Brownie recipe calls for butter, sugar, Porto Rico molasses, an egg, flour,
and pecan meat. So, I think we can say that our Brownie has evolved over the
last century. Today, there are recipes for plain
brownies ("cakey" or "fudgy"), with nuts, or without; ones with cream cheese, ones that
are coffee flavored,
or fruit flavored, there are caramel
flavored brownies, mint brownies, peanut butter brownies,
rocky road brownies, and even blondies (brownies that have a butterscotch, not
chocolate flavor). But the one thing they all have in common is that they are
wonderfully rich and chocolately.
This brownie recipe makes a large
batch (9 x 13 inch pan) which makes them perfect for large gatherings. They have that
deep chocolate flavor which comes from adding lots of semisweet chocolate to the batter. As I have
stated so often with other chocolate recipes, the quality of the chocolate will affect
the taste of your brownies. So buy the best you can
afford. When choosing a chocolate, always buy
one that you enjoy eating out-of-hand. Look for chocolate that has
a lovely shiny finish (a sign that the chocolate was cooked at the right
temperature for the right amount of time) and one that has that wonderful 'snap'
when you break it into pieces. Although this recipe does not call for nuts, you
could add a cup or so if you like. Toasted
and chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts are excellent choices and you could even
add chunks or
chips of dark or white chocolate.
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