Chocolate Brownies

How to make Chocolate Brownies

      I fell in love with the chewy chocolaty heaven on earth; the first time I ever tasted these yummies which was well into adulthood & I thought, OMG! I have been deprived of this delicacy, all my life!! :) After all, what's not to like about them? I like to think of it as a cake, without the frills; which makes it a no mess, on the go dessert. The easy to make, brownie is a cross between a cake & a cookie, in texture. But, you can have them as you like - sprinkle with powdered sugar, Take it with some milk, drizzle some chocolate sauce on top, warm it up & serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, you could also use it on top of this delectable, Oreo Shake. I chose to eliminate nuts in this recipe for my son & added a few white chocolate chips instead, but you could add walnuts if you like. This recipe is also great in the sense, that it does not give off an eggy smell in your brownies.

   

       While thinking about this post, I was intrigued to find out about the origin of the decadent brownie & it goes like this - A chef at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel created the confection after Bertha Palmer requested a dessert for ladies attending the Chicago 1893 World Fair; it should be, she said, smaller than a piece of cake, though still retaining cake-like characteristics and easily eaten from boxed lunches. These first brownies featured an apricot glaze and walnuts, and they are still being made at the hotel according to the original recipe. (Source: Wikipedia)

Prep: 25 mins Bake: 45 mins Cool: 2 hrs
Makes: 16 to 22 depending on size

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup butter or Margarine

3/4 Cup or 6 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 & 1/3 Cups Sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 large eggs

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1/4 to 1/2 Cup of Walnuts (Optional)

Vegetable Shortening - for greasing

Special Equipments required:
Electric mixer

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13 x 9 inch or 9-inch square pan with shortening. 
• In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
• In medium bowl, beat sugar, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Beat in flour just until blended, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in Walnuts, if you like. Spread in pan.
• Bake 40 to 45 minutes or just until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack. For brownies, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

 Tips:

• To keep the edges moist and chewy, watch carefully to be sure you don’t over bake the brownies.
• To ensure recipe success if using a vegetable oil spread, use a spread with at least 65% vegetable oil & do not use self-rising flour in this recipe.

Sharing this recipe adapted from Betty Crocker's cook book; with Sri Valli's CCChallenge # 7 week 3.