Books and Brownies

Sep. 7, 2008

STOP THE PRESSES!!

OK, yes, I am aware that there are no actual presses involved with this blog. However, something totally unexpected and important has happened:

I FOUND A BETTER BROWNIE RECIPE!!

Now, maybe this is not a good thing, since I have 30 pounds to lose from my pregnancy (essentially the same 30 pounds I spent all of last year losing), but I love brownies! In my very first blog entry, I shared my search for a good, inexpensive brownie recipe and the one that I found that fit my requirements. I have been making that recipe for nearly 10 years. But the other day on the Well-Trained Mind forum, someone posted a Fudgy Brownie recipe that looked good, and it's better than the one I have.

(As a total aside, when finding the link for my first blog entry, I realized that Books and Brownies has passed its second anniversary! Hard to believe!)

Without further ado, here is the recipe, because I know all of you want to go make it right away!

Fudgy Brownies

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts
optional: sprinkle chocolate chips on the top before baking

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa and baking soda.
Add 1/3 cup oil and water; beat until smooth.
Beat in the remaining oil, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour.
Stir in walnuts.
Spread into a greased 13x9 baking pan.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, check with a toothpick if you want.

I don't like nuts in my brownies, so I would leave them out. Essentially this recipe is the same as my other one; you use the same amounts of flour, sugar and cocoa. The oil is the same, but you use one less egg, which means less fat. You use less vanilla and salt, and baking soda instead of baking powder. So not only is this recipe better, it's also cheaper! The only additional ingredient is the boiling water. My daughters made it for me while I napped the other day and baked it for 38 minutes, which is a little long for my taste. The pan I made yesterday, I baked for 27, which was a little short. Next time I will probably do 30 minutes.

It's Sunday, so go bake a pan of brownies and then sit back and watch football and think of me!

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Comments

Books and brownies are two things we have a lot of at our house! In this blog I'll be writing about our lives, including teaching and learning other languages, books we read and movies we watch, and of course, homeschooling our children, who range in age from 19 to newborn. Our oldest son has graduated and is off to college! We'll still be busy with the other 6 children: two older girls, and four boys 5 and under. We're glad you joined us!