12 July 2010

TWD: Brrrrownies


or however they are spelled.

I was major mega OMFG Dudes excited about this week's recipe (chosen by Karen) because it involves two of my fave things:  1) homemade brownies and 2) York Peppermint Patties.  Both fall squarely under the category of Things I Cannot Have In The House Because I Will Eat Them For Dinner And That Behavior Is Not Becoming In A Person Past Thirty. 

The recipe promised to be a quick one, too, extra special hooray good because I was already distracted in my first week back home by a couple of new acquisitions:


Visiting my friend Maura last week got me excited and determined again to work on sewing and quilting. She is absolutely ridonkculous with making fabulous stuff, and while I'll never get there she sure makes it look like fun.  I had tried sewing as a kid but quickly got frustrated with things not turning out as I wanted them to,  and for some unknown reason it never seemed to occur to me to ask my grandmother, who I only lived with my whole childhood and who only sewed like, I don't know, all the time for assistance or lessons.  I can vividly remember watching her lay out and cut material for dresses and quilts on the kitchen table (as well as occasionally reaching into a pile of cloth and coming up stuck with pins, realizing too late I had just tried to grab her latest quilt-top in progress).  Anyway, I bought the machine from a collector here.  I think I shall name it Phyllis, in homage to her 1971 birth.  I got the cabinet at a local thrift store and spent all week stripping, refinishing, and repainting it.  It was a lot of work but I think it came out pretty well.  And now I have a bunch of books and am blithely neglecting most everything else in my fervor to sew stuff. 

But I did squeeze in time to make the brownies.  I melted the chocolate and butter in the microwave instead of the stove.  I only had 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, so I did the "cocoa +butter" sub for the other ounce.


It was all good till I added the eggs, then it seized up something awful.  Is it because the eggs were cold?



The finished batter was still really thick--and it only thinly covered the bottom of the pan.

When they were done, I was dismayed.  Oh, word?  THIS is what they are supposed to look like?



These are without a doubt the fugliest things I have ever baked.  But they are also so so SO good!  Perfect chewy (NOT fudgy) consistency, though I wasn't super thrilled that they were impossible to get out of the pan.  And peppermint patties!  YUM.  I would like to be able to share them but they are just too hideous.  Maybe with a smear of icing--and a better method to keep them from sticking.  Or maybe i just make other stuff--chocolate tarts and such--for company and keep these ALL. TO. MYSELF. *sinister laugh*

11 comments:

Mary said...

They look wonderful--I can see the chunks of York patties in them! Sometimes the ugly things are great cause you can keep them for yourself! I just finished up the last of a failed panna cotta--yum, and no photographic evidence!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

You post made me giggle. :) My mom quilts. I hope you enjoy that! Thanks for baking with me this week!

Paula said...

If your sewing turns out as nice as your cabinet, you are in business! You're going to need those brownies when you take a break from sewing.

Maura said...

Yay yay for sewing!!! And baking!!!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Mine were a mess too and they stuck to the foil! They were good though!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

Can you sew and bake at the same time? If not, you have a treat after being crafty.

Cindy said...

I am going to start sewing more. TWD has made me gain 15 lbs! Sewing just may be more figure friendly. The brownies were excellent!

Susan said...

Great post! :) My brownies stuck to the foil too, thought not totally. Sewing? What's that? :D

Nickki said...

looks aren't important when the finished product tastes that good! Mine also stuck to the foil so I didn't end up with perfect uniform sized brownies. But they were delicious anyway :-)

Anonymous said...

sometimes the ugliest (which they are not) are the best tasting! These look wonderful - so glad you fit them into your schedule!

Rachel said...

I like your strategy...if they're too ugly to share, I get to keep them all for myself!

 

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