Brownies

I had good intentions to start working on the recipes as soon as I set up the blog, but then the air conditioner broke. It's not much fun to bake when the house is already hot! Then I had surgery on my wrist. I'm still not allowed to lift more than 5 pounds with my right hand, so baking is a challenge, but doable.

I chose brownies for the first recipe mostly because they sound good, and also because the recipe is complete. The first challenge was deciding what kind of chocolate to buy. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 squares of chocolate, but it doesn't specify what kind of chocolate. The second challenge in the recipe was figuring out the temperate to bake at - the recipe says to use a moderate oven. I had to call mom for that one. We settled on a 350 degree oven.

As you read these recipes, some of the wording may sound a bit off. I'm typing these exactly as I found them. Enjoy the old way of writing!

Brownies

Beat 2 eggs until frothy. Beat in 1 cup sugar slowly. Melt together over hot water 2 1/2 squares chocolate and 1/2 cup shortening. Add 2 eggs mixture. and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add 1/2 cup flour sifted with 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/8 tsp salt. Mix in 1 cup nutmeats, which have been chopped but not too fine. Spread very thin on greased and floured shallow pan and bake in moderate oven 30 minutes. Cut in squares before removing from pan when still hot.

Tasting:
They're pretty good, though they could've baked a little longer. When I tested with a toothpick, it came out clean, but when I took a bite I could see they were a tad underdone. If I had spread the batter out thinner, they probably would have been fine after 30 minutes. I like nuts in brownies, but 1 cup seems like a LOT for this pan. It tasted like a lot too. Next time I may want to add a bit more flour and take out some of the nuts.

The Book

A few years ago, I came across a small binder in my mom's kitchen. After asking her about it, I learned that the faded pages falling out of the small, unassuming binder are old recipes that have been in her family for years. Some are handwritten on yellowed paper, others are cut from magazines or newspapers older than I am. I decided that before these recipes faded into unreadable oblivion (some were already close) someone (meaning me and my lovable husband) should type them out to preserve them. We spent months typing, much of the time spent trying to decipher messy shorthand, odd abbreviations, and no brand names that no longer exist. In the end, I printed and organized these recipes into a scrapbook for my mother. It turned out really well.

After the large project was finished, I was happy to leave it behind for a while. I printed and mailed a copy to my aunt (mom's only sister) for last Christmas, knowing she'd also like a copy. I was far less ambitious with this copy though, and just put it in a binder. Recently, when looking for a brownie recipe, I remembered the printed copy of these recipes I have. My husband and I have decided we should try these recipes (though we are both wary of the recipe that calls for putting salmon in lemon jello). This blog is intended to document the recipes we try, changes (improvements, hopefully!) we make to the recipes, and out thoughts on the recipes.