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.