Brown(ie) Girl

Who doesn't love brownies? With the recent post-holiday dearth of sweets in the house, I stopped by my corner coffee chain in the hopes of picking up one of their very good peanut butter cookies.

Alas, it was not to be. Sold out! Well, that's okay. You can adapt. There are other sweet options to be had. Breathe...

In the end, I went with this brownie and a lactose-free vanilla bean latte. The latte, as always, was yummy. The brownie, though, left a lot to be desired. Overly sweet, overly dense, and not chocolatey enough. Ah well. Lesson learned.

But this got me to thinking. It's been a very long time since I've made brownies. Sometime in the last few years, I've become more and more apprehensive about baking. I haven't strictly followed a recipe in so long, I doubt my own ability to do so anymore.

I think this weekend, I'll give it a shot. I mean, brownies aren't fussy, so I should be alright. The recipe on the side of Fry's Cocoa (which, as a beverage, is amazing with a shot of Grand Marnier, btw) seems a good place to start. If I do it, I'll be sure to post the results here.

If you'd like to make it too, here's the recipe.

• 1 ⅓ c. (325 mL) all-purpose flour


• 1 tsp. (5 mL) baking powder


• ½ tsp. (2 mL) salt


• 1 c. (250 mL) butter


• 1 c. (250 mL) Fry's Cocoa


• 2 c. (500 mL) sugar


• 4 eggs


• 1 ½ tsp. (7 mL) vanilla


• 1 c. (250 mL) chopped nuts

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in cocoa. Blend in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 x 2-in (3.5 L) rectangular baking pan. Bake in preheated 350°F (180°C) oven for 30 to 35 minutes until done. Cool.