Summer is winding down, and while I am eager for cooler days, I am sad to see summer go. Late summer in Colorado is a season of reflection and anticipation. Sunflowers abound. Days are still in the 90s, but mornings are chilly. The wild grass in our open space is long, dry, and golden. Fall is coming, but peaches and watermelon are still everywhere.
Summer is a season for reading at the Trent home, another reason late summer is bittersweet. I read anyway I can, but lately I’ve been “reading” audiobooks. It works well when I spend hours each day driving my kiddos around. I also read on my kindle and via physical books (most all of them come from the library, which means my annotation habit has all but dried up).
My husband, on the other hand, exclusively reads physical books. His eyes gloss over on a kindle, and his mind wanders when it comes to audiobooks. I’ve discovered that I’m the say way with recipes. While I can follow digital recipes, I far and away prefer physical copies. I cherish my collection of handwritten recipes.
So today I am sharing my brownie recipe, handwritten by my friend Becca, 16 years ago, when I was bemoaning all the scratch brownie recipes that required more work than I was willing to put in. “I just want one that doesn’t require me to temper chocolate.” As I was living without a dishwasher, I cannot be blamed.
“I’ve got that,” Becca said. She grabbed a sticky note and wrote down the recipe has become cannon when it comes to brownies in the Trent home. Brownies are not cookies, but they are kin. And they are extremely important when I am too hot/cold and too tired to scoop 4 dozen cookies.
I’ve made these gluten free and dairy free (note the annotation of salt if you are using coconut oil in place of butter). I’ve made these at sea level and at altitude. I’ve served these with ice cream, frosted, and straight up. Chocolate chips have been added on occasion. Ditto with peanut butter. I’ve made them at my sister’s house after new babies. I’ve made them at my grandma’s beach house. Do more decadent, chocolatier brownies exist? Sure. Am I interested in making them? Nope. “The heart wants what it wants.”
Brownies
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 cup flour
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla and cream. Add in cocoa powder and flour and mix until combined. Scrape into a greased 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Although at altitude it is often more like 25-35.