DONNA JEAN'S BROWNIES

Donna Jean is a friend from CA who is also a retired teacher. We also attended the same church in Ventura.....she still is very active there. Whenever we had a pot luck or any other occasion when food was involved, she always brought her brownies that she called, "Everything But the Kitchen Sink Brownies". She added whatever she had available to them and everyone loved them.

I recently was trying to find something to take to Dinner Club and I found her recipe in a cookbook the church women compiled a number of years ago. I think it was printed before she really got creative with the recipe because she just called them "Cake Box Brownies".  In her honor, I am calling them

DONNA JEAN'S BROWNIES

1  chocolate cake mix (with pudding) (I used a Devil's Food Cake Mix with pudding)

1   stick (1/2 cup) margarine, melted

1   egg

1/3  cup water

Mix by hand.

Add:

1   cup flaked coconut

1  (12-oz) pkg chocolate chips (I used the Winter Dark Chocolate and Mint chips)

1   cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Batter will be thick.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.

Spread batter in pan.  (I used a knife to help to spread the batter to the edge of the pan as the batter is fairly thick.)

Bake only 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven immediately.

Let set on wire rack until it falls and cools.  Cut into squares.

A tip I saw on Pinterest that works...just look at the picture above.  Cut brownies with a plastic knife and it makes nice clean cuts.

The recipe makes a really good gooey brownie.  

If you want to be creative like Donna Jean is, you can add chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, or M & M's,  Reese's Pieces, etc.  You be creative.