CHOCOLATE BROWNIES (BROWNIE BROWNIES)

When my family was all getting together and they asked me to bring dessert, I brought (as requested) an apple pie and brownies. I shared the Butterscotch Crumb Apple Pie with you yesterday. Hope you saw it. Today I am sharing one of the brownie recipes I made to share with them.(Yes, I made two different kinds.)

I was intrigued when I read the intro to the recipe as it implied this was the first published brownie recipe ever. It said, 
       "One often reads about the importance of the Sears, Roebuck catalog to rural America in the nineteenth century, but who would have guessed that the first published chocolate brownie recipe appeared in that catalog in 1897?" Mom's Best Desserts by Andrea Chesman & Fran Raboff

I made the recipe (they loved them btw) and then the next day decided to do some research online and see if the recipe I had used was the first brownie recipe. I found some interesting reading here. I'm not going to try to restate what the sit said. You should really check out the site to see photos of the original clippings if you are interested. 

While I am not sure the recipe was printed in the catalog (if it was, it wasn't included in the posts pictures), but the recipe I am sharing is the same as the early ones it documents except for two things - the addition of the vanilla and the 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate. Guess Andrea and Fran wanted to brownies to be a little richer. 

I omitted the walnuts because several in the family do not like nuts in things. They eat them alone but not in food. If I were making them just for my husband and me, I would include the nuts.

My family called them Brownie Brownies. 

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

2        ounces semisweet chocolate, or 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2        ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2     cup butter (1 stick)
1         cup sugar
1/4     teaspoon salt
1         teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2        large eggs
1/2     cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2     cup chopped walnut.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour an 8 - inch square baking pan.

In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the chocolates and butter over low heat,

stirring until smooth.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt.

Add the vanilla

and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in the flour and nuts,

mixing until blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top feels dry and looks shiny. The inside will be soft, but will firm up when cooled.

Cool the brownies completely inn the pan on a rack, then cut into squares.

The secret to cutting these brownies so cleanly is to use a plastic knife.