Have you ever considered the simplicity of a brownie? With very few ingredients you can have a beautiful pan of yummy in under 30 minutes. It does ignite a debate occasionally with some people “team cake” and others “team fudge”. I stand in the middle. This recipe could go either way depending on oven time. A happy medium you could say. My people, however, were “team fudge” today and that is what I gave them…Instant happiness!
The Usual Cast of Characters
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs,at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder
7 oz roughly chopped chocolate or large chocolate chips
The Steps to Glory
Preheat oven to 175°C | 350°F.
Lightly grease an 8×12-inch baking pan with cooking oil spray. Line with parchment paper (or baking paper); set aside.
Combine melted butter, oil and sugars together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk well to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat until lighter in color (another minute).
Sift in flour, cocoa powder and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until JUST combined (do NOT over beat as doing so well affect the texture of your brownies).
Fold in 3/4 of the chocolate pieces.
Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top out evenly, and top with remaining chocolate pieces.
Bake for 25-30 minutes for just under-done brownies (fudgier texture) or until the center of the brownies no longer jiggles and is JUST set to the touch.
After 15-20 minutes, carefully remove them out of the pan and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing into 16 brownies. They set while they cool.
Helpful Hint…
*Do not over beat your batter once the flour and cocoa powder are added if you desire fudgy brownies, that creates air pockets in the batter which will give you cake-like textured brownies.
*Store at room temperature for 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. These brownies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving OR reheat in the microwave.
We had a visitor this week from school. Tina Tiger, the Mayer of second grade, enjoyed the brownies and journaled all about the experience.
Remember when you opened your blog to find out you accidentally erased 2 years of photos? That happened this weekend. It is a slow process to add them back in one by one, but I’m determined! I will see you next week with I hope happier news.
It has been a wild few weeks with the weather, I mean just look at Texas. The snow has been mind boggling. Maryland received its fair share of Arctic temperatures and ice showers, with a little snow thrown in for good measure. It was cozy in the house…and then it was too cozy in the house. We all needed to go back to work/school. It also made me really really anxious to start some planned renovations that were put on the back burner because of Covid delays. I love this 100 year old house. It has great bones. It’s just time to put those great bones to work.
This week left me wondering if spring could be just around the corner. The balmy 40 degree weather, birds attempting to build a nest in the door wreath, daffodils poking out of the earth seem to speak of this change and I must admit I’m ready for it. I always miss the beauty of a snow day mid week, but I think I’m done for the year…at least until next December! Enjoy some decor touches that seem to bridge winter into spring for me. No bunnies or heavy floral touches yet.
Pears remind me of late winter…not sure why. Crisp blue and pine cones add a simple touchAntique bottles and Asian touches add color and sparkle to a grey afternoon. The more pears the betterStill a little time for winter cozy.
I love collections in my home. Things displayed in multiples seems to speak to my decorating soul in a powerful way. I have made some mistakes along the way….think 1990 Longenberger basket obsession…when I realized I was collecting what I thought I should be collecting rather than what I really wanted to collect. Expensive lesson for me. I am a wiser collector now. Let me share some life lessons I have learned on my collection journey…and show off a few of my most favorites at the same time
1. Display collected items together…they lose their impact if they are separated . Think of Grandma’s home with her ceramic cats scattered throughout the house on every surface….don’t do that! I like how my vintage rolling pins look in this giant egg basket…suddenly simple objects are seen as an elevated art display!
2. Collect what you love and what resounds with your soul…Be honest when you no longer feel the love and gift or donate. Also, don’t serve as a storage facility for family member’s “treasures” out of guilt or obligation . If you don’t love Aunt Lulu’s souvenir thimble collection , find someone who will delight in them…Aunt Lulu would approve! Many of the chickens on display on my dining room hutch come from a friend who inherited them from a relative. After 20 years of storage I was excited to give them an honored spot in my home.
3. Don’t collect with your child’s college fund in mind…unless you collect early Picasso abstracts. We all know someone with tubs of Beanie Babies in their basement just waiting for the magical buyer to show up and pave the way to Harvard. The price of my beloved Lusticru omelet pans (French flea market finds) on eBay tempts me to enlist my friends to send me every piece they can find…but then the memory of finding these beauties would be forgotten in the crush of enamelware.
4.Master the art of rotation. Seasonal collections are a great way to freshen decor with little effort. For example, I display seasonal vintage postcards on a 24 pane window in my kitchen. They make me smile. In May and June I display vintage French seed labels.
5. The best collections are aquired over time and experience. It is so tempting to see a beautiful collection on a blog and jump on the EBay express to immediately duplicate it. Most likely that blogger has been collecting for years and that collection represents her/his life and experiences. Let your collections represent you! This collection of antique kokeshi dolls is unique to me and my life experiences in Japan. I have never seen a collection like it and love the unique and unexpected element it adds to my home.
Someday I hope the Princess will share my love of collecting…beyond collecting compliments…and how was she ever this tiny!
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