Brownies that will be there for you

If you follow this blog and/or have lived in Nashville, you know that my city is flooding. (If you don’t have a tie to the area, you may not be aware of exactly how difficult the situation is. There is a sense that the national media is not covering the disaster and I don’t really have an opinion either way. But I will say this: Davidson County has been declared a state of emergency. The river crested last night and hopefully, that means things will get better. There is flooding on 1st and 2nd Avenue, and some in 3rd and 4th. There’s water in the Bridgestone Arena (formerly the Sommet Center) and LP Field where the Titans play. Opryland Hotel is in 10 or more feet of water and the Opry Mills Mall is surrounded. The Grand Ole Opry is flooded, but the Ryman is currently OK. There is a fear that our one functioning water treatment plant will be affected (the other one is already under water) and Davidson and Williamson Counties are conserving water. But as I woke up singing this morning, He “is God alone, from before time began, He was on His throne . . . in the good times and the bad.”

All that said, today’s Tuesday cooking post is one of the items I made to deal with my stress and anxiety during this stressful weekend. Apparently, folks, while I’m not a stress eater (I’m an emotional/depression eater), I am a stress cooker/baker. This weekend, I made brownies, spaghetti sauce, and meatballs for the spaghetti. And I’m telling you about the wonderfulness of those brownies today! Yummy!

First, let me tell you something important: this isn’t a recipe I’ve just come up with. For years, I’ve been making a recipe for brownies called “Absolute Best Brownies” from a cookbook called Cooking with FRIENDS by Amy Lyles Wilson and Jack Bishop. And by FRIENDS, I mean the TV show.

It’s one of those TV show-themed cookbooks, which frankly, most of the time don’t have any good recipes in them because they’re more about the show and the characters than actual good food. This one is different. While it talks about the show and has features on the characters and kitschy little intros and references to tha characters in recipes, there are some stellar recipes in there. Like the blueberry muffins in the Central Perks chapter. And the meatloaf in the Comfort Foods section. And most certainly, the brownies in the Sumptuous Desserts chapter. For information on the cookbook, visit this page on Amazon. This brownie recipe is really good, if you like cake-like brownies.

All that preamble finished, let’s get cooking!

First, the cast of characters:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. I use Baker’s Joy. And let me tell you, when your baked goods come out of the pans correctly, it is a joyful experience. Note that this is an 8-inch pan. This doesn’t make a HUGE batch of brownies.

2. Melt 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons) and your 2 ounces of baking chocolate. I never, never, never have baking chocolate, so I always use cocoa. Usually, on your cocoa container, you can find the substitution info on how to use cocoa for baking chocolate. It’s 3 tablespoons cocoa and 1 tablespoon shortening or oil, I believe. When the butter and chocolate is melted and shiny and smooth, take it off the heat and set it aside. Also, don’t forget that this has no sugar in it and take a big ol’ taste. You’ll regret that. You might even spit chocolate into your sink. Not that I know or anything. Geeze.

3. In a small bowl, mix together 2/3 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

4. Stir 1 cup sugar into the chocolate/butter mixture. It will look kind of like coffee grounds for a bit. Beat in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla by hand. The coffee ground-like mixture will become smoother and infinitely yummier. Also, for these brownies, I used an egg product. Think Egg Beaters. Sometimes, I scramble Egg Beaters for breakfast and sometimes I bake with them. I only had two eggs left, Nashville was flooding, and I felt like using the egg product rather than all my eggs. Do what you like!

5. Little by little, fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. Add in nuts, if desired. I added in glazed walnuts because I had them and thought it would be a nice addition.

6. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes in the oven. Cool, then serve. I drank the last of my milk with mine. In the middle of the DELUGE! Oh, well. I was able to get to the grocery store yesterday and get more milk. 🙂 All is well.

Ingredients: 1 stick butter 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate or 6 tablespoons cocoa and 2 tablespoons oil/shortening 2/3 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs (or egg product) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 cup chopped nuts, if you like