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Brownies. I'll bet all your senses just came alive with memories of sweet treats past. Let's talk brownies tonight...
Brownies made their first appearance in 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair, where a dessert was requested that would "be easy to eat from boxed lunches, and would be smaller than a piece of cake." By 1907 at least two recipes had been published, and 100 years later I daresay there must be as many recipes as there are brownie lovers. Over the years I've made brownies with chocolate chips, nuts, craisins, peanut butter and more have been baked in. They've been frosted, powdered-sugared, and just last month I had a birthday "cake" made of brownies filled with raspberry jam then frosted.
Brownies can be cakelike or fudgy, made with cocoa or chocolate, have one egg, or three, and no matter what your recipe they can be thick or thin depending on whether you use the 8x8 or the 13x9x2 pan. Be honest, isn't that why we all have multiple sizes of pan in the kitchen... so we can haz fewer thicker brownies (for that stat-at-home batch) OR more thinner ones (for the batch going to a gathering)?
I grew up eating batches of your basic store-bought brownie mix. Some week's Betty Crocker, other times Duncan Hines, usually whatever was on sale. Always the "chewy" recipe, never the "cakelike", since I figured if I wanted cake, I'd make cake :-). There was this phase in high school where I'm not sure my friends and I actually got the mix into the oven; no, we sat there with spoons and courted salmonella while talking about life, love and who got to lick the spatula.
Fast-forward to college, and until I moved off-campus and had access to an oven, my brownies were of the institutional dining hall variety. This led to a foray in graduate school with homemade versions... Betty Crocker and Nestle were the comforts of my lab days... until I met Mr. Brillig. When he thinks brownies, only one recipe comes to mind... the one on the Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate Squares box.
Be very, very careful with that link, however, if you remember the original Baker's chocolate Recipe. Because, unbeknownst to all but the purists, that recipe on the back of the box and on the website is NOT the original one. I know they changed it to make it "healthier" but c'mon... who eats brownies for their healthfulness??! Mr. Brillig put out a call when he noticed they didn't taste like he remembered, and a friend came through with a battered, flattened box. As my gift to you, the Top Comments family, I give you here the recipe on that piece of precious cardboard:
1 pkg (8 squares) unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter or margarine
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 Tbs vanilla
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Melt chocolate & butter in saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly (or heat in microwave at high power 2 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute; then stir until melted & smooth). Cool slightly. Beat eggs, sugar & vanilla in large mixer bowl on high speed for 10 minutes. Blend in chocolate mixture on low speed. Add flour, beating just to blend, Stir in nuts. Spread in greased 13x9 pan, bake at 375°F 35-40 minutes, do not overbake. Cool in pan then cut into squares. Yield: 32 brownies
So... what's in your brownies?
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Here at Top Comments, we'll take 'em all, whether snarklike or seriousy, long or short, if you like the comment then we're nearly always likely to agree! Let's see what's in the Top Comments oven tonight:
From lineatus :
land of enchantment nails it so often she should have a plaque in the Top Comments Hall of Fame. This one was wonderful (you need to read the thread to really appreciate it.)
From trashablanca:
In jennyjem's heartbreaking diary Too Little, Too Late, is Better Than Never, A Siegel eloquently points out America's fatally flawed health care system using his Father-in-Law as a prime example. We should be better than this, but our corporatocracy values profits, not our lives.
Start at the tipjar here and read Rich in PA's comments downthread for a couple of good laughs.
From RLMiller:
Orly Taitz always brings out the best snark, but my personal favorite was by megisi.
From Kitty:
CS in AZ has this top comment, which ends "I can't believe this but something has happened... that has turned me into a damn centrist. LOL."
From me, your humble diarist:
Seneca Doane wonders if this is enough to get you disbarred. One can only hope...
I haz brownies. Moody Loner haz hot chocolate. Mmmmm...
SemDem tried out the new RNC site. Inauspicious to say the least...
The timer just went off, so it must be time to pull the Top Mojo out of the oven! Both batches are awesome recipes created by our Mojo-baking duo of cskendrick and sardonyx:
Top 30 Comments excluding tip jars, first comments and stuff:
1) Yes. by TomP — 204
2) And FINALLY it is being exposed by buhdydharma — 126
3) My favorite part: by MadScientist — 122
4) lulz by mydailydrunk — 118
5) Neither does hoping for "reform" by bamabikeguy — 107
6) Brilliant. Kudos to Judge Land. by marabout40 — 99
7) Call them "Inhofe Luggies" by MinistryOfTruth — 97
8) We need to win electorally with by TomP — 94
9) So, if you're a Dem and you speak your mind by Jeff Y — 90
10) You know.... by Miss Blue — 79
11) We need a NEW new deal by MinistryOfTruth — 78
12) There are a whole lot by PsychoSavannah — 75
13) I'm glad he is fighting. by TomP — 75
14) Unfair to the immigrants, don't you think? by trs — 75
15) They wouldn't get their money's worth. by gudkatdedkat — 74
16) We don't need a F!N stimulus. by FishOutofWater — 73
17) Nicely wrought order, but by Seneca Doane — 71
18) Absolutely right by valadon — 70
19) Your overwhelming negativity by beltane — 70
20) Hang onto this ad by Dallasdoc — 67
21) Credit to ninkasi23 who diaried earlier by FishOutofWater — 66
22) So do people who live in say . . . by nyceve — 64
23) 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's by Gooserock — 62
24) Hilarious by gchaucer2 — 62
25) Allow me to do the honors. by Troubadour — 62
26) Orly responds! by COkdub — 62
27) Good afternoon Warriors & Warriorettes by amazinggrace — 62
28) hear hear! by bubbanomics — 61
29) I am with you... glad you posted this by Delilah — 59
30) Eugene Robinson Usually "Nails It," by CityLightsLover — 58
Top 30 Comments with no exclusions, aka the Tip Jar list :-):
1) When are we REALLY going to start by buhdydharma — 578
2) Tip Jar by stef — 515
3) Tip Jar by alpolitics — 469
4) Tip Jar by teacherken — 413
5) Tip Jar by bobswern — 368
6) Tip Jar by Jerome a Paris — 336
7) Tip Jar by LiberalKentuckian — 304
8) Tip Jar by Meteor Blades — 285
9) Global Sliming, the latest environmental problem by FishOutofWater — 264
10) Tip Jar by DragonPup — 258
11) Tip Jar by nyceve — 230
12) Tip Jar by TomP — 226
13) Yes. by TomP — 204
14) Tip Jar by dasheight — 195
15) Plenty room here on the porch. Welcome. by Black Kos — 158
16) Tip Jar by JR — 131
17) And FINALLY it is being exposed by buhdydharma — 126
18) Thank you for reading. by blue jersey mom — 126
19) Tip Jar by Phoenix Woman — 123
20) My favorite part: by MadScientist — 122
21) lulz by mydailydrunk — 118
22) Neither does hoping for "reform" by bamabikeguy — 107
23) Brilliant. Kudos to Judge Land. by marabout40 — 99
24) I haven't been to a good pie fight in ages! by Colorado is the Shiznit — 98
25) Call them "Inhofe Luggies" by MinistryOfTruth — 97
26) Tip Jar by Gorette — 95
27) We need to win electorally with by TomP — 94
28) Scritchie jar by khloemi — 91
29) So, if you're a Dem and you speak your mind by Jeff Y — 90
30) Tip Jar by slinkerwink — 83