Granny's Brownies

I was going to try to start sewing more for my blog and not bake for awhile because of the whole weight-loss thing.  Yeah, didn't work so well last night.  I all of a sudden got an intense craving for brownies.  Especially my Granny B's brownies.  Aunt Peggy gave me the recipe awhile back and I've never made them.  Aunt Peggy makes them every once in awhile so I've had them before.  Totally yummy.  I had the recipe that I copied from Aunt Peggy a few months ago hanging on my fridge screaming "bake me! bake me!"  So I did. 

The original recipe (in Granny's handwriting) is one I used on my recipe box.  It's definitely a classic.  I added chocolate chips because I was totally in the mood for more chocolate.  Ooh, and the batter is REALLY REALLY thick, so if you are the type who likes to hand-stir brownie batter, use your hand mixer. 

These brownies are best straight out of the oven.  Or zapped in the microwave for about 30 seconds the next day- if they last that long.  They get a nice crisp crust on the outside and are sooo gooey and chocolatey inside.  Yum!  Thanks Granny! 

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Granny's Brownies

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 oz of baking chocolate, melted

chocolate chips (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 325.  Grease an 8x8 pan.

2.  Cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add in melted chocolate.

3.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Pour into pan and bake about 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean. 

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Easy recipe, but SO yummy.  You could totally add in whatever you want.  Nuts, peanut butter, Reese's Cups...oh yum.  I'm getting too many ideas here....

So can I just complain again how HOT it is?  It's officially fall.  For 3 days now.  And it's STILL 79 degrees.  According to my phone, feels like 93.  Not cool.  I haven't been to Starbucks yet for my Pumpkin Spice Latte because it would feel so wrong to spend $4 on one when I won't even be able to enjoy it in the cool, crisp autumn air.  Yes.  I have a vision in my head of how that is supposed to go down.  So I am making my own "pumpkin spice coffee" at home.  The grocery stores don't even have the pumpkin creamers yet, so I'm just using sweet cream creamer and sprinkling pumpkin pie spice into my coffee.  Not the same as Starbucks, but it will hold me over.  Plus I can turn the air conditioner down to 70 and pretend it's fall while I'm drinking my coffee in the morning.  Yeah right.  Like I actually do that. 

Last night I made the decision to join the Daring Bakers Challenge.  A few blogs I read have been doing the Challenge for quite awhile, so I thought I would check it out.  The Daring Bakers Challenge is a once-a-month challenge.  There's a super-secret post on their site (that you can only see if you are a Daring Baker) that gives you a recipe on the 1st of every month.  All these bloggers make the secret recipe and blog about it.  But you have to keep it a secret until the 27th of the month.  That's when all the bloggers post their experience with the recipe.  There are a LOT of rules so it sounded kind of intimidating at first, but I think it's going to be fun and give me a challenge and improve some of my less-honed baking skills.  I've seen some of the past recipes, and they definitely are a test.  But that's the fun of it.  :)  So my first challenge is coming in a week!  I can't wait to see what it is!  But you all won't see it until the 27th. 

On a side note, I have Pandora playing in the background.  I thought I had the Miranda Lambert station on, but somehow an N'Sync Christmas song started playing.  Hahahahahahah!  I love them, but I'm not quite ready for Christmas yet.  Sorry boys. 

And speaking of MIRANDA LAMBERT!!!!!!  Love that girl.  And I get to go see her tonight!  She's doing a concert after the Rays game (Go Rays!) and my friends who have season tickets so generously let me have their tickets so I could see my favorite badass lady!  Thanks friends!!  So I'm going with a couple of girlfriends to enjoy the mancandy baseball game, then rocking out to Miranda!  Woohoo!!!!!! 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  :)