Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Brownies are All American!



Let's talk about ... brownies!

When I worked yesterday, we decided the week before that we would all bring food for the 4th of July.  I was asked to bring some baked beans.  Now, knowing that sometimes others don't come through on bringing dishes, I also took along a tray of brownies.
They were...drum roll, please... a big hit! YAY!
The men that I work with are not the kind that are given to superlatives.  You know the kind?  So, when one of them came to me and said, "Your brownies are AWESOME", I was thrilled to  bits!  (Oh sorry that is something that my English mother-in-law says, you get the idea.)  Another one of my co-workers told me that when somebody else ate one, his eyes rolled heavenwards (but in a good way) and exclaimed, "Oh, that is SO good". 

Okay, what is my secret for making good brownies?  Now, pay attention, and I will tell you.  Cook brownies slightly less than the time called for in the recipe. (Mine were just two minutes less than the specified time.)  Do NOT overbake them. Once baked, cut them into pieces that will fit into cupcake papers.  (In England, they say "fairy cakes"!) Place the brownies onto the prettiest tray that you have. 
That's it!   

Oh, and did I use some fancy recipe? Not on your life, I just bought a brownie mix and followed the directions. (Just baked them slightly less, that is all!)
 
Brownies were first developed in the USA at the last half of the 19th century.  All American, baby but hey, we don't mind sharing!
You may read all about them here.  Go on, you know you want to!

Wait...what is this?  I don't have a photo of my brownies but I made Richard a teacake recently...I will have to tell you all about that in another post!  Hmm...just noticing, that cake is on an English plate, and that is an English teapot and English tea in the background!  And this post was supposed to be all about my American brownies! Never mind, I like them both...brownies and teacakes!

I always think of Jimmy Cagney from "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on the 4th of July...doesn't everyone?

27 comments:

  1. I like brownies but there is that trick. Completely cooked brownies are much too dry. In order to make them more moist too many cooks under-cook them to the point that they are not done. Yours sound good.

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    1. Bit sad to be so happy when someone likes your brownies from a box! Think of me when you make great brownies now! :-)

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  2. Dry brownies are so disappointing, aren't they! Thank you for sharing your secret :-)
    My Mum makes brownies, too, and blondies sometimes. She is retired and has a lot more time on her hands than you, therefore she does not use mixes for anything she bakes, but makes everything from scratch.
    I like the look of your tea cake, and since I suppose it was gluten-free, I am curious about your recipe.

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    1. Your Mom is a great baker I am sure AND I bet a good cook too! Believe it or not, I have also made them from scratch but homemade or from a box, just slightly underbaking them and putting them in a the cupcake papers is what puts them over the top!
      That teacake, I was happy to find the recipe, it WAS gluten free and since it looked so good, I had to take a photo of it! I might put the recipe on here, you know me, I am not much of a baker or cook, I feel a little funny talking about food! :-)

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  3. I'm just back from an early morning baking session at my commercial kitchen Kay. As you know...I bake nothing BUT brownies most days.Trays and trays of them. I'd always heard they were invented in Canada, but I'm not going to argue with an American about that and I'm prepared to stand corrected!! I no longer eat them myself, just too chocolate-d out most days, but I never get tired of making them and,thankfully, my customers never seem to get tired of eating them! Have a great day x

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    1. Hey Rachel! Wish I could have just ONE of your brownies!!
      Brownies are Canadian? NO, say it's not so! LOL!
      Hey, Canada already can claim Michael J. Fox and Justin Trudeau, they can at least let us have our brownies claim!
      So wonderful to see your comment here, Rachel!!

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  4. I love you 'recipe' for heavenly brownies. Oddly I think 'cupcakes' has taken over in the UK now. Unless I'm very much mistaken I haven't heard one referred to as a fairy cake for a long time. Cupcakes are all the rage here even being used in tiers for wedding cakes.

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    1. You are right, cupcakes are the rage here too! I hope that you still say "fairy lights" for the lights that you string up!
      Make some brownies and follow my advice, why don't you? Let me know how they turn out!

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  5. Love the old Yankee Doodle Dandy, always an exciting song. I have never had any success with brownies, not that I have tried often. Now I am thinking shorter baking time is probably my problem. Will take note, and look forward to your tea cake recipe which looks very appealing too.

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    1. Don't you just LOVE Yankee Doodle Dandy? You know I do!
      Meike said above that she also was curious about my teacake, so that settles it, look for my recipe in a future post! :-)

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  6. I'm glad the brownies were a smash hit. Interesting trivia note; the brownie might be all-American, but "The Brownies" - our version of the girl scouts - are, quite obviously, not.

    Then again, I doubt anyone other than you or me will find that titillating.

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    1. Thank you, Mark! You are inspiring to me today!
      Look out for a future post and you will know what I mean!

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  7. Ohhh..now I want brownies and cake ! I have a sweet tooth and won't deny it.

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    1. Hey! Go on and make some brownies, I give you my permission!

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  8. I haven't seen a James Cagney movie in a long time . . . . Always a fave!

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    1. I love Jimmy Cagney! He won an Academy Award for his role in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and it was well deserved!

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  9. Love brownies. Yours sound delicious.

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    1. Guess what, I took them all to work and didn't even sample one. I THOUGHT I took them all but I kept two because they didn't fit on my tray...I had one at lunch today and that guy at work was right...AWESOME!!

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  10. Hi Kay - When I first came to America over 25 years ago, I didn't like brownies at all. I found them too chocolaty. I know that sounds strange to any American. However, when I got pregnant with my triplets I started to crave chocolate, and guess what, I just couldn't get enough brownies. I loved them. That's what happens when you are going to give birth to three all American kids. Hope you had a lovely 4th of July.

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    1. Ha, ha...that happens when you are going to give birth to THREE all American kids! So funny!
      Mairead, so happy to see your comment here! I hope YOU had a wonderful 4th of July, my fellow American!!:-)

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  11. Thanks for sharing your secret, and your teacake looks lovely!

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    1. I will give you the recipe for the teacake, I thought it was pretty awesome too! :-)

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  12. Yum! Yum! Brownies! I was going to make a tea cake yesterday, but didn't get around to it (I've been catching up on "Suits"....I got connected to Netflix...and I've been bingeing)!

    I might just have to put some time aside tomorrow and bake a cake! There's othing wrong with using packet mixes. I sometimes do, too...and I always add a few extra ingredients, to add to the flavour etc; particularly when I make the date loaf mixes...I usually mash in a banana or two; add spices, walnuts and crystallized ginger, and sometimes even maple syrup to the mix, and a little more over the top of the loaf as soon as I take it from the oven, while it's still hot.

    Now I wish I'd made that tea cake yesterday! :)

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    1. You are SUCH a good baker and cook, I just know that anything that you turn your hand to will be perfect!
      That teacake that you see in my photo? It was the very FIRST one that I had ever made! I love them in England and when I found the recipe for a gluten free one, I had to try it!

      Hope you have baked something since you wrote this!

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  13. I like both of them too! Our teacakes tend to be a bit darker which I think is from the kind of sugar we'd use - don't quote me on that though! It was my quilt group's summer party this week and my dish was a resounding success to my surprise - a salad of broad beans, radish, red onion and feta with mint and toasted cumin seeds. Luckily I'd taken the recipe with me as I couldn't be bothered writing out the ingredients (they're a notoriously fussy lot and always have to check that something doesn't have particular ingredients in it). Well this time they were all copying it out for themselves! Brownie point to me! (see what I did there ;-) xx

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    1. I LOVE to have toasted teacake when I am in England!
      Your salad sounds yummy. Yes, BROWNIE points to you, you make me laugh!
      Have a lovely weekend, Julie! xx

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  14. I don't dare make brownies ~ I wouldn't be able to stop eating them, Kay. I did make oatmeal raisin cookies for a BBQ though. Your teacake looks like what we call tea-bread. Too bad that you had to work on the 4th. It sounds like you had a good day though.

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