Monday, February 9, 2015
Chocolate Wars And A Brownie Recipe!
I don't ask for much. Just let me have a bit of chocolate now and then. That's it! I don't know if you have heard this news but Hershey's (American company) is suing Cadbury's (English company). It appears that Americans have tasted English chocolate and have fallen in love! Hershey (being the big corporate bully that it is) will stop the sale of Cadbury's Chocolates in the USA. You can read all the ins and outs of it just here. Oh, SHAME on you Hershey's!
I wondered if you noticed that I used Nestle Cocoa in my brownies? Makes me glad now! There will be NO kisses for YOU, Hershey's!
Please, don't let anyone get up on their high horse and start telling me the joys of Hershey's Chocolate and that I am being UNAMERICAN by telling you this. Hey, I don't mind a bit of a sugary chocolate taste, I even like Tootsie Rolls! It's just that if I want to buy Cadbury's Chocolates, I think that the Hershey Company shouldn't stop them from being sold here. And hey, did you know that we say "candy bars" here in the USA, but in the UK, they are called chocolate bars? I think even our very own language tells us which is the better chocolate!
Oh well. Looks like I will just have to make my brownies. And you can bet I will make them with NESTLE's Cocoa! I am boycotting Hershey's!
Brownies-
Melt 10 tablespoons butter (I have used a combo of 6 T. Butter and 4 T. vegetable oil)
Combine 6 Tablespoons NESTLE cocoa with butter.
Add 2 eggs.
Add 1 cup sugar. (Mixing well after each addition, by the way.)
Then, add 3/4 cup flour, but not all at once, just a bit at a time and mix it in. (I have to use gluten free flour for Richard, you may use regular flour.) I might use a bit less flour to be honest, maybe 1/2 cup and then, a bit more?... see what a precise baker I am?
You may add 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans... (And I say Peh-CAHNS. NOT PEE-cans...what do YOU say?)
Pour evenly into greased brownie pan. (About 8 x 10 inches, I think. I can never remember the size of pans! You can tell I am big baker! HA!)
Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Ovens vary, so check your brownies! Take out and let cool for at least 30 minutes. Cut with a cute purple plastic knife so as to not mess up your brownie pan. Oh wait, that is just what I do...you can cut them with anything you like! Let me know if you make these. I have seen this same recipe on several places on the internet, some recipes say 1/2 cup cocoa, but I measure it and 6 tablespoons seems equal to 1/2 cup cocoa, so measure it as you like. This is a simple recipe but it is good.
Valentine's Day will be this Saturday...don't give me any roses, unless they are Cadbury's Roses, they are wonderful!
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Actually the Cadbury eggs we buy at Easter are made (with permission) by Hershey. Cadbury wishes to sell their own chocolate here. I prefer the dark chocolate flavor of European chocolates to the milked down variety in the US. The brownies look good. Oh... I say pe-CAHNS. It is a regional thing I think.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know that about the Cadbury eggs. That could be why I don't think they are as good as they used to be! HA! I know folks love their dark chocolate but milk chocolate is for me. Having said that, I remember Cadbury's Moonlight...I think it was dark and milk chocolate in a packaged box. Keep in mind I am thinking of a gift from 1985, so this is going back a few years! Even my own Dad says "pecans" a different way than I do!
DeleteAnyone who doubts the superiority of English sweets will be converted the moment they taste a Malteser. Whoppers got nothin' on Maltesers!
ReplyDeleteI've always liked Nestlé chocolate over Hershey's - it's smoother and has a better mouthfeel. When it comes to Cadbury's, I think my favourite is the Lion Bar - but I like Bubbly and Yorkie too.
Pe-CAHNs, of course! :)
Ha! I know what you mean about the Whoppers vs. Maltesers!
DeleteThe Lion Bar! Funny you should mention that one, when we visited England when our son was about 7, that was his very favorite!
Sorry, my American cousins, but Hershey's is CRAP. I never eat it. Give me Cadbury's or Nestle's any day.
ReplyDeleteThat article that I linked to? It quoted folks as saying that Hershey's tasted like plastic and smelled like stinky feet! Ha! It's not that bad but then, I did grow up with it. Once I had a Mars bar in England, I was astounded! (It is like a Milky Way bar here.)
DeleteP.S. There's a third option too -- peeCANS. It's a common pronunciation here in Canada.
ReplyDeleteThat's how my Dad says it! He must be Canadian at heart! xx
DeleteWell, it's consumers who should be left to decide which choclate they want to buy - and if Hershey's is good and the price is OK, then people will keep buying it. The market for "candy bars" in the US is certainly large enough for two big names, I should think!
ReplyDeleteYour "cute purple plastic knife" made me smile, thank you :-)
I like Cadbury's Roses, too, but my favourite is Cadbury's Milk Tray which my dear mother-in-law sends every now and then for my birthday and/or at Christmas.
Hershey's is just mad because people are not buying their chocolate as much as they used to. It is more expensive now and I guess folks think that if they pay that much, then it should be good chocolate!
DeleteI really do use a plastic knife, that was Richard's idea since I loved my new brownie pan so much. He has the best ideas!
Cadbury's Milk Tray...I know it! And when we visit England in May, my in-laws have a Cadbury's Easter Egg (a giant one!) waiting for me!
What about those chocolate flakes by Cadburys? They are the best chocolate in the world with Cruchies a close second.
ReplyDeleteRichard loves the chocolate flakes too! Crunchies, yes, that was another one of my son's favorites!!
DeleteHmm. Well I'm not going to intervene in a potential chocolate war that seems to be doing just nicely on its own. I like Quality Street myself, but it's all good! Ironically, Cadburys is owned by Chicago-based Kraft Foods.
ReplyDeleteYes, I well remember when Kraft took over Cadbury's. Sad thing if you ask me.
DeleteHello Kay,
ReplyDeleteThe first taste we had of Hershey's chocolate was last year when a friend brought some 'kisses' as a gift. It was a large bag and we ate them all but we would definitely have preferred a bar of Cadbury's. That said, in preference to either would be Belgian or, even better, Swiss chocolates!
Oh, if only we were closer and could call for Afternoon Tea! These brownies sound and, surely, taste delicious!
Not to say anything about the sweet friends who brought you Hershey's kisses, but honestly, even poor little small town girl ME would know that would be a faux pas! Oh dear. I also like Belgian and Swiss chocolate but I was amazed at how wonderful the English chocolate was and no one seemed to appreciate the quality of it!
DeleteOh! Afternoon tea with you! That sounds heavenly!
Where would we be at Christmas time without that large tin of Quality Street or Roses Chocolates sitting on the coffee table - who can resist dipping their fingers in the tin and pulling out their favourite chocolate in it's shiny coloured wrapper. To me those chocolates are as much a part of Christmas as the smell of the roasting turkey. Sorry Hershey but I have tried your chocolates and I am afraid you miss out BIG TIME!!
ReplyDeleteWish I could come and see you at Christmas! I can smell that Roast turkey right now!!
DeleteThat tin of Roses was waiting for me when I got to England one year and it was much appreciated!!
Chocolate wars...imagine. First world problems! Well, I have to say that there are far better chocolates than Hershey's.
ReplyDeleteI know, Martha. There is so much bad news in the world and here I am tying about not getting English chocolate. Still, as I say, I don't ask for much! Just give me a mountain to walk upon and some English chocolate when I get home.
DeleteThis is crazy! I have to say that I ate very little chocolate when I lived in the US, as I didn't like it and couldn't - way back then! - get anything else! xx
ReplyDeleteHey Amy!
DeleteMake my brownies, why don't you? And make sure you cut them with a cute plastic knife, makes all the difference maybe? xx
Thank you for the recipe! I think I'll make them for Valentines day. I love chocolate and would hate to think that there'd be no Cadbury Eggs for Easter this year.
ReplyDeleteOh good, I hope the brownies turn out well for you! I love Cadbury Eggs too, I really like the caramel ones!
DeleteI have never tasted Cadbury's so I don't know what I am missing.
ReplyDeleteI say peh-Cahns.
If you ever get a visitor from England, ask them to bring you some English chocolate. And save some for me!
DeleteYou say pecans the same way I do!
What in the world happened to free enterprise? No more Hershey's here.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I wonder if this might have anything to do with the fact that there were no Cadbury's Cookie Tins (Biscuits in England) at Christmas time this past year? I missed them.
DeleteYour brownie recipe looks delicious....I agree that Hershey's should not be allowed to keep Cadbury's out of the US.........
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristi! I would be tickled if you made them!
DeleteShame on Hershey's. Now it's making me want to try the Cadbury.
ReplyDeleteKay, my friend, you think the same way that I do!
DeleteDouble shame on Hersheys!! People have the right...or should have...to buy and enjoy what they like!
ReplyDeleteI made a pile of no-bake chocolate slices yesterday...for a gathering on Saturday night. The son of friends of mine is getting married on St. Valentine's Day...so I made the decadent chocolate slices for everyone to have after they return back to the family home after the wedding and the reception dinner are over...later in the night.
I love the sound of those chocolate slices!
DeleteI have read that some people are buying all the Cadbury's that they can in the USA and HOARDING it! I wouldn't do that but it tickles me to think that Hershey could indirectly have made Cadbury's sales go up in the USA!
Gracious, what will Easter be without Cadbury Bunnies? And, I say pee-cans.....except for butter peh-cahn ice cream. Ha!
ReplyDeleteOh, you remind me...we had some ice cream in England last year, it was a kind of vanilla with caramel and bits of honeycomb. My word, it was heavenly! Butter peh-cahn ice cream, yes - you MUST say it that way! LOL.
DeleteHi Kay,
ReplyDeleteAlthough it still retains the name and is still made in the same way Cadbury's is actually owned by an American Company, in Chicago I think. Google or look up "Cadbury's. Wikipedia" to check. Thank's to Margaret Thatcher and her love of privatization in the 1980s very few British company's exist that are still owned by Brits. I watched a programme about UK companies recently and was shocked by how many have changed hands to the highest bidder. So its not unAmerican to eat the stuff... it's your patriotic duty :o)
It's a complicated world nowadays and nothing is what it seems anymore. Sounds like two American companies fighting it out to decide a winner.
The key words here are "still made in the same way". See, the taste between Hershey's and Cadbury's really is quite a difference. I really do know much more about chocolate companies than anyone else cares to know about! And I can well remember from the early 1980's that I was surprised at how so many things that I bought in England had the words "Made In the UK" on them! That has changed over the years!
DeleteI do like the idea of eating chocolate and it being my patriotic duty! HA!
Except NOT Hershey's! I think that I have read that English chocolate must be at least 20 percent cocoa solids whereas American chocolate can have just 10 percent. See, I told you I was boring about my chocolate facts.
Cadbury is such a big hit here in New Zealand, too.
ReplyDeleteAs a former American, I can say that America is quite defensive about its products. Here in New Zealand, cheese is one of the biggest exports to the world--except in American where the Dairy Association won't let it in. I agree that if you want to buy it, you should be able to.
What!? I have always wondered why we didn't have butter or cheese from New Zealand, it didn't make any sense to me, it is so popular in England! Oh well, guess I will just have to enjoy it while I am in England!
DeleteThanks for your comment, I am thinking I will have to do a post on cheese!!