Tried and True Recipe: Favorite Brownies

Whenever a recipe allows me to spend fifteen minutes prepping, thirty minutes baking, zero to three minutes cooling, and all done with a 13x9 pan, well, let's just say that the recipe print out or cookbook page quickly becomes crumbled and stained by multiple use. I love this type of recipe because advance planning is not necessary and I wind up with a dessert in under an hour. Oh, and don't forget that 13x9 pan tagline. I don't know why but whenever I see the 13x9 pan as recommended hardware in the recipe, everything seems so much more doable. 

Now onto my promised Tried and True Recipe for today. Tried and True Recipes (TNT) are those great, no-fail recipes you reach for again and again. I am doing a TNT series here on this blog where I will post one of my family's TNT recipes every other Sunday. See my previous posts:

TNT Recipe: Blueberry Pancakes

Tried and True Recipes Intro

Actually, this time I will be sharing two recipes, each being a recipe for a brownie. And yes, they come together in no time and 13x9 pans are in your future.

The recipes are called "Best Butterscotch Brownies" and "Four-Way Fudge Brownies." Sounds yummy, huh? So you can better picture them in your mind. . .

I could take credit for these moist, chewy, fudgy, butterscotch-y brownies, but I shouldn't. My sister Catherine baked these and did a mighty fine job. They tasted better than usual! 

What I really like about these butterscotch brownies is that no butterscotch chips are used. Brown sugar and butter heated together is what gives them their flavor. To me, butterscotch in chip form leaves a metallic aftertaste so not too fond of them. Another highlight for these brownies is how well they travel. Great lunchbox choice.

I tried a lot of different chocolate brownies before I found the Four-Way Fudge Brownies recipe. With a lot of the recipes I found the chocolate to be prominent, but the brownie's chewiness was always an issue. They always turned out more crisp than I wanted them to be. Up until last year when I found the Four-Way Fudge Brownies, I thought boxed brownies were the best. Yeah, I was that far from brownie bliss.

Onto the recipes!

Best Butterscotch Brownies 

(click here for printable version)

source: www.cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:

2 cups light brown sugar

1-1/2 sticks butter, melted

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Melt sugar and butter together. Cool. Add eggs. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla together. Add to other mixture. Mix well. Bake in greased 13x9 pan at 350F for 30 minutes.

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Four-Way Fudge Brownies

(click here for printable version)

source: Better Homes and Garden cookbook, out of print

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut up

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1-1/3 cups flour

Directions:

Grease a 13x9 pan and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat lightly by hand just until combined. Stir in flour.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake brownies in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. 

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Next TNT recipe will be posted on March 10!