Mom's Mom's Brownies

I grew up eating these brownies and I know that brownies are highly individual and everyone has their own opinion of what is good in a brownie and a lot of people really like really fudgey brownies, but these brownies are NOT fudgey and these brownies are my favorite of all time. Might even be my favorite treat of all time. It might be because for the past 30 years or so I have been searching for a brownie that would or could be a close approximation of what I remember having as a child. I never found it. Let me mention too that I really dislike fudgey brownies and rest assured, these brownies are not fudgey.

Since I mentioned these brownies, I have gotten some requests to share the recipe, so I figured I would do so here even though brownies have nothing to do with my cycling or improving my cycling performance. Brownies are probably something that I and other cyclists might do well to avoid. But, just like I have problems with moderation, I also have problems with self-discipline, especially when it comes to food. And so what. Let me set the stage.

These are CAKE brownies. They have a mouth feel like nothing I have ever consumed and they melt in your mouth in a special way that nothing else can. These are the only cake brownies I have ever eaten. I have tired, as I mentioned, for the last 30 years to find something similar, but every brownie I have put into my mouth is too fudgey for my tastebuds. I felt bad for my wife, who makes AWESOME treats, even brownies, but I have always been honest with her and let her know that her brownies, while fantastically good, were never quite what I was longing for.

This year on my birthday recently I went for a long hilly ride on a cold and windy day and when I returned, my wife surprised me with the brownies I had been searching and longing for for 30 years. She and the kids had prepared them for my birthday treat. I was floored. I also stand corrected, because when I dug up the old recipe card to note the recipe here, I saw that the recipe card was titled:

"Mom's Basic Brownies (For 13 X 9 Pan)"

The card was written in my Mom's younger handwriting. I can tell because as she aged her handwriting improved to the point of being perfect cursive. Judging from this handwriting, I would guess that she wrote on this old recipe card well before I was born. Since it was HER Mom's recipe, that means this old recipe could be almost 100 years old. I find that pretty cool. So here it is: my Mom's Mom's Brownies (and I quote)

Recipe: Mom's Basic Brownies (For 13 X 9 Pan)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs well beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp vanilla

Process:

Set oven at 350 degrees - Bake for 25 minutes
Sift flour once. Measure, add baking powder and salt and sift again.
Melt chocolate and butter over hot water.
Add sugar gradually to eggs, beating well.
Add chocolate mixture and blend.
Add flour and mix well.
Stir in nuts and vanilla,
Pour in pan!

Awesome is all I can say. And, thanks to my wife for finding this old recipe card and making these for my birthday this year. Let me know if you enjoy this type of brownie as much as I do. Thanks.