Brownie Memories

Aunt Betty emailed me this week with her mother's brownie recipe. "I forgot how good it is," she wrote. I didn't have to reach back too far in my food memory to recall those brownies: Aunt Betty made them often when I was growing up. She'd bring a paper plate over to our house, double wrapped in plastic wrap. Underneath would be a stack of perfectly square brownie bites, covered in powdered sugar. Aunt Bet's standard recipe contained walnuts, but she always made me some without nuts, knowing I wasn't such a fan. (I've since warmed up to nuts in brownies.)

I'm so glad Aunt Betty shared the recipe with me--I made it tonight and it brought back lots of happy memories of visits with friends and family. The brownies are cakey, even airy, the opposite of rich, dense chocolately brownies (which certainly have their place). I'm going to pull an Aunt Betty and bring a plate of them (double paper plates, double plastic wrap) to the office tomorrow.--S

Aunt Betty's Brownies

1/2 c butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs
1 c sugar
2 T light Karo syrup
3/4 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 c chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 or 8x8 inch pan.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate together, cool slightly.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and light. Add the Karo syrup and beat well, add cooled chocolate mixture.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and add to chocolate mixture. Add
nuts.
5. Pour into pan, bake 30-35 minutes.
6. Cool, cut into bars and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Recipe courtesy of Aunt Betty