Mom's Brownies

Who would change Mom's recipe? Me, well sort of...
The recipe I have made since the 3rd grade calls for 1 cup of Crisco and this is the first time I have opted to use 2 sticks of unsalted butter. The other changes revolve around the mixing technique along with using a smaller glass baking dish rather than a 9" X 13" cake pan. We referred to this pan as the "brownie pan" in my childhood home but really that size is a lasagna pan. Oh, and I wanted nuts, something we never did. So be it, I wanted a taller and chewier, nutty brownie, and this was the perfect jumping off point, this time anyway.
Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8" X 11 1/2" baking dish. In heavy sauce pan over very low heat, melt 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter with 4 Squares Unsweetened Baker's Chocolate. Stir often and remove from heat once melted. Sift together, 1 1/2 Cups Flour, 1 tsp Baking Powder, and 1 tsp Salt.
Using the wire attachment, beat on a high speed, 4 Eggs until they are light in color, about 4 minutes. Add 2 Cups of Sugar and beat for about 3 minutes. Add 2 tsp Madagascar Vanilla. Change beater attachment to the paddle. With mixer running on #2, add cooled chocolate mixture, scraping down the bowl a few times. While mixer is on #1, add flour but not all at once. Mix til just about incorporated, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl and add 1 1/2 Cups Roughly Chopped Walnuts. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 minutes.



Let cool before trying to cut. Serve with milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Decadent!

Banana Bran Berry Nut Muffins

I love to bake first thing in the morning on cool or rainy days. I've been baking these muffins or some facsimile there of for about 30 years. These are easy enough to make on a school day with a little pre-planning. I prefer to butter the muffin tin over using muffin papers because the muffins always seems to stick the the paper, but do what's easier for you. In any case, your child can help with this step.
The interesting thing about muffins is they are stirred the old fashioned way, mixing the wet ingredients with the dry until just combined. If you overstir or beat the batter you will end up holes or tunnelling as it's called, noticable when you break it apart. Not good in a muffin.
I have adapted this recipe from the Nabisco recipe on on the Bran Cereal box but I actually prefer Kellogg's Bran Cereal.
Preheat oven to 400. Prepare the muffin tin with papers or butter each cup. In a 4 Cup Measuring Cup measure 1 Cup Milk and add to it 1 1/4 Cup Bran Cereal. Let sit for 5 minutes until soft. Meanwhile in bowl measure 1 1/4 Cup Flour, 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts, 3/4 Cup Frozen Cranberries or Blueberries and give a stir. Set aside. To the wet ingredients add 1 Egg and 1/4 Cup Canola Oil. Break 1 large or 2 small Bananas into pieces and add to the wet ingredients. Using a fork, rough mash the banana against the side of the cup. Give wet ingredients a stir to combine. Add the wet to the dry and stir until just combined. If batter is too thin, add additional flour. Divide among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Serve with butter.