Brownie Basics

 It's baking season. It's a good time for brownies , those chewy squares of chocolate=y goodness. They are one of the basics of home cooking - easy to make and easy to eat. Many have had box brownies for years but they can be made from scratch too.

Brownies have been around for a long time on the American table. They were created in 1893 by prominent socialite Bertha Palmer, wife of the owner of Chicago's famed Parker House Hotel. She needed a cake like confection suitable for ladies visiting Chicago's World Columbian Exposition. The results was a Parker House brownie with walnuts and an apricot glaze.It went through a series of changes thanks to a housewife in Bangor Maine who added a square of extra chocolate and extra eggs for a richier , fudgier treat. There was also a mention of them in the Machias cookbook created by another home baker Marie Kelley of Whitewater Wisconsin in 1899. No matter what their origin is, scratch ones are delicious. The basic brownie recipe is an alchemy of cocoa powder or unsweetened baker's chocolate , sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla.Many home bakers and bloggers strongly recommend using cocoa powder instead of using a mix of melted butter and chocolate. This ensures a soft moist middle and a  shiny , almost candy like top. You can add a small amount of chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips. To get that perfect crinkly top, melt the butter with the cocoa and sugar in a saucepan over a stovetop. Doing this allows the sugar to rise to the top in baking, creaking that perfect crackly crust.

What about vegan brownie?. Yes you can make them from scratch. All the ingredients are the same save for omitting the eggs and butter. You can use ground flax seeds for binding  along with mashed pumpkin or bananas or applesauce. I've used Vegg Uncaged Mix and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter when I've baked regular brownies. No one could tell the difference between the vegan and the regular ones. Can you bake them with whole wheat flour? Yes,and it;s to the brownie's benefit. The flour leaves the texture extra chewy and richly textured. What's the best pan to bake brownies in? Always stick with metal. Don't use a glass or ceramic one. Metal will allow them to bake evenly,prevent over browning and yield straight edges. Remember to always grease the tin with either butter, margarine or cooking spray to prevent sticking. I always use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and generously grease the pan's bottom and corners for an extra buttery flavor. Can you vary the recipe? Yes , Cinnamon can be added for a Mexican hot chocolate vibe. It just takes a pinch to give them that zing. Coconut is another fun change up , giving the brownies a Mounds Bar flavor. You can even make them Rocky Road m with teaspoons of mini marshmallows , peanuts and chocolate chips.

Scratch brownies are the perfect fall baking project. You can make them tradional or vegan, plain or loaded with extras. Ant way, they're a bite of chocolate-y goodness.