Irene's or Baker's One-Bowl Brownies?

As any of you who have read my blogs in the past knows, I am a total chocoholic! I could eat chocolate all day long; but alas, I fear I would get very, very sick by the time the sun went down.

Some days I can’t find a scrap or morsel of the smooth, velvety sweet that Hershey seemed to make famous. The other day I was digging in my pantry trying to find even a sweet tart, ANYTHING that had sugar in it. I was tired of eating a bowl of Special K with Splenda every day. Now don’t get me wrong, I do like Special K, and I prefer to sweeten cereals and iced drinks with Splenda. It’s much better than the “Pink” one or the “Blue” one!

Then I remembered my Aunt Irene’s brownies that she served sometimes when she didn’t have the famous Duncan Hines Brownie Mix in the house. They were just as good to me and better yet, she said they were so easy she stirred them up in a hurry.

That’s what I needed – something in a hurry. My sweet tooth was about to get the better of me.

I found that I did have a box of Baker’s chocolate squares in my pantry and there was the recipe for Irene’s One Bowl Brownies right inside the box! Why, the One Bowl Brownies must be a Baker’s recipe – you mean Aunt Irene didn’t just come up with it all by herself? Ah, well. It’s still chocolate, right?

BAKER’S ONE BOWL Brownies

4 squares BAKER’S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

¾ cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup coarsely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending near sides of pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour and nuts; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container.

Makes 24 servings, 1 brownie each. Serve with a large glass of milk.

Cream Cheese Brownies: Prepare batter as directed, using 4 eggs; spread into prepared pan. Beat 1 pkg. (8 oz.) softened PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg and 2 Tbsp. Flour until well blended; drop by spoonfuls evenly over brownie batter. Swirl with knife several times to marbleize. Bake as directed, increasing baking time to 40 minutes.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies: Prepare batter as directed, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the butter and 2 Tbsp. of the sugar. Spread batter into prepared pan. Melt reserved butter. Add to reserved sugar along with 2/3 cup peanut butter, mix well. Spoon over batter in pan. Swirl with knife several times to marbleize. Bake as directed.

My only trouble with this delicious chocolate snack: I did not grease the foil well enough and they stuck. But, hey, I’m not above digging that chocolate out of that pan!

Thanks BAKER’s Chocolate!!

Graphic by June at Art Freebies

Irene's Funeral Cake

I'm sure most of you have a favorite pound cake. My dear, sweet uncle Raymond loved everything his wife cooked, but this cake was one of his favorites. He liked to call it "Irene's Funeral Cake" because she always baked it when there was a death in the church family.

They both said that the moist center you get when the cake is baked is an indication of a perfectly baked pound cake.

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1 cup Crisco shortening
3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring
1/2 teaspoon orange flavoring

Directions:
Combine flour, salt, and soda and set aside. Cream sugar and Crisco shortening together; add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each. While continuing to mix, start adding flour mixture, then milk - a little of each at a time - ending with the flour mixture. Add lemon and orange flavoring. Batter will be thicker than a regular cake batter. Pour into a greased and floured tube or bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Aunt Irene's Hot Cole Slaw

This recipe is a favorite of mine. It's especially good for all of those 4th of July picnics or luncheons that will be enjoyed next week. I think all of our family likes our Aunt Irene's version of a classic salad.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 head cabbage, shredded

1 large onion, shredded

1/2 cup sugar

Sprinkle sugar over shredded cabbage and onion. Set aside.

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

3/4 cup vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup Wesson oil

Place sugar, celery seed, celery salt , mustard, vinegar and salt in pan; bring to boil. Then add Wesson oil and bring to a boil again. Pour over cabbage mixture.

Chill—the longer the better.