CHOCOLATE, OH CHOCOLATE

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

Today is National Chocolate Day. Not to be confused with National Chocolate Covered Anything Day or National Chocolate Souffle Day - Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Cupcake and even Chocolate Covered Raisin Day - to name a few. We are obviously a nation obsessed with chocolate. Chocolate is one of those words that makes you doubt the spelling like potato. But National Chocolate Day is a good day to fudge on the diet!

Do not despair just because it is the afternoon of National Chocolate Day. There is still time. I have the perfect recipe for quick dashes and cleanups. My well worn recipe is from Baker's Chocolate. One Bowl Brownies. I have used it with great success for a very long time. Just mix it in the bowl and pour it in the pan. 

I have a slight variation. For today's batch I didn't have 4 ounces of Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate. I only had three. I added one ounce of Baker's Semi-Sweet. I do lightly salt my mixture before cooking and give it another circle or two with a fork. It cuts the sweet and gives just a barely discernible taste of salt. The salty sweet perfection. One more important tip. I forgot to add vanilla. Thank goodness I realized it before putting it in the oven and sprinkled the teaspoon of vanilla over the top, swirling the vanilla in with a fork. 

BAKER'S ONE BOWL BROWNIES

1 pkg. (4 oz. Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate)

3/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

350 Oven for 30-35 minutes

Line 13x9 inch pan with foil, with foil extending over edges. Spray with cooking spray. 
Microwave butter and chocolate together until well melted. Stir in sugar and mix well. Add three beaten eggs and vanilla. Add flour and nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Cook until toothpick inserted in center comes out cleanly. Do not overbake. Cool completely.  (Today I turned out the brownies on a clean counter and then cut them with the edge of a spatula. It worked well.) Enjoy with a glass of milk.

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Tomorrow is National Cat Day. This is supposed to encourage adoption. My mother has a cat, Sally. I used to like cats but now, not so much. This kitten was obtained through the free wants adds. Everyone wants a free kitten. She was reared in the country, roaming free. The little girl giving the kittens away said she was the wild one, an accurate description. Sally makes the Siamese Cats in 101 Dalmatians look like a pair of  older, never married sisters who are librarians. She is eight now but still can bite the hand that feeds her. She gets away with behavior my mother never would have allowed from her children like knocking down the bedroom clock radio every night and leaving anything on the wall knocked at an angle. Mama is eighty-eight. Even her doctor has questioned the living arrangements. Did I mention we have the perfect cat for adoption?