Brownies

     I thought I would never have another brownie in my life.  But I have gotten braver with my experiments and decided to keep trying until I came up with a brownie which wasn't too cakey or too fudgy.  Some people might wonder what was wrong with either one of those, and really if that's what you want, you should make that.  But a true brownie is in between.
     I made my brownies in a size 8 x 8 glass dish sprayed with vegetable spray.  Also, I toasted the nuts first and then sprinkled them on top of the batter just before it went into the oven.  I learned this trick from "Cook's Illustrated" magazine from an article written be Erika Bruce.  She noticed that the nuts in the batter steamed during the baking became soggy.

                                                                       Brownies

1/2 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 non-dairy semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tblsp. stick margarine
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

      After almonds are chopped, toast in a low temperature oven until just turning brown.  Set aside.
      Combine flour and baking powder and set aside.
      Melt chocolate chips and stick margarine in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave stirring frequently to make sure they don't burn.  When the mixture is smooth, whisk in sugar and then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.  Add flour mixture in small additions whisking to make sure it is thoroughly combined.
      Transfer batter to pan and use spatula to make sure it is level and in all corners.  Sprinkle nuts on top.
      Bake at 325 for about 31 minutes.  Brownies are done when toothpick inserted in center almost comes out clean.  Brownies are easier to remove from pan when they are cool.
      Next week I will share my recipe for two different filled cupcakes.  I recently hosted a baby shower where the mother-to-be wanted announce the gender of the baby at the shower.  The announcement was made by the color of the filling in the cupcakes.  More about that next time.