The other day, I was craving brownies but didn’t feel like going to the store to buy a mix. After looking through my pantry, I realized that I had all the ingredients needed to make them from scratch. Strangely, most of my cookbooks lack brownie recipes, especially blondie ones. However, my grandma and aunt let me have some of their old books, and I found some very good recipes. I tweaked one of the recipes to make a blondie that turned out well.

Brownies

1 Stick Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 Tbsp. (1/4 C.) Cocoa
3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Nuts
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt Butter in microwave for 30 seconds or until it’s not solid. Add the Sugar and stir to cool the butter. Then add both Eggs and Vanilla. In another bowl, measure the Flour, Cocoa, and Salt. Mix the dry ingredients, then incorporate them into the wet ones. After the dry and wet are thoroughly mixed, add the nuts and chocolate chips and stir. Take an 8″ X 8″ pan and grease it with Pam, then spread the batter into it. Let it bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until a an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

After searching for the right recipe for a brownie, I began to wonder when they were first created. I did some research to find that it’s fairly interesting. It seems that the delicious treat originated in the United States in 1893 because a wealthy socialite desired her chef to make treats that could be tucked into boxes. That first brownie was topped with walnuts and apricot glaze. Before the box treat was created, recipes were made with “pinches” and “dashes,” making them difficult to fine-tune. This is where Fannie Farmer comes into the picture.  She was a huge driving force behind domestic science. Disabled by a paralytic stroke at age 16, she was able to go on and learn many skills. She introduced standardized measurement in cooking, which made recipes easier to follow and copy. Funnily enough, her recipe for brownies contains no chocolate.

My husband enjoys blondies a bit more than brownies , so I came up with a recipe. Blondies do not have any cocoa in them, but they can have chocolate chips.

Blondies

1 Stick Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt Butter in microwave then add both Sugars to it and mix. Add both Eggs and Vanilla and stir well. Measure the flour and salt into the wet ingredients and incorporate. Grease an 8″ X 8″ pan and spread the batter into it then drop some chocolate chips evenly on top if desired. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.