Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Harley's Brownies


Yesterday I made a batch of Harley's Brownies for a friend. I've made these once before and I must say this is the best brownie recipe I know. They are so good!
It's from Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader which is a delightful book for Mitford fans, as well as anyone who enjoys good food, usually with a touch of Southern style. (This is definitely not a cookbook for healthy eating!)
Go out and get a copy of this book today. It's filled with wonderful recipes as well as quotes and excerpts from the entire series of books. It's like sitting down at Father Tim and Cynthia's table and visiting with old friends over great food. If it was mentioned in the books, it's probably found in here~with the exception of Percy's Gizzards, although Velma's Dipping Sauce Recipe is given. I'm still waiting for the right occasion to whip up Esther's Orange Marmalade Cake!

Harley's Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup White Lily all-purpose flour (We don't have White Lily in Colorado. I just used regular flour and it turned out fine.)
1 1/2 cups mini Hershey's Chocolate kisses, or milk chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Place the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at medium power for 5-8 minutes. Stir and let cool completely. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, salt, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until light and creamy, about 10 (yes, ten) minutes. Add the cooled chocolate. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the Kisses and pecans and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the pan, smooth out evenly, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It takes 35 minutes here in the mountains.  Cool completely before cutting into squares. (If you can stand the wait!)

5 comments:

theups said...

Ohhhhh... hold on now.... there are Kisses IN the brownies??? OH DEAR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! These have GOT to be wonderful!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

His,
Mrs. U

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

One of my dear friends gave me this for my birthday last year. It's a great cookbook!

Kelli said...

Mmmmm....these sound yummy! I borrowed this book from my library last summer and loved it! Cynthia's Tea is delicious!
Kelli

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I received this book as a gift. It brings sunshine on long, dark, Winter days.

Kimberly said...

These are SOOOO good! I had to give half the [an away immediately so that I didn't eat them all.
Brenda~ You've described it perfectly!

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