I eat mayonnaise with my French fries. Hubby puts sour cream on his scrambled eggs. These are weird food quirks that have been passed down to us by our parents.
And now, we’re doing the same. Dudette asks for sour cream on her eggs and likes a blob of mayonnaise on her plate while eating French fries. We’re handing the weird food baton down to another generation.
I find that I have a lot of control of this baton-handing arena. I do the grocery shopping so unless someone specifically asks for something (like Hubby insisting on Jif being the brand of peanut butter in the house), they live by my whim and preference.
Irritatingly enough, Dudette has broken away in one area and set off on her own course. I love strawberry jam. I’m really not a grape jelly person. Time after time I bought just strawberry jam and slathered it on my young lady’s peanut butter sandwiches. Then one day she asked me to buy grape. She had decided that she didn’t like the seeds in the strawberry variety. I felt foiled.
As I was ‘vigorously’ stirring the seedless raspberry jam that was dolloped on these brownies, I thought about Dudette’s escape from under my thumb. These kinds of things start small, you know. One day it’s the choice of jelly; the next it’s the decision to be a harmonica instructor (yes, she has mentioned that) instead of a brilliant and well-paid brain surgeon (something else she’s mentioned).
The Process
I don’t think I’ve ever made brownies quite this way before, but I like the method. The butter and chocolate melts easily and after a rest it’s just a matter of mixing the rest together in the correct order. It took just a few minutes.
I don’t do the foil lining when I bake, opting not to add to our area landfill just so dessert comes out of the pan more easily. I sprayed my pan well and didn’t have any problems lifting the brownies out; even that first, obstinate piece.
The magazine does give a tip for making nice, sharp cuts, which I followed. I let the brownies cool then refrigerated them for a couple of hours. The knife didn’t stick at all and as you can see, my pieces do have nice edges.
The Verdict
Hubby’s first words, well, his first words after ‘wow,’ were, “You know, you might even like these ones.” Let’s see; words to describe these brownies. Gooey. Rich. Moist. Chocolatey. Decadent. Fantastic. Addicting. Does any one of those work for you?
These really are delicious, but in all honesty, I’ve had my fill of chocolate for a while. All these February magazines have overwhelmed me with the stuff. I’ll leave this pan for Dudette and Hubby to finish off. I’ll bet that they won’t have any problem with that. After all, there aren’t any seeds.
What I’d Do Different Next Time
It’s probably a bit petty to say that I’d use strawberry jam, huh.
Raspberry Brownies – print this recipe
from All You Magazine, February 2012
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each short side. Mist with cooking spray.
In a large pan over low heat, melt butter and semisweet chocolate, stirring often. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in sugar, eggs and vanilla, then stir in flour and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into baking dish. Spoon jam into a small bowl and stir vigorously to loosen. Drizzle jam evenly over batter and swirl in lightly with a spoon. Bake until the top has set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack.
When completely cooled, run a knife around edges without foil. Using foil handles, lift brownies out of pan, place on a cutting board and peel off foil. Cut into 24 squares, then cut squares in half on the diagonal. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Even with my best girdle on, I can't fit much more than my big toe in this tiny space, so please hit the ''read more' link if you'd like to get the skinny on me and the whole Taking On Magazines thing. 
