Back to school, back to school. Sigh. I have been in school all day, every day this week and have been breathing, eating, and sleeping Critical Care Nursing. I’ve desperately wanted to bake but have found zero time until today. After coming back from class a bit after 3:00pm and taking a much-needed nap, I started flipping through cookbooks for brownie recipes. Now, I’m not a big brownie fan (is that sacrilege?) for many reasons, one being a poorly made batch I consumed over a year ago (don’t ask, and no, I didn’t make them). I’ve only been able to eat really good brownies ever since then, and even then I can only eat a little. However, I was inspired by a chocolate baking bar that was gifted to me recently by my dear friend Jessi, who just returned from her European adventure. She brought me a can of real Spanish olive oil, a bottle (that spritzes!) of Jerez sherry vinegar (so yummy on roasted veggies), and a bar of Belgian 70% baking chocolate. I was overcome with joy upon receiving these gifts. If you know me, or if you even have read this blog and have a clue about what interests me (give you a hint: this blog is dedicated to it), you know that any gift that is food-related or involves production of yummy edibles, is a gift that I will be forever grateful for.
I started reading a recipe for brownies that says it makes 25 brownies which sounds perfect because I knew I wanted to bring them to my classmates to celebrate the end of our first week in class. But…upon really reading the recipe, it calls for an 8×8 pan, which sounds to me like ity-bity brownies which, frankly, is just mean. “Fun size” does not register in my vocabulary. So, I know I could cut the brownies into bigger squares, but just for the principle of the matter, I decided to use a different recipe instead.
I chose to use David Lebovitz’s brownie recipe and it couldn’t have been easier! I used my baking bar and supplemented it with dark chocolate chips. I loved this recipe because any recipe that only uses one bowl and one utensil is golden by me. You start by melting the butter and chocolate in a sauce pan, then off the heat you stir in sugar, vanilla, eggs, and flour and just beat it until your arm falls off. Then pour it in a foil-lined 9×9 pan and bake it! Did you catch that I said foil-lined? That’s right, minimal clean up!
My solution to still only using a small square pan that results in less brownies? Wait until lunch when all but 8 students leave (because only 8 of us signed up for clinical so we have to stay late) and then pass out my treats! Problem solved! Another clinical group to fatten up…mua ha ha ha (evil laugh?)
[Plus, to my wonderful roommate: I hope you eat one of these brownies and it warms your soul. This may be a tough time in life, but one brownie at a time, you will make it through.]
