Mother's Brownies

These are the brownies your mom made. No fancy chocolate, no complicated technique. Two sticks of melted margarine stirred with sugar and cocoa powder, four eggs beaten in, flour and salt folded through, and chopped nuts stirred in last. Poured into a pan and baked. That’s it.

Three teaspoons of vanilla is generous for a batch of brownies and it shows. The vanilla flavor comes through clearly alongside the cocoa, giving these a warmth that single-teaspoon recipes lack.

Melting the margarine and mixing it with cocoa and sugar while hot creates a smooth, glossy base that distributes the chocolate flavor evenly. No chunks of unmixed cocoa, no dry pockets.

Kitchen Tips

• Mix the melted margarine with cocoa and sugar first, before adding eggs. The heat from the margarine blooms the cocoa and dissolves the sugar for a smoother batter.
• Don’t overbake. Pull them at 30 minutes for fudgier brownies. At 35 minutes the edges will be more set and the center just barely done.
• Grease AND flour the pan. Cocoa brownies stick ferociously, and greasing alone isn’t enough.
• Cool completely in the pan before cutting. These are soft and gooey when warm and need time to set.

Variations

• Use butter instead of margarine for a richer, more traditional flavor.
• Fold in a cup of chocolate chips for a double-chocolate version.
• Frost with a simple chocolate buttercream or dust with powdered sugar.