Holiday Baking: Butterscotch Brownies

This is a much-loved recipe from my childhood. Mom was always good for a spontaneous batch of these, and now I know why. These are extremely easy. Which is a good thing, because when I first made them last year, I ended up making a double-batch a week throughout December.

Mom cites the source of this recipe as The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer.

For a double-batch, you will need:

2/3 cup butter - this is a full stick plus 2 tbsp
2 cups brown sugar - for best results, pack it
2 eggs
salt
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla - the real thing, not the flavoring

Mom says to simply melt the butter, add the remaining ingredients, and spread it into a buttered pan. And, really, that's all there is too it. My only addition is to measure the other ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add the melted butter. I used a rubber spatula to mix everything together, which took under a minute.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 and cool on a wire rack.

Pack the brown sugar into your measuring cup

It should look like this when you add it to your bowl

Melt the butter

The batter does come together quickly

It's thick s you'll need to spread it out

It should look like this when it's done

If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share, please email me at MarysFoodJournal@gmail.com and let me know how you would like to be identified (ie "a reader in Ellicott City" vs your actual name). Include any traditions or memories associated with the dish if you like.