Magic Pans

Mr. C licking the bowl

Let's talk about brownies.  I don't know about you, but when I was growing up I used to bake brownies with my dad.  It was a highlight of mine.  Dad would get these pans out and we'd get baking.  My mom only ever baked with me once.  We made gingerbread men and had so many that she didn't know what to do with them!  To this day, I still use these brownie tins.  I know they are a little battered and wonky, but perfectly square brownies are boring.

My Brownie Pans (approx. 37 years old)!

I LOVE brownies.  Truly is there any better smell than brownies baking in the oven?  That cocoa, vanilla and extra chocolate all melting together into a decadent dessert.  I kind of cheat (just like my dad did when I was little) and call on Duncan Hines for a little help.  Then we like to chunk up some extra chocolate in our house and throw that in.

I apologize profusely to all my English friends and family!  I know Hershey's just doesn't cut it, but we had no Cadbury's in the house.  I usually use Cadbury's dark chocolate or Ghirardelli in the brownies.

We simply stir in the extra chocolate and bake the brownies according to the packaging.  John and Conor's favorite part is licking the bowl:

But can you blame them?  I love that part, too!  Once, the brownies have cooled we love to make brownie sundaes with the brownie on the bottom, topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.  Yum!  Hope you try it in your home.  It always brings back the best childhood memories for me!

PS If you have any killer brownie recipes I'd love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or email me :)