I’ll start here . . . brownies are my favorite sweet-treat. (I’m also a fool for good pie, fruit tarts, anything with lemon, and butterscotch pudding.)
When I was a little girl, my mom used to make fudgy brownies . . . with frosting. I loved them! When I got those in my school lunch, it was always a Good Day!
But guess what? Tom . . . won’t eat brownies with frosting. In fact, he prefers “crunchy” treats: crispy-edge cookies, shortbread, the over-baked edge-pieces of brownies – and nuts in everything, please. But frosting? Really not his thing. At all. Ever.
So we’ve discovered the art of compromise when it comes to treats! I make crisp-edge cookies for him, and he has come to appreciate more fudge-y brownies for me (with nuts) (always). (I gave up on the frosting. It’s okay.) It also helps that – many years ago – I found (what has become) my go-to brownie recipe from the trusty King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion cookbook: their On-the-Fence Brownies, designed for folks who can’t decide whether they want to make cakey or fudgy brownies.
These are seriously good brownies! Fudgy/chewy enough for me (plus . . . I add a cup of chocolate chips – in addition to the nuts, of course – which is pretty much as good as frosting!), and edgy enough for Tom. I also got a special pan many years ago . . . that allows EVERY brownie to be an edge-piece. A definite WIN from Tom’s perspective. (This was an extremely pricey pan — but it’s been worth every penny. If you like edge-pieces – or if someone you love loves edge-pieces – it’s a marvel.)
Tom was away for Valentine’s Day this year . . . which is really not a big deal for us, because we don’t do anything special to celebrate that (ahem . . . Hallmark) day anyway. But we do usually eat some chocolate together. (Because any reason to eat chocolate, y’know?) Tom got back last night, and I had a pan of brownies ready for him when he got home.
Compromise is always a good thing in relationships.
And especially when it comes to brownies!
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Have a great weekend!
I will happily give all the crunchy edge pieces and bits to Tom because I am most fond of the gooey center pieces when it comes to brownies and other squares. I don’t like nuts in my chocolate chip cookies and Dale does but he’s learned to live without them since I’m the one doing the baking. Dale had his Civil War Roundtable meeting on Valentine’s Day and it was no biggie to me. We celebrate love every day around here! I’m glad Tom is home and I bet you are, too.
That pan! Wow! And Welcome Home Tom! (Have a great weekend… all of you!)
I’m with Tom! Nuts and crunchy. Smith is also more of a gooey, frosting kind of guy. Compromise is the only way to make a marriage work! THE only way. 🙂
I’d rather have a “compromise brownie” than no brownie at all! (And I’ve told people that the main reason I married John is because I’m a slightly-crunchy edge person and he’s a gooey middle person.)
Ha, ha. We had compromise brownies for Valentine’s Day – by accident. Both crusty edges, gooey centers, and plenty of nuts, but only in the center. (it takes some talent, I know.). Actually the brownies were underdone, the nuts – which we both require – were underestimated, except for a clover-like surface design of them in the center, and the edges at least were Just Right. After all these years, it’s surprising there were brownies at all. We’ve gotten quite relaxed about holidays. Except for CHRISTMAS. Glad you got Tom back!
I chuckled all the way through this post, Kym! For so many reasons! First…I’m pretty much the polar opposite of Tom on All Things Brownie (except I don’t want mine frosted, either.) (But I also don’t want one nut anywhere NEAR my brownie!) Troy was also away this week…and not a big deal for us, either, as we don’t ‘do up’ Valentine’s Day. But I did make a pan of brownies on Tuesday! Brought a whole batch up to the ski lodge for my ‘young’ Valentines… I made buttermilk brownies. Because I think absolutely everything is better with buttermilk 🙂
Hope you both enjoyed them–and each other!! ♥
Brownies NEVER hurt! LOL
Steve and I compromise on many foods. Thankfully, both of us will tolerate almost any food. But, HE will NOT eat okra and I will not eat FISH.
It’s okay……………..we eat those things when we go out. Compromise is a GOOD thing.
Okay, I had to click over to see just how expensive that pan was — and they did not make it easy to find the price! I like fudgy brownies, but I also like the corners best. It’s something to do with the contrast between the crispness of the corner and the chewiness of the center, I guess. I think I may need to get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Brownie-Bar-Pan-12-Cavity/dp/B008KE7L2S/ref=asc_df_B008KE7L2S/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198075681105&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17901471108552047150&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005929&hvtargid=pla-350626345816&th=1
I’m with Tom…I prefer a crispy cookie and the crunchy edged brownies. I need a pan like that because everyone, except for my brother-in-law, wants a brownie from the corner or the edge of the pan!
What a great recipe – thank you! (just geeked out reading about why this method results in a fudgy center, with that shiny, cracked top!) and what a wonderful way to welcome Tom home. Have a great weekend! (p.s. I like the blue nails!)
I’ve always wondered who buys those brownie pans!
Re-reading this Kym (in the middle of the night I re-read everything) it occurred to me how much our food tastes are influenced by what our mothers made for us, such as your mom’s fudgy brownies. In my early married years my sister-in-law took me off-the-hook for apple pie (my husband’s absolute favorite) by saying it will never taste as good as his mother’s, so don’t even try. So from me he gets a lot of cookies and cakes. And brownies. No necessity for compromise on nuts. We both require them.
Compromise is important in a marriage. Both of us like both the edges and a gooey center of bars and brownies. I have lost my taste for frosting though. The cookbook looks like a classic. I often peruse the King Arthur website for recipes. I would say everything is better with good butter.