Life is Short, Eat The Brownies.

by admin March 29, 2020

Here’s a brownie recipe you will want to try. But first, I’d like to give a shout-out of thanks to our next door neighbors. The Warners live in an old farmhouse about a half mile south of here. Chuck and Trina moved in a few years before we did (1989) – we were all in our twenties then. Their two daughters – Whitney and Emarie, are about our son Jordan’s age; it’s been wonderful to watch them all blossom into fine adults.

Whitney’s free range chickens keep us all in eggs; their rich, farm-fresh flavor certainly contributes to the tastiness of these brownies. Emarie’s the baker of the bunch, and she perfected this unusual recipe that utilizes olive oil instead of butter, and (surprisingly) includes un-brewed QuenchWater Coffee grounds for an extra kick of flavor.

Quench Water Coffee Brownies
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil (Emarie likes this brand)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips
3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)
1 Tb Quench Water Coffee Grounds (unbrewed)

YES! The (unbrewed) QuenchWater Coffee Grounds go right in the brownie batter.

Directions:

– Pre-heat oven to 350 F or 320 F Convection

– Mix olive oil, vanilla, white sugar, brown sugar and eggs.

– Add cocoa powder and flour. Then chocolate chips, (optional walnuts) and Quench Water Coffee grounds.

– Pour batter into greased baking dish and bake for 25 mins. Test with toothpick after 25 mins until it comes out mostly clean with only a few moist crumbs.

– Remove brownies from oven; cool on wire rack.

– Cut and enjoy

The Lime Pyrex baking dish that Emarie chose for the brownies was one of eight different bakeware pieces manufactured from 1952 – 1955

Trina has an amazing collection of Pyrex glassware. She started collecting in 2015, the result of an ill-fated antique store visit, looking instead for a vintage chair to refurbish for (teacher) daughter Emarie to use during story time in her classroom.

“You should have been there when I asked mom if I could use an 8 x 8 baking dish. It was like they were made of diamonds and I was about to take it mountain climbing with me or something.”

Some coordinating Pyrex pieces; the plates are also Pyrex, edged in 22k gold – they match the **made-of-diamonds** 8 x 8 baking dish. The turquoise Butterprint pattern on the left was manufactured 1957 – 1968.

The Lime 8 x 8 dish baked our QuenchWater Brownies up perfectly; it’s fun to imagine how many other tasty meals it helped to prepare in its life.

Here’s just a portion of Trina’s Pyrex bakeware. She rotates the pieces seasonally in holiday-appropriate themes. Her kitchen is a virtual shrine to the hardworking women that came before, using these colorful dishes to prepare meals for their families. She’s amassed quite a collection – you can see more at twarner329

Pyrex solid color mixing bowl and bakeware sets were made in the ubiquitous fifties colors; turquoise, flamingo, yellow, pink and lime. Once quite common, collectors are now challenged to find and reunite the various pieces of sets that were manufactured and sold as groups. Rare (or frequently broken) pieces command high prices. Pink and turquoise are highly coveted colors and routinely fetch between $30 to $50 per piece. Even rarer, the turquoise starburst pattern space saver dishessell for $400 and $500 on eBay. The Lucky in Love pattern is like a unicorn and they go for upwards of $2,000 online.

Why “Life is Short – Eat The Brownies”?

When I entered my fifties/menopause, the ensuing weight gain caused me to swear off nearly all sweets. I had a serious fondness for cookies, and ice cream, but years of being able to eat whatever I wanted without repercussions had left me seriously lacking in the self-control department.

The next thing I know, I’ve somehow gotten myself into a situation where I HAVE TO EAT BROWNIES FOR MY WORK. HoofPrints’ customers deserve the best possible brownie recipe that we can come up with using our own Farriers’ Blend QuenchWater Coffee as flavor.

Emarie’s been making these test batches, asking me to evaluate… at the same time, the rest of the world seems to have gone crazy with worry over the COVID-19 infections. We’re told to stay home. If our friends or family are hospitalized we can’t comfort them there. Suddenly, the simple pleasure of fresh brewed coffee, paired with eating a delectable treat, lovingly prepared by a dear friend/neighbor, became an important ritual in my day.

*Note – most of the links in my posts are for HoofPrints products. Some, however, are not. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Wanna read more?

Is this all I do? Post pictures and stories about life here on the farm? Nope! HoofPrints.com is my “real” job.

More posts about food and recipes are here

You can read more posts about horses here

For more fun on the farm, go here

Adventures in remodeling are here

Is the house haunted? There are some stories about that here

Laughable housekeeping advice is here