Long about 1988 hubby was chosen as a “Minnesota Young Farmer”. We were living in Minnesota then and milking cows. That seems like a lifetime ago. We were so excited as with the distinction they sent us to a conference in the Twin Cities. I went with and enjoyed some alone time while he was attending meetings.
One night spouses were invited to come and they had a big catered meal. Gift bags were handed out and in my gift bag was this recipe book.
It’s in my top five favorite recipe books.
As a young mother and wife I was working on my collections of recipes finding family favorites when I could. The book has several family favorites including my brownie recipe…YUM. When I made these, they rarely last an entire day. My childcare kids past and present have all adored these….and what’s best, no melting chocolate….no weird ingredients to have on hand…FAST and best of all…the recipe can not fail…unless you leave them in the oven too long.
This is the original recipe from the book. I’ve come to modify it slightly…21 minutes is it for cooking time. They will seem a little soft, but stick with the 21 minutes in a PRE HEATED oven.
I told you in a previous post that I tape recipes to the inside of the cupboard doors…recipes that I use all the time. This one is there. This is the same recipe…back when I typed this out, we had all the kids home and used margarine. Now days, no kids are living here and the grocery budget isn’t so tight so BUTTER is what we use.
I make lots of modifications to this recipe some I’ve already told you about…but those are all a little fancier and take more time to make. Fruit Brownie Pizza, Brownie Delight, and Smores brownies..all use this basic brownie recipe…and ALL are excellent family favorites.
What I make most often with the recipe are these….brownies in silicone cupcake liners.
All I do is mix up the recipe above making sure to use BUTTER. Then fill the cups and bake them in a PRE HEATED oven for 20 minutes. Them may not seem done but trust me, they are.
The childcare kiddos would eat the whole pan if I let them but we’ve been working on “treats are only one serving” rule.
The brownies are moist and delicious. Oh I love them…too much for sure!!
I highly recommend silicone cupcake liners like I have. I think it’s what makes them even more yummy. A friend of mine had given them to me after she didn’t use them. She was taking them to Goodwill and I said sure. I use these ALL THE TIME for any cupcakes I make. I like them WAY better than regular paper liners and cupcake pans.  Amazon has many varieties to choose from. If you are buying them I recommend getting more than 12 in a set. I have 24 and that covers most any cupcake/muffin/brownie recipe that I have.
I will admit that the liners are a bit of a pain to wash. I’ve learned to toss them into the dishwasher. It does a pretty good job.
If a recipe has stuck with our family for 30 years, you can bet it’s a keeper.
How can I get your blog in my inbox I’ve trued by no go
There is a link in the right hand column on the blog.
It’s the 4-H brownies that have lived on and on at our house. Well, I can also doctor a brownie mix so that someone always asks for the recipe when I make them for church. Some of those old recipes just can’t be improved.
You have me drooling
I also have this Brownie recipe. I started making them over 50 years ago when we were first married. They were a hit, and continued to be a big hit when the kids were home growing up. I sometimes would put miniature marshmallows on top and put them in the oven till they puffed up and toasted.
I was a nurse in Ortho back in the late 1970’s. We had a young woman in traction after a car crash for the Longest time (MONTHS!) her aunt brought in YUMMY Brownies. They were individually wrapped in Aluminum foil to keep them fresh! OMG. delicious! The recipe is 1/2 of yours but at the end it says If that doesn’t make you happy you may want to double the recipe! LOL
8×8 pan for 25 min….
1C Sugar
1/2 C Shortening
7 TBLS Cocoa (she used Hershey’s unsweetened)
2 eggs Beaten, 1/2 C Flour
1 tsp Vanilla
1 C Chopped nuts.
Blend sugar and Shortening together, add Cocoa, add eggs, flour, vanilla and nuts
Bake in 8×8 pan25 min. be sure to remove from oven when moisture FIRST begins to Pull away from the pan!! allow to cool and then wrap individually to keep moist (I never had to do that. we ate them too fast LOL
So similar to your recipe, but less flour if doubled! I bet it makes then moist!
Wonderful idea! Do you grease the silicone cups?
Barb…No I don’t grease the cups. They pop out SUPER easy.
One of my top five favorite cookbooks is my yellow covered St. Al’s from Calmar cookbook. It has the Texas Sheetcake recipe that I use. My family LOVES it! I always ask my kids what they want to eat when they come home to visit. My nephew always ends his list with, “And don’t forget the Texas Sheetcake!” Lll, it makes my heart so happy to make them happy!!
My friend had this recipes and shared it with me many, many years ago. She called it Contagious Cake because they couldn’t stop eating it!
Thanks for the idea of silicone cupcake liners for brownies! Will have to try them!
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I wondered if the Land O’ Lakes web site would have the same recipes as in the book but I don’t see the same one as you have above. However they do have a LOT of good recipes.
I love silicone pans and I just soak them before washing. Right now we are being carb conscious as we gained some weight during the pandemic but I do have that recipe book and I’ll try it..with nuts though.