Monday, October 20, 2008

Cookbooks and Peanut Butter Brownies

Because Pam asked, these are the cookbooks I bought this weekend:
Actually, there are 3 others, but because I bought them for other people, I'm not confessing to having purchased them. One is a duplicate of one of my favorites, and two others are not my cup of tea.

Ryan found the one on repairing food, and told me he had his own quarter if I didn't buy it. Yes, it's paperback, and it was a quarter. How could I say no? It is rather humorous; for example, to repair butter that's heating too fast, and might burn, "add a few drops of any kind
of oil (except motor oil)."

I was excited to find the Fanny Farmer cookbook. It was published in 1961, but clearly a fair number of the recipes date back before that. I like old cookbooks; simple, classic foods live in them, waiting for us to discover them. Here's one from that cookbook:

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

2 eggs

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp softened butter
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Beat together the eggs, sugars, peanut butter and butter until well combined. Sift together and add the flour, powder and salt. Change from original recipe: I stirred in a handful or 2 of chocolate chips at the end. Bake in a greased 9x9 pan (or 7x10, which is what I sued) at 350F for about 30 minutes. The recipe says this serves 60, but I think if I served my horde 1 square inch of brownie, they'd find a rope and a tree for me.

These tasted a lot like peanut butter cookies. You can use chunky or smooth peanut butter, as you see fit, and you don't have to add the chocolate chips, of course, but it does make the kids happy!

15 comments:

Paula said...

"Except motor oil"?!!! :-) Gotta love a book that can make you smile! I have a *thing* for cookbooks, and boy I really like what you've got here. What fun it must have been to find them! This peanut butter brownie recipe looks soooo good. I like that you added the choc chips; choc and peanut butter are a classic combo that always pleases. I got a kick out of the 1 in square serving. Yeah, good luck with that! I think the smallest serving my hubby ever had was about 3" square and he complained about being deprived!

Peter M said...

I have that Jacques Pepin book and it's saved many times on a weeknight...good pick.

Christo Gonzales said...

Nice books and nice brownies...can I say that to a married woman?

Unknown said...

Marji - you did it again. The Fanny Farmer is fabulous. I love the excerpt from Repairing Food. I'm not sure what it means that you son was so insistent on it's purchase :-) g

Linda said...

There are two of us and I'm sure a measley 1 inch square would be frowned on here too. BY ME. I printed this off and am getting off the internet to make them asap!

Pam said...

Can I have one? I love simple recipes - they usually taste the best.

Claire S. said...

60 !!! ??? in a 9" pan ??? - yeah, right. In Mom's house a 9" pan only made 16 if no one was there to watch her cut them. If one of the kids cut 'em it made 9 LOL ! We always said there is other people size and then there is Shannon size, oh yes, we were greedy little creatures. Hmmm, we still cut things Shannon-sized and we're grown up - I'm guessing that's not good. My office will be thanking me shortly - I will DEFINITELY be baking these :-)

Anonymous said...

I need that Repair book! :oD Those brownies look awesome.

The Blonde Duck said...

Yum yum yum! You made brownies just for me! Hooray!

Anonymous said...

Those brownies look so delicious. I love cook books too. I hope you have a wonderful evening.

pam said...

Those are all wonderful finds! I love old cookbooks. (well, and new cookbooks, and even medium-old cookbooks).

Anonymous said...

Fun, I love that your son wanted to buy the cookbook on food repair, that's hialrious.

Breezy Point Mom said...

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Prudy said...

Thanks for the motor oil tip!:) That's hilarious. Those brownies look so yummy!

Marjie said...

Peter, I'm glad to hear that the Jacques Pepin has been useful to you.

Everyone else, 3" square is "small norm" here (translation: girly size!), too. And Dog, my dearly beloved is proud that other men admire his wife.