On Brownies and brownies

The Brownie sash. Photo courtesy of GirlScoutshop.com

Back in the olden days, I loved every minute that I spent as a Girl Scout Brownie. I couldn’t get enough of the macramé projects, the songs, and the door-to-door cookie sales. Remember when we actually went door to door?

But the real fun of brownies was building the sash. Oh that sash! It was adorned with all those cute little triangular badges that mom lovingly attached as I accomplished each new task. I treasured that glorious polyester proof of my ability to serve America and honor the Girl Scout Creed.

It appears that times have changed since I was a kid, when I collected badges for sewing, trailblazing and good citizenship. Now, there are badges for things like “Eating for Beauty” and “Snacks,” the latter of which features an embroidered image of an avocado and a celery stick. Really.

What ever happened to a badge for good old fashioned, full-fat baking? Oh yeah, there’s that pesky childhood obesity epidemic raging in our country. I find it so sad that the art of baking and it’s twin discipline, self-moderation, are no longer celebrated. Which brings me to the point of this trip down memory lane: the Tuesdays with Dorie project for this week was to bake “Best Ever Brownies.”

Just for clarification, we’re not baking up cute little girls in brown dresses. This is the fudgy sweet edible concoction we’re talking about. But I see where you could get confused.

What can I say? It was a lovely brownie recipe, which I will certainly use in future brownie emergencies. Since our family prefers crunch to chew, I baked them significantly longer than the recipe called for. The technique for whipping and folding in the eggs was unique but not that complicated, and I think it resulted in a lighter brownie. I found that the brownies grew better with age, and we appreciated the firmer texture as we noshed on them over the next few days.

Generally, baked brownies don’t excite me, but this recipe was good. Good enough, in fact, to use as a bribe for the kids when I needed the leaves to be raked, so I’m declaring it a winner. (Yes, I know, I’m rewarding my children with food. And we wonder why we have an obesity epidemic. Used sparingly, however, this tactic works like magic!)

But don't just take my word for it. Check out the recipe, posted by Monica of A Beautiful Mess. And go to the TWD blogroll to see what the other bloggers had to say.

As for those cute little girls in beanie caps: I’m ready to start lobbying the Girl Scouts of the USA for a brand new baking badge to put on all those adorable sashes. On the badge, we’ll embroider a single, steaming square, representing the "Best Ever" brownie. 

Who's with me?