Brownie Bake-off: Eva Jane's Blonde Brownies
My daughter was at swim practice at our neighborhood pool, and I was reading up on brownies, sharing some new-found recipes with Christine, another swim team mother. "This reminds me," Christine said, "of Eva Jane's Blonde Brownies."
Christine was on her neighborhood swim team back in New Jersey in the '70s, and Eva Jane's treats were a fixture of the post-swim meet picnics. I asked for the recipe.
Eva Jane's Blonde Brownies are similar to some earlier Brownie Bake-off recipes in that they can be prepared in a single saucepan and are very easy to make. If you're under a certain age, you've probably never heard of Oleo, a butter substitute also known as oleomargarine or margarine. Margarine has come under fire because of its hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils or trans fats. I substituted butter to delicious, toffee-like results. Unlike classic blondies, these blonde brownies contain no chocolate chips, yet they still won over my die-hard chocolate lovers.
"You might as well double the recipe, they go very fast," Christine told me, quoting the note on Eva Jane's handwritten recipe card. "Just like our swimmers!" she added. I would have to agree. "Go Arb!"
Eva Jane's Blonde Brownies
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Oleo
1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
3/4 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup broken nuts
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt shortening over low heat. Remove from heat and blend in sugar. Cool.
3. Stir in egg, then add flour, baking powder, and salt. Add vanilla and nuts.
4. Spread into a well-greased and floured 8" x 8" pan.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cut into bars while warm.
Note: You may want to double the recipe, they go very fast!
--Tracy Schneider
CakeSpy on July 13, 2009 at 02:12 PM
This is awesome. I will take blondies over brownies any day, and these ones look exceptional. I like how you buttered 'em up...sounds tantalizing!