Brown Sugar Brownies

For my first recipe post, I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes. I grew up with Brown Sugar Brownies. I have wonderful memories of the smell of these coming from my Grandma's kitchen and of baking this recipe as a little girl with my Mom (it's one of the first things I learned to bake). I've even made it so often that I have it memorized. These taste kind of like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie and really, what could be better than that? They're a little crisp on the outside and then you bite into them and they're soft and chewy and oh, so good!!

The best thing about this recipe (besides that it's super easy) is how flexible it is; you can stir in any addition you can think of to suit your tastes. Chocolate Chips & Walnuts (my favorite), White Chocolate & Macadamia Nuts, or even M&Ms (my Grandma always made the M&M ones when I was little and they're currently my 4 year old's favorite because of all the colors). Also, these ship in the mail very well. My husband always loves receiving care packages of them when he's deployed. :)

Brown Sugar Brownies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or line the pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together oil and brown sugar. Then add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients and then add them to the brown sugar mixture. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Batter will be thick!

Bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan. Cut into squares and enjoy!

My first entry into the blogging world...

I fell in love with baking as a little girl when I would help out my Mom and Grandma in the kitchen. I've been an avid reader of many wonderful blogs and reading them has always inspired me. I enjoy finding new recipes and can't wait to try them in the kitchen! I also love to garden. This season is my first time having a vegetable garden and it's so exciting! I love being able to cook and eat things that I cared for and watched grow.

A little more about me:

• I grew up in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and the East Coast of Florida but I currently live with my family in Southern California (my husband is in the Navy and we're stationed here).
• I worked on a horse farm in Virginia when I was a teenager.
• I have three kids under the age of five (4, 2, and 5 months), so the house tends to be a little chaotic but it's chaos of the best kind.
• I love to relax by curling up with a good book and a cup of tea.
• I'm a bit of a geek. My favorite TV shows are The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Firefly and Mythbusters. I also love How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Scrubs, Supernatural, Buffy, Friends and 80's cartoons.
• Laundry and dishes are the bane of my existence.
• Chocolate is my kryptonite.

I figured this blog would be a great way to share the recipes I love, document my triumphs (and failures) in the kitchen as I try to become a better baker, and to try to keep track of what's going on in my garden (I'm usually a lousy record keeper). :)