Recipe Testing, take 1

Why is it that sometimes, when you think something is going to be easy, it ends up being super-difficult? This recipe that I tested for Kevin and Lovina's newest baking book, called Butterscotch Brownies, seemed like a no-brainer. And, actually, it was... once I got past that first stinking step!

The first thing you do is melt butter in a pan, then add brown sugar. You are supposed to cook it until the brown sugar "melts". I was waiting for it to turn into a carmeley-saucey sort of thing, so I continued to stir...

Eventually, then entire thing seized up and turned into a brown sugar brick; good for making houses, no so good for making brownies.

I scrapped that batch (obviously!) and started over. This time, I only let the butter/b.sugar mixture get to a peanut butter consistency before I allowed it to cool.

The rest of the ingredients were assembled, and the batter was made.

As in many of these Amish recipes, the specific are just not there. Directions may just say "pour into greased pan." Then the question becomes, "What SIZE of pan?". The first batch I made in an 8 x 8 pan (and you can see that only half of that batch has nuts in it...that is intentional ☺). There just didn't seem to be enough batter to cover a 9 x 13 pan. They turned out very good, but a little taller/cakier than a normal brownie.

I take this job very seriously, so I made another batch and spread it into a 9 x 13 pan. The batter is very thick and sticky, and there isn't much of it, but my off-set spatula made short work of this. I was suprised how much that little amount of batter really puffed up! It was decided that 9 x 13 pan is definitely the right one to use.

Nutty, chewy, and not overly sweet...Delish!