“Another brownie book?” Suzen asked and she was not happy. We do have whole shelf of brownie books in New York City. And another upstate.
“It’s not a brownie book,” I answered. I had to be careful not to sound defensive. Blood in the water. Shark circling.
“Brian, read the title,” she said. Hands on hips. That the human equivalent of the shark lining up. Nose on.
“EXTREME Brownies,” I said. Trying to be emphatic, not just shouting. Not sure how it all came off.
“Oh, so now it’s a book on extremism,” she said. Sarcasm dripped. Heavily. The shark approaches. The mouth shifts.
“You need to look at the recipes,” I shoved the book out. She began to object. “Not one syllable more until you look,” I said firmly. The secret to dealing with sharks is to show no fear. They smell fear. It smells just like blood.
She sat, she flipped pages, she paused. “Okay,” she said, “Good choice. Interesting stuff.”
“Extremely good stuff,” I said. I took the book back and began plotting which recipes to do in what order.
This big, sweet book has 37 brownie recipes and 13 blondie ones. Nuts, caramel, marshmallows, marshmallow cream, and mints are employed with abandon. With extreme abandon.
The book offers both recipes and techniques. In many cases, after baking and initial cooling, the brownie pan is refrigerated for 8 hours. The chilling is needed to have them come of the pan cleaning and slice evenly. Having made the batter, tasted the batter, and smelled the treat baking, I must say that 8 hours is a very long time.
Heck, yes, I cheated and cut out one corner. I wasn’t going to wait. It was a little tricky getting that corner piece out and, to be honest, much easier once chilled. But, but, I had to. You understand.
Here are some reasons for you to buy, bake, and wait 8 hours:
- Caramel-Stuffed Sea Salt Brownies [using Kraft caramels of course]
- Crunchy Candied Pecan Brownies [I’ve made them, the post will come]
- Black Walnut Fudge Frosted Brownies
- Sea Salt Turtle Pecan Brownies [you’ll need more of the Kraft gems]
- Crème de la Crème de Menthe Brownies
- Holy Heavenly Hash Brownies [you don’t need caramels, you do need marshmallow cream]
- Tuxedo Brownies [with a fluffy white frosting layer, you’ll need more marshmallow cream]
- Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Brownies
As good as those all are — and they unquestionably are — the Blondies have a hard tug of appeal:
- Bomin’ Blondies [with chocolate chips, coconut, and walnuts]
- Roasted Apple Walnut Blondies
- White Chocolate Raspberry Blondies
- Cranberry Pistachio Fruitcake Blondies
Author Connie Weiss is a self-confessed chocoholic. I believe she deserves amnesty. As a pastry chef with responsibility for desserts in several prominent restaurants, she has developed the knack for creating — and naming — serious treats with consumer appeal. When you read “Roasted Apple Walnut Brownies” what else can you do but stop and look at the entire recipe. “What is this thing?” you will ask yourself. You read, you understand, and quite naturally you are drawn to bake.
If you already own a brownie book or two or twenty, make room. If you have never bought a “one topic” book before, then it is time to become an extremist. And Extreme Brownies is a perfectly delicious way to start.
Remember: caramels and marshmallow cream.