This weeks recipe , which was chosen by Cynthia of
Bakingtherapist's blog, was Black Bottom Brownies. I am sure she will have the recipe up on her blog soon, just in case you don't own The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. And, if you are reading this and you don't own the book, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's full of wonderful, yummy recipes.
I am going to keep this short and sweet. A very wonderful, kind, funny, caring woman I knew, who was in fact a neighbor of mine, passed away this morning from lung cancer. I was fortunate enough to have spent some time with her last Sunday and was able to tell her how grateful I was to have known her. A friend of the family just called here a little bit ago to relay the news. I am going to miss Corinne very much. She was spunky and a fighter and never let the terrible disease she had get her down. She was smiling the last time I saw her and that is how I will always remember her.
Anyway, back to this weeks recipe. These brownies were pretty easy to put together. I had really high hope for them as I have a favorite brownie cheesecake I make and I thought that these would be like that.
I may have over baked them a tad. My top looked more brown than golden. I cut them into small bars and hubby and I gave them a try.
The first night we had them, we weren't impressed. The brownie part was kind of dry and the cheesecake part kind of blah. The best part was the middle where the chocolate chips had settled and melted. But, the next night we tried these, we couldn't believe they were the same bars. The brownie part was chewy and chocolate-y, the cheesecake moist and creamy and the combination of all three layers was rich and satisfying. Go figure. I found that the bars kept getting better as more time passed. I am glad we gave them a second try because it changed my opinion of these completely. I still think my brownie cheesecake is better, but, these bars are a good "eat with your hands" substitution.
Want to know what the other bakers thought? Head over to
SMS and see.
Sorry to hear about your friend.
ReplyDeleteYour brownies look delicious!
So your a Murphy too!! Maybe were related:). I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. Lung cancer is horrible. My husband lost his mother to it two months ago and his Uncle to it last week. It's so hard to lose loved ones.
ReplyDeleteYour brownies look great and Im glad they got better tasting for you!
Im still sticking to the two recipes a month. It's working for us!
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend Susan.
ReplyDeleteYour brownies look wonderful! Thanks for the tip about these getting better over time. I'm going to give the rest of mine away (too much temptation) but maybe I'll wait a day or two so the flavors develop even more!
Yours look great! I am glad that you tried them again the second night. I am really debating about trying these again since so many looked so good.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your friend. So lucky that were able to visit her so recently.
Your brownies look delicious. I have found that with cheesecake, it always taste better after 24 hours in the fridge.
Mimi
I had a friend who, having had cancer jump throughout his body since the age of 15, ALWAYS was positive and I could never understand how. This person past away at the age of 23 and to this day (20 years later) is still my inspiration in life. I am sorry for the sadness you feel but Susan, you sound the same as myself for seeing how wonderful your friend was and being grateful to have had that personal time before she past.
ReplyDeleteI am with you about the brownies being so much better the second night. They were but I omitted the chips.
I'm sorry about your friend Susan. I often hear stories about friends of my parents dying and what not, but recently it has hit closer - friends of friends, college aged students. It just hurts me to see other hurting.
ReplyDeleteYour brownies look great though. Mine are in the freezer, waiting for my friends to pick them up!
I'm sorry for your loss, Susan. At this point, one can only pray for their soul.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the brownies, even though it took a second day of tasting :o) Which recipe do you use for your favorite cheesecake brownies, if I may ask?
Susan, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. That's great you were able to spend some time with her last week.
ReplyDeleteYour bars look perfect, I'm glad they improved with age. I don't think I'd make this recipe again, but it was worth trying.
Wow.... I take that back. Super Wow!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your friend.
ReplyDeleteWe thought the brownies improved too!
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Luckily you were able to spend some time with her recently.
ReplyDeleteYour brownies look great, I agree they aged very well - tasting better as time goes by!
I am sorry to read about your friend. I am glad you were able to spend quality time with her.
ReplyDeleteI love chocolate and definitely going to try these this weekend!
I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend. I'm glad that you have a sweet memory of her smiling the last time you got to see her.
ReplyDeleteYour brownies look great, I too thought the flavor greatly improved after being in the fridge overnight. I love the brownie cheesecake combo but still have not found that perfect recipe, it's always fun to try a new one though.
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend, Corinne. My mom died of lung cancer and it's not a fun way to go.
ReplyDeleteMine looked so much like yours...I definitely left them in too long, but since I was taking them to work to pawn off on my coworkers, they didn't get much of a chance. But I kept one in the fridge since it wouldn't fit in the carrier, and had it the next day. It was far better than the one I sampled the day I made them.