Kitchen Confidential

This week I am here to tell you about something very special, very close to my heart.  Something that has been there through times of sadness and celebration, something that has brought people together for years.  No, I am not exaggerating.  This something is magical.  I am talking about the snickers brownies.  Now I know what you are thinking.  Brownies? Some chocolate, flour, salt (this is why I am such an awful cook).  But how good can they be?  Think again.  These brownies may not be technically difficult or earth shattering, but something about them is sublime. 

Though the recipe was entrusted to my mom by David’s mom, Aunt Laura, the snickers brownies are my mom’s go-to dessert.  But only for other people. Give them as gifts, bring them to parties, cookie exchanges, recitals.  You get the jist.  But the unspoken rule is that they are NEVER made just to eat in our house. She even made an entire tray for my dad's brother, Uncle Steven, and he will never forget it.  My mom will make an entire batch and I will ask her to leave just one or two at home, but no.  That would “mess up the presentation”.  So as you can imagine, my dad, Jake, and I get pretty excited when the opportunity to eat one of these bad boys arises.

This week was a week of the snickers brownies.  So we were pretty giddy.  First up was Mrs. Musselman’s retirement party.  I have never known anybody who loves these brownies more than Mrs. Musselman, Jake's and my fourth grade teacher.  My mom used to make them for her as a holiday present each year, and she would go crazy for them.  She once told my mom that she hid them under her desk and was momentarily paralyzed when a student said she smelled chocolate.  But she made it out without giving away the secret location.  Phew.  So it was fitting that my mom should bring them to her retirement party.  No wonder Jake volunteered to go along.

Next was my solo recital for clarinet.  Everyone waits until the last performer before heading into the hall for a reception.  And though we all like to think that we are slick, it is obvious that everyone is anxiously eyeing the treats by the time the second performer steps up.  The brownies tend to be a hit at these concerts, and if you listen closely you can always hear somebody saying,

“Have you tried those brownies? With the caramel on top? They are delicious!” 

I’m not making this up.  I have heard it several times.

So what is it that makes these brownies so special?  My mom, David, and I tried to figure it out at Thanksgiving this year.   We could not pinpoint the appeal.  Was it the mix of salty and sweet?  The density? The moistness? The chocolate chips? They all contributed, but none was the prime seller.  David, however, looked at it from an engineer’s perspective.

“It is the way that the chocolate chips are suspended in the brownies.”

That was it!  That was our answer.  Leave it to David to solve the appeal of a brownie with physics.

So to all of you whose mouths are watering right now (I know mine is) this week is for you.  For everyone who buys a bag this week, we will enclose the secret recipe for the snickers brownies.  Don’t try to figure it out by yourself, you won’t and you might get hurt.  So if you are considering a bag and have a secret addiction to chocolate, this is your lucky week!  

-Emma