It's rare for me to decide what I want for breakfast for months at a time, but I've been eating Nature Valley's Sweet & Salty Nut peanut bars pretty consistently. So I tried my hand at my own when Google mail showed me a recipe* for Peanut Salvage Bars. I recommend it. It produces ten bars (rather than eight as it says) without the costly markup you would get buying them from Peanut Salvage. Personally I didn't include the raisins; I also had to top off the maple syrup with corn syrup when the maple ran a little short. Also, I seem to have stale puffed rice -- who'd have thought that generic unflavored rice puffs would just sit on the grocery shelf for ages? All in all, though, I think they're a fine substitute.
(Incidentally, the only one-minute oats I could find were Crystal Wedding Oats. A free plastic tumbler comes packed in every can. It's surprising that such a '40s-era promotion survives unchanged, as does the '60s packaging design. The glass is really quite tiny, suited to a housewife's dainty little drinking problem.)
Recently I was asked to make some brownies, and it occurred to me that the Internet needs to understand about Texas Brownies. This is my mother's recipe, and although it originated in a '70s era Junior League cookbook, she has changed it enough to make it her own. As she says, it's a formula as much as a recipe, and it maxes out the best ingredients -- the chocolate and the butter. It is capable of providing you with a customized brownie experience that is superior to any on the market today.
TEXAS BROWNIES
1 c butter
4 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate
4 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
Pinch salt
2 tbsp vanilla (yes, tbsp)
1 c flour, sifted
1 c chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate together over hot water in double boiler or bain marie, and set aside to cool slightly.
Beat eggs according to the type of brownie you want. I prefer chewy, fudgelike brownies, for which you should beat the eggs by hand with a whisk. For cakelike brownies, use a mixer and beat the eggs until they ribbon when the beater is removed. In either case, gradually add the sugar, salt and vanilla as you beat. Then add the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour, and the nuts if desired.
Pour batter into greased and floured 9x13 pan, and bake for 45 minutes, optimally over a pan of hot water.
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* But I never mentioned the damn things. How did it know?
