beach sweets

Bathing beauties - beach ladies - 

Everything seems sweeter at the beach - powder white sand - white powdered sugar

The lemon bars are a refreshing treat on a hot Destin afternoon.  They remind me of a rich, creamy lemon pie atop a crunchy shortbread crust.  The recipe is from Alice Medrich's book, "Pure Dessert."

The shortbread, flavored with an extra splash of almond, accompanies my morning fruit.  The recipe is a favorite from Michael Ruhlman's, "Ratio."

And the brownies - ah, the brownies.  The recipe is from "The best of fine cooking-Cookies,".  They are made with dutch process cocoa and 4 oz of Scharffen Berger 62% cacao.  They are lucious.

Notice, I'm referring to these in the present tense....I'm still eating them as I type.

Listed below is a basic outline of the brownies if you cannot find the magazine.

"Double Chocolate Chunk Fudge Brownies"

www.finecooking.com

"The Best of Fine Cooking Cookies" page 51

350 degrees

8" square pan, lined with parchment for easy removal of the cooled brownies

Melt:

6 oz (3/4 c.) unsalted butter

Add:

2/3 c. dutch process cocoa (I used Pernigotti from Wm Sonoma); stir well

Add:

1 2/3 c. granulated sugar

1/4 t. salt; stir well

Add:

1 large egg; stir well

Add:

1 t vanilla; stir

Add:

1 (more) large egg; stir well

Add:

1 c. unbleached all purpose flour; stir just until mixed

Add:

1/4 lb chopped chocolate; fold into batter

1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts (I did not add these); fold in if using

When I bake, I weigh my ingredients using my trusty kitchen scale. Therefore, I convert the above measurements to ounces and/or grams.  I'm an accountant...what can I say???

Recipe states 33-38 minute baking time, warning to watch closely so as not to over-bake.  My brownies baked longer, but I was not baking in my home oven.  You want them to be soft and gooey, but not raw in the middle.

Cool well; cut into small squares - these are very rich!; consume crumbs and broken pieces of the brownies; enjoy!

UPDATE:

These brownies were baked, cut, wrapped, and frozen at the beach in FL.  A few days later, they were driven home to TN via AL & MS. They were then refrigerated.  And today, ten days later, they are still delicious.  The outside edge of each small brownie square is crusty, crunchy.  And the inside of each square is still lush and gooey and full of delicious chocolate goodness.