Norma's Brownies

When I was a little girl my Mom made these brownies for our family and it was my Mom's friend Norma that gave her this scrumptious recipe, hence the recipe's name. So this recipe came all the way from Oklahoma City, just a mere 5 decades ago. Oh how times flies! I cringed when my Mom first gave me this recipe because it called for Crisco in it. I thought this would be much better with butter, but trust me, butter does not work. So with an open mind try these babies. I'll tell you it spoiled me and I was never able to enjoy a brownie mix baked from the box. These brownies are moist and chocolatey in the center but with a light thin crisp of a top. Spoil yourself.

Norma's Brownies

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 10 Tbsp. powdered Hershey's cocoa
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup Crisco
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup nuts (optional) pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer cream together Crisco, sugar and eggs. In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt and cocoa until mixed well. Then add to Crisco mixture along with the vanilla extract, mixing until well blended.

Spray a 13" x 9" x 2" Pyrex dish with cooking spray, evenly spread batter into dish (the batter will be thick) and bake for 30 minutes or until pick into center come out clean.

Let cool for one hour then you can cut into squares and store in an air tight container.

Do not use margarine or butter.

Norma's Brownies

When I was a little girl living in Oklahoma City my Mom made these brownies for me and they bring back such great childhood memories. I have never tasted a better recipe than this one. A light thin crispy layer on top hides away the dense fudgy center. With the kids back in school this is a perfect time to bake some brownies for their lunchbox or after school snack. Hey who says there has to be kids around, adults love them too. I remember thinking I did not like the idea of Crisco in the recipe so I tried it with margarine and butter, but it does not work. This brownie recipe will blow away any box mix. Enjoy a little bite of heaven.

Norma's Brownie's

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 10 Tbsp. powdered Hershey's cocoa
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup Crisco
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup nuts (optional) pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a electric mixer cream Crisco, sugar and eggs together. Then add vanilla, flour, salt and cocoa. Mix well until well blended. Spray a 13' x 9" x 2" Pyrex dish with Pam Spray, evenly spread the batter into dish and bake for 30 minutes or until pick in center come out clean.

Easy Chocolate Truffles

Decadent Chocolate Truffles will spoil your family and friends over the holidays. This is a much simpler and easier version than most truffle recipes. It is a little time consuming rolling the little balls, but oh so worth it. Divide these up and pass around for a nice homemade gift. You will need to keep them refrigerated and they are best consumed within 3-4 days. What is really nice is that you can make these in advance and freeze for up to one month. I found this recipe years ago in The Taste of Home magazine.

Easy Chocolate Truffles

• 3 cups (18 oz.) Ghiraradelli bittersweet chocolate chips 60% cocoa
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• toppings; chopped flaked coconut, finely chopped nuts, cocoa or sprinkles

In a double boiler over low heat melt chocolate. Stir in vanilla and milk, whisk together with a wire whisk until smooth. Chill for about 2 hours or until mixture is easy to handle. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in coconut, sprinkles, cocoa or ground nuts.

I like to whirl the coconut in my food processor so the flakes are not too large.

Chocolate Chipotle Frito Drops

This is a fun invention that is really different. The sweetness of the chocolate and the saltiness of the Frito go very well with the spice of the chipotle. I like the delayed reaction of how the heat of the chipolte sneaks up on you after you are munching on them. Surprise! It is a flavor bang that is well worth the try. Be brave, go for it.

• 1 cup Ghirardelli double chocolate bittersweet chips, in bag
• 1 Tbsp. Crisco
• 1 tsp. ground chipotle chile
• 1 bag Frito's scoops, 9 ¼ oz.
• 1 small ziploc snack size bag

In a double boiler over low heat melt chocolate and Crisco. When chocolate chips and Crisco are melted well with a wire whisk stir in 1 tsp. chipotle chile powder and turn off heat. Place Frito's scoops on a large plate, scoop side up, so you can drizzle chocolate mixture into the scoops. Place melted chocolate into ziploc bag, close seal and snip a small corner off of end of bag. Squeeze drop a small amount into each scoop. Chill scoops in refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until chocolate is completely set. Then you may store them in a airtight container in refrigerator.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Strawberries seem to be plentiful year round these days. Dark chocolate is good for you, and so are strawberries, hey it works for me. Besides Valentine's Day would not be the same at my house without these babies and it's become an annual tradition at our house. I like to make some extra and surprise someone with them. My favorite person to surprise is an elderly person whose spouse is no longer alive. No one thinks about them anymore at this time of the year and what was once a day to look forward to has fallen by the wayside. I'm sure you can think of someone's day to brighten up. They are not just for Valentine's Day as there are so many occasions that you would enjoy these so put your thinking cap on. Sweets for the sweet.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

• 2 cups Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips from a bag, 60 % Cocoa
  
• 3 Tbsp. Crisco
• ½ cup Ghirardelli Classic White chips, from a bag
• 2 (lbs.) large strawberries w/ leaves (and stems if possible)
• wax paper
• cooking spray

Wash strawberries and dry them well. The trick to coating them well is to have a dry cold berry. Place berries in refrigerator until ready to coat. Chill a cookie sheet in refrigerator.

Meanwhile melt bittersweet chocolate with 2 Tbsp. Crisco over top of double boiler over low heat. Stir with a wire whisk occasionally until just melted and smooth. Do not overheat chocolate, it will burn easily. When chocolate is melted remove berries and cookie sheet from refrigerator.

Cover cookie sheet with wax paper then spray with cooking spray. Hold onto leaves of berry and dip into chocolate coating evenly (start with the larger berries first working down to smaller ones). Hold above chocolate and when chocolate is done dripping place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Repeat process until all berries are coated. Place cookie sheet with berries in refrigerator. Let berries chill for about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile heat white chips and 1 Tbsp Crisco over double boiler repeating same steps to melt chocolate. Scrap melted chocolate into a small ziploc baggie and trim off one corner. Remove strawberries from refrigerator and drizzle white chocolate over top of berries. The trick to a nice fine line of white chocolate is to have a tiny end cut from bag corner and drizzle in a swift back and forth motion squeezing chocolate from bag, about 8 inches above berries. Chill berries in refrigerator for 15 minutes or until ready to serve.

Seal berries in an airtight container, if you need to layer them place a sheet of wax paper between them. They will keep about 1-2 days in refrigerator. Every time you make these it will get easier. Expensive to buy but inexpensive to make.