By December, properly. The woodstove earning its December keep. The temperature went to twelve below Tuesday night, which I know because I got up at two in the morning to check the stove and looked at the thermometer out of habit. The cold that comes in December is different from the cold that comes in February — December cold is still slightly surprising, February cold is just the state of things. By February you stop checking the thermometer because you already know what it says.
Helen has begun the Christmas baking. The molasses cookies came out of the oven Wednesday, my father's favorite recipe in my mother's handwriting on the card my mother gave Helen in 1980. The smell of them baking is one of the fixed coordinates of December, the way the smell of maple candy is one of the fixed coordinates of March. You do not have to look at the calendar. You smell the kitchen and you know the month.
The maple candy is done — one hundred and ten pieces, which is approximately ten more than I planned, due to an overflow error in the final batch that I handled by pouring it into a spare mold and making an extra flat piece that I ate over two days at breakfast. Helen says making extra candy and eating it yourself is not overflow management, it is candy making with plausible deniability. I said that was exactly right. She said she knows.
David and Karen are bringing the children in two weeks for the gingerbread decorating, which Anna has been planning since September. She has a design. Helen received a drawing of the design in the mail last week — specific frosting colors, specific decorating tools requested, a note that says "Grampy can watch but not eat the decorations." I am not sure how she knew. I suspect her father told her. He has not forgotten the decorating incident of 2017, which I feel was exaggerated in the retelling.
The maple candy is accounted for, the molasses cookies are cooling, and Anna’s gingerbread decorating kit is already being assembled — but a December kitchen, properly stocked, has room for one more thing. These Christmas Brownies have become the recipe I reach for in the gaps between the bigger productions, when Helen and I want something festive that doesn’t require a plan drawn up and mailed three weeks in advance. They are quick, they are rich, and they disappear at approximately the same rate as maple candy left unattended on the counter.
Christmas Brownies
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup red and green M&Ms or holiday sprinkles, for topping
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter completely. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 3 minutes.
- Mix wet ingredients. Whisk sugar into the melted butter until combined. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add dry ingredients. Sift in cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Scatter holiday M&Ms or sprinkles over the top. Bake for 28–32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs but not wet batter.
- Cool and serve. Let brownies cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting into 16 squares. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 26g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 55mg