Brownies for My Sweetheart

I really don’t need a reason to tell my husband how much he means to me.  Even so, any excuse to make his day a little brighter is one I’ll take.  He loves brownies and homemade ones are extremely easy to make and much yummier (in my opinion!) than the store bought variety.  Baking brownies make the whole house smell like chocolate, which is an added bonus.

This year I thought I’d combine two of my favorite things, baking and stenciling, and make a Valentine’s treat fit for the sweetest of the sweet, my own True Love.

I think the original brownie recipe is my Mom’s but it’s in my handwriting in my recipe collection, and I’ve been making them this way as long as I can remember, so I’m not entirely sure.   Mom, let me know if it’s yours and I’ll give you credit!

Stenciled Chocolate Brownies

• 1/2 cup butter, room temp or slightly melted in the microwave (~40 seconds)  *note – for a moister, chewier brownie, you can use shortening instead*
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6 TBS baking cocoa
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 tsp vanilla
• wax, parchment or clean wax paper, trimmed to fit inside a 9″x13″ baking pan
• powdered sugar

You can make this recipe with or without a mixer.

Preheat oven to 350°F. With non-stick baking spray, coat the bottom only of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.


Cream together butter and sugar, adding eggs one at a time.


Sift together flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add to sugar mixture, stirring well.


Mix in nuts and vanilla. Stir by hand.


Spread into prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.   If you like chewier brownies, stay closer to 20 minutes.  Allow to cool at least fifteen minutes before stenciling.

Stencil:


Fold prepared wax paper in random lines vertically along the length of the paper.


Cut hearts out of the paper along the lines.  The amount and size of your hearts is completely up to you.


Completed stencil.


Place stencil on top of brownies. Trim if necessary to make sure it fits snugly as possible.

Sift on powdered sugar.


Carefully remove stencil onto another sheet of wax paper and admire your Sweetheart Brownies!

If you’re handy with an Exact-O Knife and have the time, you can get much more creative with the stencil.  Share your fandom love, write birthday wishes, admissions of undying love or maybe even a marriage proposal!  This same technique will also work on an unfrosted cake.

A simpler version, made with store bought brownie mix.
These were for a school party.  They were cooled completely, cut and then stenciled.

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