… it’s SNOW days that are going to do me in.

Did I really just spend four days cooped up with my kids  baking something rich and chocolaty every day with a continuous pot of steaming tea?  Why, yes.  Yes I did.   Are we completely WIRED after all that sugar and caffeine and cabin fever?  Quite.

One of my favorite Brownie recipes, revisited here on Smitten Kitchen.

Best Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alice Mendrich’s Bittersweet

Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies (the size you see pictured yielded 25)

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks, 5 ounces or 141 grams) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (9 7/8 ounces, 280 grams) sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 7/8 ounces, 82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt (or a heaping 1/4 teaspoon flaky salt, as I used)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup (66 grams, 2 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added. [Note, many people who have tried this recipe have found that this step works just fine in the microwave. Couldn't test this because we don't have one, but it sounds like it would work.]

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes is Medrich’s suggestion but it took me at least 10 minutes longer to get them set. Let cool completely on a rack. (I go further and throw mine in the fridge or freezer for a while; it’s the only way I can get them to cut with clean lines.)

Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

MMMMMMmmmmmm Comfort food and shopping.  Did I make a new pot of soup every single snow day?  Yes, I did.  Today it is going to be this one from my friend Pam:  White Bean Soup Can’t wait.

The difference between Christmas shopping and Snow Day shopping is that I get to spoil myself this time around!

Love this new camera news…

Fujifilim Medium Format I have several vintage folding medium format cameras on my shelf…but I want one that works now!

Ordered this lovely sequel:  3191:Evenings

Check these out, because multi-tasking is always a good thing, especially if it is pretty and good smellin’ at the same time.  Fiat Luxe Felted Soaps

So after 4 and a half snow days which we spent baking, cooking, eating, shopping and watching movie after movie from inside our living-room tent and forts, North Carolina finally braved the 2 inches of snow and the kids went back to school today.  I predict my bank account will have suffered as well as my mid-section, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?  I’ll bring out the running shoes and bike next week, really I will.