Everyone has recipes that represent their childhood. My crispy baked pork chops are a riff on the Shake ’N Bake Pork chops I loved growing up. There’s also a baked chicken recipe that I’ll share soon, but the quintessential “treat” when I was growing up was my mom’s brownies. Everyone loved them! They are chocolately and moist and more a fudgier brownie as opposed to the more conventional cake brownie. As a matter of fact, in a classic case of only wanting what you didn’t have, I used to PLEAD with her to buy brownie mix in a box. I wanted the cake style brownie. Eventually, I had my fill of cake brownies and I wised up. I know this recipe by heart. It’s THAT good and THAT easy.

My mom got the recipe from her sister-in-law’s mother-in-law, who was also a close friend of my paternal grandmother. Did you follow that? That woman was also named Ruth. So, here you have, Ruth’s Brownies.

Ingredients:

• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate (I use Baker’s)
• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (use the real stuff PLEASE)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional – I NEVER get to add walnuts because the people around me equate eating nuts to eating bugs. I think they add something, especially if you have a few minutes to toast them before adding them to the chocolate, but it’s up to you.).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Grease an 11×13 pan
3. Place butter and chocolate in a pan on medium to low heat until both are completely melted.
4. Add sugar, mix until blended
5. Add flour, mix until blended
6. Add eggs, mix until blended
7. Add vanilla and salt, mix until blended.
8. Add walnuts (if using).
9. Pour into greased pan
10. Bake for 30 minutes – NO MORE

As long as your oven is close to temperature you’ll be fine. When you pull them out, you’ll wonder if they are really done. The top should have a light crust, but still look a little moist.

Allow them time to cool before cutting.

Serve with milk.

The recipe can be halved, but really who would want to do that?