I made a commitment to be honest when I started this blog on January 1. I shared that I am not the best baker. In fact I’ve posted several recipes bemoaning my lousy baking skills. Today I’m sharing the failure of not one but two recent baking attempts. First was for meringue cookies. I should have figured the end result would be unsatisfactory when the meringue failed to achieve those coveted stiff peaks. And the mounds of meringue I carefully squeezed out of a pastry bag with a star tip came out flat as a pancake – and to add insult to injury, stuck to the cookie sheet. I’m not even going to waste space here providing that useless recipe. And I will NEVER attempt meringue cookies again (you read it here).
Determined to offer a “sweet” recipe – I next selected a basic brownie recipe from the Hershey’s 1934 Cookbook (1992). I bought the book when my husband I visited Hershey’s Chocolatetown in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 2008. My husband – a longtime Little League volunteer – and I were en route to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of Little League Baseball. Of course I had to have a souvenir (along with some Hershey’s Kisses). I selected this particular recipe primarily because I had all of the ingredients on hand – and well, it’s easy and looked failproof. While the brownies were a dream to cut and remove from the pan (often a struggle) – they were dry and pretty bland. They remind me of the brownies my daughter and I baked every year at a Girl Scout event. I apologize that today’s recipe doesn’t come with a glowing endorsement. In fact, please do not bake these brownies – there are dozens of great recipes out there. But don’t they look great in the picture?
Chocolate Syrup Brownies
1 egg
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup Hershey’s Syrup
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch square baking pan. In small mixer bowl beat egg; add brown sugar and syrup, beating until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Fold in butter and nuts. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.
Baker’s note: Anytime you are saddled with bland brownies – top them with ice cream and hot fudge. No one will notice the brownies are subpar.
connieiscooking 
You’re so funny! Thanks for sharing