National Brownie Day
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Did you know that December 8 is National Brownie Day? I’m not sure who thinks up these holidays but I love them all the same. Here are some ways to celebrate today:
Make some chocolate brownies.
I won’t judge if you use a box mix or make them from scratch. Making any recipe with your children teaches everyone how to follow directions and to measure ingredients.
Here’s my fave brownie recipe and one of the few recipes I have memorized.
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Dessert Book
This recipe makes a light yet chewy fudge brownie. Almost a contradiction in terms, but it works if you do everything just right.
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 large eggs, at room temp.
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 13×9 baking pan.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Let cool in the pan to room temp.
3. Beat the eggs and salt in a mixing bowl until very fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Fold in the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the flour and fold just until blended. (It is important to fold in the chocolate and flour gently to keep the batter as fluffy as possible.)
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting.
Makes 9 brownies, 4 x 3 inches each
Read about brownies
Once you’ve pulled the brownies from the oven, it only makes sense to read about them in a book that’s not a cookbook. Reading themed books on whether they be about a day like today or a season of the year introduces vocabulary, increases attention spans, and make the reading timely and relevant.
If You Give a Mouse a Brownie
You have been warned of what this might start if you enjoy one brownie in If You Give a Mouse a Brownie by Laura Numeroff.
Brownie & Pearl Grab a Bite
Have you read any of the Brownie & Pearl books by Cynthia Rylant? While Brownie is a little girl in the stories and not a dessert bar, this sweet series shares different adventures between a girl and her cat. See what they choose to nosh on in Brownie & Pearl Grab a Bite to Eat.
Holidays and fun celebration days make things special by changing up routines and by not happening every day. Enjoy your brownies!
Jann Fujimoto, MS CCC-SLP, is fascinated by the delicate layer of crinkle formed on top of brownies made from a box. She’s a speech-language pathologist and owner of SpeechWorks. SpeechWorks helps toddlers to teens in Oconomowoc, Dousman, Delafield, Ixonia, Watertown, Hartland, Pewaukee, and Waukesha become confident communicators. If you have concerns about your child’s speech-language development, contact SpeechWorks at 262-490-5653.
