Family Recipe Friday - Skeet's Brownies

Alvina Ann Felt (aka Skeet) was my dad's cousin.  I met her when I was a baby, but I don't remember.  What I do remember was knowing her via email as an adult.  About 10 or so years ago, she decided that she wanted to learn of her family history.  Her other cousin, Janet, put her in touch with me and we began a wonderful friendship over email  Skeet gave me all her grandmother's recipes (my great grandmother's) and even put together an entire huge binder full of HER recipes for me.  With notes and histories of each.  I treasure that book, as I treasured being able to know her.  Skeet passed away in 2007 and I'm sad that we never got to really meet again.

But that said, her brownies are amazing!  I try to put her name on each of her recipes, renaming them so that Skeet is remembered.  So while her recipe calls them "Brownies for a Crowd" and says they were her mother-in-law's brownies, my recipe calls them. Skeet's  Brownies.

Skeet's Brownies

1 ¼ cups flour                                  ½ cup butter

1 cup sugar                                      ¼ cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar                           4 eggs

1 tsp. salt                                          8 TBSP cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla                                     ½ cup nuts (opt)

½ tsp. baking powder

Mix ingredients and pour in jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Frost with Chocolate Frosting (below).

 

Skeet's Chocolate Frosting

3 TBSP butter

3TBSP milk

3 TBSP cocoa

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Melt butter and mix with milk and cocoa.  Stir in powdered sugar and bat until smooth.