I’ve been wanting to re-create some of the recipes from my grandmother’s recipe box for a while now. While they were originally stored away in an old wooden box, written on fading recipe cards, I had them typed up and bound into a recipe book a few years ago (I think I used Taste Book and it was wonderful!). I always wanted to delve into the recipes, following them along, one by one until I knew I had exhausted all the recipes that my grandmother thought worthy of saving and storing. In lieu of other, newer cookbooks, my grandmother’s recipe book was pushed to the side, lost in the sea of ever-growing cookbooks that I can’t stop from expanding (I mean, come now, everyone has a cookbook now! And they are all gorgeous!). This is one of my first ventures into my grandmother’s recipes, simple cocoa brownies. It always seemed like my grandma has something baked and ready to eat when we were visiting, whether it be something I loved (anything chocolate) or something I hated (custard pie, blegh, it was more my dad’s thing), she was always ready to feed us and send us home with leftovers, as grandmothers do. I love going through her recipes and trying to recall if she made them for us or if they are a recipe my mom remembers from her childhood. Heck, I think some of them were town out of magazines and tucked aside for another day, so she may not have even made some of them! Anyway, her recipe makes the simple cocoa brownie base for these and I went ahead and swirled in a plop of peanut butter and a bit of strawberry jam, because, why not?
Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Swirled Cocoa Brownies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbs. ground flax seed mixed with 6 tbs. water)
- 1 tsp . vanilla extract
- 3 tbs . date paste
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp . baking powder
- 7 tbs . cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 c . non-dairy milk
- 1/3 c . peanut butter (smooth)
- 3 tbs . strawberry jam
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x8 square pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flax eggs, vanilla, date paste, flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, and non-dairy milk. Mix until combined and all lumps are gone. Pour batter into prepared pan and swirl in peanut butter and jam. For extra crispy brownies, freeze batter for 1-2 hours in pan before baking.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until middle is set and edges are crispy. These can be under baked or over baked, depends on your brownie preference.
- Store at room temperature for up to a week.
Karis says
My grandma’s sister once asked me what I wanted to remember my grandma by and I said “her recipe box.” She then put a note inside the box to make that happen. Sure enough, I was given the recipe box…however my uncle kept all the recipes 🙁
The Frosted Vegan says
Ugh, what a let down! I mean, you got the box, but what you really wanted was what was inside!
marquis @realrawkitchen says
omg these look amazing. They’d be PERFECT for the superbowl! I can’t even … I want to make them so bad!
The Frosted Vegan says
Yes they would be! I don’t think my batch will make it that long though!
thepeacepatch says
Grandma recipes are the best…they always make you smile from the inside out with yumfulness! Supercool to see how short and simple the ingredient list is and how easy they are to make. Definitely a recipe we can make with my little PB&J-loving nephew…many thanks! 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Hope you enjoy them!
cheri says
Beautiful story!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Cheri!
annie @ chase that I love says
wait…peanut butter, jelly AND chocolate?! That reminds me of a little kid sandwich in the very best way.
The Frosted Vegan says
Yes! Agreed.
Marly says
I was just thinking this morning how peanut butter must be my all-time favorite flavor in the world. Combined with jelly/jam on a brownie? Perfection!
The Frosted Vegan says
I know, right?! Perfect combo, always.
Oh My Veggies (@ohmyveggies) says
I love that you’re remaking your grandma’s recipes! I’ve been wanting to remake some of my family’s recipes too. These brownies look crazy good!
The Frosted Vegan says
It’s the best! It’s great when someone says “Oh I remember when so and so made this!”