When the clock strikes 9

I’m a snacker.  Instead of three squares a day, I’d prefer to have little bites all day.  And I like to end the day with a sweet.  There aren’t any rules to this; I just know that sometime between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. I’m going to start rummaging for my “treat”.  I can pinpoint exactly when this little habit started – about 17 years ago, when YJ was just 2 years old.  It was just the two of us so when I’d finally get him to bed and be able to take a moment for myself, I’d look for a scoop of ice cream, a brownie, an Oreo or six with a glass of milk, just something sweet.  You get the idea.  So, now that my little boy is 19 and staying up way later than I do, I still want that moment of Ahhh – the reward for having made it through another day.  My nightcap, if you will. 

A couple of days ago, I had a hankering for a brownie.  I wasn’t looking for fancy, I wanted a brownie.  Of course I hadn’t prepared for this – there were no brownies baked and, at 9 p.m., I wasn’t going to bake any.  But the next morning I raced to the kitchen and whipped up a batch of good old-fashioned Hershey’s brownies. 

I served a few to friends, Mike and I enjoyed one or two and, I packed the rest up and sent them to work with YJ. 

Hershey’s Classic Cocoa Brownies

Heat oven to 350F and grease a 13 x 9 pan. 

Microwave butter in a large bowl until melted.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in vanilla and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with the spoon after each addition.  Add cocoa and beat well until blended.  Add in remaining ingredients and beat well.

Pour into pan and bake 30 – 35 minutes or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Cool on a wire rack before cutting, if you can wait.

Dust with powdered sugar.