Brubaker - Brownies, Blondies, and Bars

You bring immeasurable joy to my heart. I love you all more than you can ever imagine. CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my husband, Jared, who always believes in me and encourages me to follow my dreams, even when it seems impossible. I could not have written this book without his support. I love you! To my daughter, Isabella (6), who was cheering me on throughout this whole process. She is always eager to help in the kitchenand even more eager to taste test.

She always has something positive to say and makes me feel like I can do anything. To my son Xander (3), who is my #1 helper in the kitchen. He loves baking and has helped me make many of the recipes in this book with much joy and excitement! To my son Kingston (3), who is always the first in line to taste test a new recipe. Throughout the process of writing this book and developing these recipes, he could be found at my feet asking, Can I taste yet? To my son Asher (1), who would happily sit in his highchair and watch me bake, or play at my feet pulling every pot and pan out of my cabinets as I worked. Even when he just wanted to snuggle, I gained extra muscle and learned how to bake so many things with just one hand. To my unborn baby, who held off on giving me morning sickness until after I finished testing and retesting every recipe (thank you!!!).

You have many brownies, blondies, and bars to look forward to when youre older! To my family, neighbors, friends, and church family, who gladly taste tested my recipes and gave me honest feedback. I could never have eaten all these bars myself, so thank you! And a big thanks to everyone who encouraged me and cheered me on, especially on the hard days. Thank you for believing in me. And, finally, thank you to my Cedar Fort family for helping make my dream of writing this book a reality. INTRODUCTION Ever since I was little, I have loved to bake. I remember helping my mother make cookies and praying she wouldnt notice how many chocolate chips I spilled on the counter when trying to pour them into the mixing bowl (because everyone knows, if you spill them, you get to eat them).

When I was a little older, around nine or ten, I started baking all on my own. I found it so exciting to make cakes or cookies or brownies out of practically nothing! Brownies have always been my favorite. I would request them for my birthday instead of cake! I remember one day in particular, when I was about eleven years old, our pastor and his family were coming over to our house for dinner, and I was in charge of making the dessert. Yippee! I chose to make brownies, of course. This time though, I wasnt paying close attention to the recipe, and I realized after I put them in the oven that I did not make them according to the instructions. I was so nervous because company was coming and my brownies were going to be awful.

Except they werent! They were chewier and fudgier and more delicious than any other time I had made them, and they were a huge hit with everyone that night. From that day on I became known for my brownies. That recipe slipup gave me the freedom and confidence to be creative and to not follow every recipe. In fact, I almost never used a recipe again. I played around with methods that I knew would work and started tinkering with them to make them my own. Every family gathering became a new chance for me to experiment and create something that was all mine.

As much fun as it was to bake without recipes, and add a little of this and a little of that instead of actually measuring, there was a problem. I was often asked for the recipe for whatever dessert I had come up with, and I couldnt give one! I wasnt being rude or secretiveI honestly didnt have a recipe. I could tell them what I put in it, but not how much. I couldnt even say how long it cooked because I would just keep checking the oven every few minutes to see if my creation was ready. This is how my website Back for Seconds (and eventually, this cookbook) was born. I was determined to measure and keep careful track of everything that went into the mixing bowls.

I took pictures of the finished products and started sharing them with my recipes a few times a week. From then on, I would have an answer when someone asked for one of my recipes. Yes, I do have the recipe and you can find it on my website. Back for Seconds has grown in popularity over the past three years, and I am having as much fun as ever experimenting in the kitchen. Now I have four cute little kitchen helpers of my own (with another one on the way), and it brings me much happiness to see their excitement being in the kitchen too. Its really quite thrilling to take ordinary ingredients and put them together to make something extraordinary.

While I have expanded my repertoire to include much more than just sweet treats (my family seems to enjoy eating actual meals every day) brownies will always be my favorite. I hope these recipes put a smile on your face. I hope you bake some of these brownies with friends, family, or your children, and I hope you have FUN and make some memories together! I know the times that I am in the kitchen with my little ones, we are creating more than just yummy food; we are making memories that we will all keep with us forever. I cherish those times! I hope you will make these brownies, blondies, and bars, and share them with the ones you love. Share them with a neighbor, or bring them to a potluck or a party. Bring a smile to someones face.

These recipes were a labor of love and were so much fun for me to develop, and I hope you can taste it in each bite! I dont know which recipe youll try first, but I do know youll be back for seconds! XOXO, Stephanie backforseconds.com BAKING Tips The wonderful thing about the recipes in this book is they are all easy to make. Some of them require a few more steps than others but none of them are difficult. I wanted to include a few little tips that will help ensure the process of making these recipes goes as smoothly as possible and has a wonderful outcome! TIP #1 Use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, and then level it off with the back of a knife. Never pack flour into a measuring cup. It should be nice and light! TIP #2 Brown sugar should always be packed tightly into a measuring cup, unless otherwise stated in a recipe. TIP #3 Use an offset spatula to evenly spread batter into the pan.

TIP #4 Always read through the recipe completely before starting. You want to be sure you have all of the ingredients on hand and that you understand all of the steps and baking and chill times before you get started. TIP #5 Line your pan with foil! Sure, you could just grease your pan and skip the foil, but you will regret it when you are trying to dig out the first brownie and it starts to break apart. Just take a long piece of foil and line the pan, leaving enough excess to hang over the sides by a couple of inches. Then spray the foil with nonstick baking spray. Now when it is time to cut the brownies, you can just lift them out of the pan using the foil as handles.