grandma’s brownies

If you’ve been working hard on your New Year’s resolutions, I applaud you.

So far I’ve been meeting my expectations for myself in the new year. While many people choose to focus on healthy eating as a resolution, I prefer to think of that as an ongoing lifestyle. I believe in eating all from-scratch cooking in moderation. Of course this occasionally means I get to indulge in a chocolate treat. If you’ve been eating healthier in the new year, maybe you’re ready for a cheat day (or other excuse for a brownie).

I made these brownies in an effort to recreate my grandmother’s heirloom brownie recipe. She had a go-to that was crisp on top and super soft in the middle. Unfortunately her recipe card was a bit… um… dated. The measurements just didn’t translate into modern baking and my initial effort left me with the saddest thing on earth – an inedible brownie.

I thought I had let it go, but after trying this recipe I discovered that even though the ingredients were obviously different, the outcome was the same. They took me straight back to my childhood. My grandma was notorious for putting walnuts in her brownies, but I don’t roll that way. Instead I replaced the nuts with chocolate chunks (that’s a gooey little hole of chocolate on top of that brownie right there).

How do you fit treats into a lifestyle of healthy eating?