A case of Americana

Once upon a time, somewhere in the middle of high school, I went through what I can now identify as a wee bit of an Americana phase. Oh, I managed to stay away from any knickknacks or Norman Rockwell paintings, but I baked dozens of traditional cookies at Christmas, wanted nothing more than to be a cowgirl (despite a desperate, paralyzing fear of horses and a bad childhood run-in with attempting to ride a sheep), and even asked my father for our family’s traditional recipe for “Cranberry Surprise”. I will not be giving the recipe for that last one here, but suffice it to say, it was a World War II-era dessert casserole composed entirely of raw cranberries, unsweetened whipped cream, and crushed saltine crackers.
I am, luckily, out of the woods as far as any serious vintage-clothing buys or saws painted with forest scenes or saltine desserts, but there are still some recipes banging around from this period. Last night, while sitting up and enjoying my Winter Break, I remembered a blonde brownie I made all through high school. No matter which 1950’s jellied vegetable associations blondies may have for me, these particular ones are keepers. They are buttery and caramelized throughout the brownie section, with a layer of fudge to fulfill, of course, the chocolate requirement. The batter itself is hard to keep away from (I’m even considering using the first four ingredients as a sauce of their own; weird, I know, but proves my point). I made these brownies monthly, if not weekly, for a few years back there, and they can, I swear, work miracles. I think they may have been what originally seduced my high school boyfriend into dating me, although he tactfully never came right out and said it.


Fudge Butterscotch Brownies
In the spirit of full disclosure, this is not actually the recipe that seduced boyfriends and appeared in my Christmas gift baskets. It is a very, very similar recipe that I have tinkered into existence. The original (from some unknown magazine collection) is either lost forever or buried for the ages in my father’s storage unit from when he moved house. I’m hoping to go on some sort of archeological expedition through that unit at some point or another, but for now, this recreation is what we’ve got to work with.


For fudge:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

For brownie:
1/2 c. butter
2 c. packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons milk
2 eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. coconut


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine 2 Tablespoons butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan, stirring regularly so it doesn’t burn. Melt completely. Mix in sweetened condensed milk. Set fudge mixture aside to cool.

In another, large saucepan, melt 1/2 c. butter, and remove from heat. Mix in brown sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix in eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour half of the blondie batter into a greased and floured 9x13 glass pan. Smooth the fudge in a layer, and cover with the remaining blondie batter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.


Photo by the generous and ever-lovely Emily F. Samstag.