Texas Brownies

This recipe is an old standard of mine – no idea where I got it, but I’ve been making it forever. Always always a HUGE hit! Sometimes it’s referred to as “Texas Sheet Cake” as the consistency is more cake-like than a dense brownie.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup coffee, strong brewed
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk (you can use 1/3 cup milk mixed with 1 TBSP vinegar here)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
2 TBSP cocoa
1/4 cup milk
2-1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar (to get your desired consistency to pour over the brownies)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease an 11 X 17 inch baking pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour and 2 cups sugar.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup coffee and 1/4 cup cocoa. Stir and heat to boiling.
3. Pour boiling mixture over flour and sugar in the bowl and stir.
4. Add the 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well with a spoon or mixer.
5. Pour into a greased 11×17 or 9×13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until it tests done.
6. While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting. In a saucepan, combine the 1 stick butter, 2 TBSP cocoa and 1/4 cup milk.
7. Heat to boiling, stirring.  Mix in the 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla until smooth.
8. Once the brownies are set, take them out of the oven and pour the warm frosting over them immediately.
9. Cool and then cut into ~ 24 brownie bars. Freezes well.

Categories: Desserts Tags: brownies, butter, chocolate, coffee, vanilla