Anne BralyEver since the first brownie mix in a box came out back in the 1970s, many cooks take the easy route, making made-from-scratch brownies a delicious rarity. But baby boomers may well remember those delicious brownies made by our mothers. Back then, “Joy of Cooking” cookbooks were a must in every kitchen. They were a cook’s Bible. But I go into kitchens now, and it’s hard to even find a cookbook, much less that much-coveted “Joy of Cooking,” where there was a certain page always pockmarked with chocolate – that page where you’d find the recipe for Brownies Cockaigne.
Those brownies were the go-to recipe for bake sales, bridge parties, potluck dinners. You name it, you could always count on biting into their luscious chocolatey goodness at such events. I think my mother made them for two reasons – first, to have something to take somewhere, and second, and probably the best reason, to give her a few minutes of blessed silence while my sister and I licked the spoon and bowl.
Then all that ended with brownies in a box – a very weak cousin to those made from scratch – and America turned her nose at licking the bowl.
The name Brownies Cockaigne may sound like an illegal drug, and trust me, you may get addicted to them. In this case, though, that’s perfectly legal. In this instance, cockaigne is nothing more than an old French term meaning a mythical land of plenty where all the harshness of medieval life was banished. The Vikings called such place Valhalla. We call it heaven. And these brownies are the definition of heavenly. To serve, eat them slightly cooled from the oven or, if a little on the cold side, zap them in the microwave to warm for a few seconds and serve with a scoop of ice cream.
Brownies Cockaigne