Cookbook Challenge # 14 - Hershey’s Cocoa Cookbook

After a couple of weeks off where my back pain was such that my husband, son, and various restaurants on DoorDash were doing all the cooking, I’m back in my cookbook challenge with one I inherited from my mom, Hershey’s Cocoa Cookbook (1979). I’d planned to try the Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe that I’m guessing by the faintly stained page is the one my mom used to make for my and my dad’s birthdays, but with the lingering back pain I decided to stick with something simple: Chocolate Brownies.

These are as basic a homemade brownie recipe as you’d find, and make a rather small batch—nice for your family of three, but maybe you’d want to double it or choose a different option for your office potluck. They’re not as rich and gooey as most modern brownie mixes, more like a soft cookie than a dense cake, but they taste good, and I think they’d be a perfect base to serve a la mode or with berries and whipped cream.

Chocolate Brownies

• 2 eggs

• 1 c. sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla

• ½ c. butter, melted

• ½ c. unsifted all-purpose flour

• 1/3 c. Hershey’s Cocoa

• ¼ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ c. chopped nuts, optional (I left them out because I’ve never been a fan of nuts in brownies)

Beat eggs in small mixer bowl. Gradually add sugar and vanilla; beat well. Blend in melted butter. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to egg mixture until well blended. Stir in nuts, if using. Spread in greased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Cool in pan. Frost if desired; cut into squares.