BROWNIES and RUM BALLS

This year in my Christmas boxes I am making Rum Balls.  I was disappointed when I discovered my dear grandmothers recipe called for Nilla Wafers held together by corn syrup.  I was more disappointed when I discovered that was the standard.  Do not get my wrong I LOVE my grandmothers Rum Balls.  I just can not bring myself to using a commercial cookie filled with all kinds of crap when I am making goodies to send them to my loved ones.  Realistically I could have just make sugar cookies or shortbread for the base but I, being who I am, decided to find something that would be closer to the origination of Rum Balls.  That it starts with a cookie tells me that it was a way of not letting stale baked goods go to waste.  That is when I found Martha Stewart's Rum Ball recipe.  She made it with Brownies and Rum.  It made perfect sense, after all all of the Rum Ball recipes I found also had chocolate.  I had to scour the web to make certain it was not a fluke.  No I do not think it is likely that they originated with brownies.  But, I do think they were stale confections mashed up with rum and the chocolate aspect may have been added later.

This post will have recipes for both Brownies and Rum Balls.

The brownie recipe I am posting is not an original.  It has some modifications from a recipe I have had for over 20 years.  But it makes some of the best brownies I have ever had.

BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

1 c butter
1 c coffee (hot)
1/4 c cocoa powder
2 c flour

2 c raw sugar

1/2 c buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t baking soda
1/2 T vanilla

DIRECTIONS
1)  preheat oven to 400
2)  mix coco powder into coffee and bring to boil
3)  pour coffee & cocoa mixture over butter to melt it
4)  mix buttermilk and rum into coffee and cocoa (this shall now be called liquids)
5)  in mixing bowl beat eggs until light and fluffy
6)  mix sugar into eggs until thick and creamy
7)  mix liquids into egg mixture until smooth
8)  sift together flour and baking soda and add to combined ingredients being careful not to over mix.
9)  pour into a well buttered 11x17 pan and bake for 20 minutes
10)  cool and frost if desired then serve