I always like to cook, especially dessert. One of my favorite recipes is brownies. I've cooked them countless times and feel that I have mastered the art of making brownies using a recipe. One day, I had an important event that I was supposed to bring a dessert. I was nearly out of butter, but had cream cheese on hand. The experimenting began. I brought my experiments to many functions as well as friends' and family's houses. They have complimented me by calling them gourmet brownies. Here are the ingredients:

½ cup butter

6 T cocoa powder

2 T butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

3/4 cup all purpose flour

½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/3 cup dried banana chips (optional)

1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1/3 cup butterscotch chips (optional)

2 T shredded coconut (optional)

chopped nuts (optional)

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Remove from heat. Add cocoa powder. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat by hand until combined. Add flour and ½ cup nuts, if desired. Spread batter into greased 8x8x2 baking pan- I use stoneware pans and skip greasing the pan. Sprinkle on dried banana chips, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut, if desired. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven if you prefer gooey or fudgey brownies. Or, you could cook them for 30 minutes if you want them to be a little less gooey. If desired, add additional chopped nuts. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 24 bars.

When I want to make gourmet brownies, I usually substitute the ½ cup butter with cream cheese or sour cream. You can substitute some or all of the ½ cup of butter with cream cheese or sour cream.

If you find you do not have nuts, dried banana chips, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or coconut, these brownies are still amazing. My mom used to sprinkle on powdered sugar after her brownies cooled, which tastes great, too. Another alternative to the dried banana chips, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut is to spread store bought frosting or ½ a batch of the Chocolate Glaze that follows.

Chocolate Glaze

4 squares (4 oz) semisweet chocolate, cut up

3 T butter

1 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar

3 T hot water

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium sauce pan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and water. Stir in additional water if needed to make drizzling consistency. Spoon over cake (or brownies), allowing excess to drip down sides. Glazes top of a 10 inch tube cake, or tops of two 8- or 9- inch layers.

*note: I never use nuts since my husband has anaphylactic shock with even the tiniest amount of nuts.

Have fun making your home made brownies! Enjoy!