Today is National Brownie Day!

If ever there was a treat worth celebrating, brownies would certainly be the one to celebrate! My family enjoys brownies, so I'm fixing some for them to eat today - I'll share my favorite recipe with you, but first, some fun brownie facts - did you know . . .

• In 1893 The Palmer House Hotel created the Palmer House Brownie with walnuts and an apricot glaze.
• In 1904 more similar to the brownies we know and love today, Bangor Brownies were invented by housewives in Bangor, Maine.
• In 1921 The Washburn Crosby Company created the character Betty Crocker to answer thousands of customer questions about baking.
• Whether it be a nut allergy, an aversion to nuts, or simply being a brownie purest, 60% of brownie lovers prefer their brownies nut free. 
• The “traditional” brownies recipe has only 5 ingredients: butter, sugar, chocolate, eggs, and flour.
• The difference between chocolate cake and brownies is cake has twice the amount of flour and less cocoa.
• The world’s largest brownie was made at the Hudson Valley Chocolate Festival and Holiday Crafts Show in Suffern, New York. It happened in 2001 and since then no larger brownie has been ever created. It included 750 pounds of chocolate chips, 500 pounds of butter, 850 pounds of sugar, 3,500 eggs, and 500 pounds of flour and weighed a whopping 1,360 kilograms!

You will find more brownie fun facts at this link and this link.

Now for my recipe . . . 

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum.
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Spray the 8×8 square baking pan with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray or line the baking pan with parchment paper and coat the bottom and sides with gluten-free nonstick cooking spray or butter. 
3. In a large bowl, add melted butter, pure vanilla extract, granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix until fully combined.
4. Add in eggs one at a time and mix until fully combined.
5. In a medium-sized bowl combine gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk together.
6. Slowly add the gluten-free flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined and smooth.
7. Add chocolate chips
8. Pour the brownie batter to 8×8 sized baking pan.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out just barely clean. The sides of the brownies with start to pull away from the pan. Please watch your brownies because all ovens are different.

Enjoy - happy National Brownie Day!