Nonna's German Sweet Chocolate Brownies

Taken from latent chestnut:

The brownies were a cinch to prepare and filled the house with the sweet smell of chocolate as they were baking.  Waiting for them to cool was an act of patience I don't soon want to repeat, but I stayed strong.  My patience was rewarded as soon as I tried one.  Still a bit warm from the oven, the brownie was rich, dense, chocolaty, sweet and chewy.  My idea of a darn good brownie.  I have posted the recipe below.  The original recipe calls for margarine, but I substituted butter without any issues.  I also omitted nuts from mine.  We're a nutless brownie kind of group in my house.  I also chose not to put icing on the brownies this time, though I'm sure it would be delicious!

German Sweet Chocolate Brownies
Printable Recipe

Makes 16
1 pkg. (4 oz.) Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate
1/4 C (1/2 Stick) margarine
3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 t Vanilla
1/2 C Flour
1/2 C coarsely chopped Nuts

Melt chocolate and margarine in a 2-quart saucepan over very low heat; stir constantly until just melted. Remove from heat. Stir sugar into melted chocolate. Stir in eggs and vanilla until completely mixed. Mix in flour until well-blended. Stir in nuts. Spread in greased 8-inch square pan. Bake 350 degrees – 25 min. (DO NOT OVERBAKE) Cool in pan. Cut in squares.
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If you wish icing -
Over low heat melt 4 (1 oz.) squares Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate with 1/4 C (1/2 Stick) margarine. Stirring constantly until just melted. Spread over Brownies. Chill. Cut into squares.

Amaretti

Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, these amaretti are a real treat.  The almond flavor is wonderful in these macaroons as well.  A delicate and delightful little cookie.

In order to make them, I had to do some deciphering in order to put together the finished product.  On the recipe card, it calls for "1/4 shelled blanched almonds", and I didn't know what measurement to use for the "1/4".  Since it calls for 1/2 pound of sugar, I decided to use 1/4 of almonds.  That measurement made the most sense to me. 

The next hurdle was the oven temperature.  Since the recipe states to bake the amaretti in a moderate oven, I chose to bake them at 350 degrees.  The recipes also says that they will bake in 5 minutes, which was not long enough for this batch.  I ended up baking them for about 15 or 20 minutes until they were light brown.

The amaretti turned out well.  I have never had them before, so I did not have a point of reference as to what they should be like.  I think this is a recipe that I will have to play around with before I find the perfect way to make them.  The flavor was wonderful, so I will revisit these again.  If anyone has any suggestions or knows the correct measurements and baking temperature, I would love to know!

Amaretti   (Macaroons)

Printable Recipe

Makes about 1 doz.

1/2 lb. Sugar

1/4 shelled blanched Almonds

1/4 t Almond extract

2 egg whites

Chop and pulverize almonds; mix thoroughly with half of sugar and extract.

Beat egg whites until very stiff.  Add balance of sugar; beat again.  Add almond mixture; mix thoroughly.  Shape into balls or cookies about 2 inches in diameter.  Place on greased cookie pan about 1 inch apart.  Bake in moderate oven about 5 min. or until light brown.