The Secret Brownie Recipe Caper

Years ago, when my children were small, I had this wonderful, funny friend named Sherry. She was one of the funniest humans on the planet, a fantastic cook and an even better baker. We were young mothers, raising our kids and doing our mom thing together. One of the special things about her was how she showed love through baking things for others. She was never without a stash of her secret chocolate chip cookie dough in her freezer, ready to slice and bake at a moment’s notice. She baked a triple layer chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting from scratch, requiring special pans that was not just over-the-top delicious, it was really hard to make (I know this for a fact).

One morning I called her to tell her I was on my way to her house. Pregnant with her last child (she nicknamed him Moon Pie), she told me she was nauseous from morning sickness. “What can I do to help?” I ask, “What sounds good to you?” “Lobster,” she says. Lobster? “Yes,” she says, “lobster.” She might’ve been kidding but with her, you never knew. I grabbed a cube of butter from home, packed up the kids, drove to the local store and bought a lobster tail and one lemon. When I arrived, she was so excited that I actually brought her lobster, she gave me half of her most recent creation: Her very special, very unique, and very, very good, Kahlúa brownies. I mean, these brownies have an effect that when you take a bite, your eyes literally roll back into your head and say, “Oh. My. God.” Yeah, you will see Jesus. They are that good. I BEG her for the recipe. She looks at me very seriously and she says, “I will, under one condition, you can never share this recipe, it’s my signature recipe.” Well, this wasn’t exactly true, her chocolate chip cookies are her signature recipe and I don’t have that one. But, I promise, cross my heart and hope to die, I will never, ever, share this recipe. (Did she see my fingers crossed behind my back?) I never did until…

Life happens and we drift apart as our children grow older. We stay in touch but our days of sharing pregnancy and toddler war stories are over. Years fly by, and pretty soon before you know it, our kids are getting married and our stories are changing as they will. My older son opened a restaurant in North Idaho and was working on his menu, having “test-kitchen” nights to try out different ideas. One night he asks for my special brownie recipe. He wants to put it on the dessert menu, dedicating the delectable brownie to me, as our sacred “family recipe.” Uh oh. Well. It was kinda my family recipe, I had after all, been making this for my family for years. And so, as it goes, HER famous Kahlúa Brownie recipe, became MY famous Kahlúa brownie recipe.

Now, now, before you go judging me for lacking a moral compass, I’ve always wondered, did she really mean I could never, ever give out the recipe? I mean, she did give it to me after all. And, it was years ago. Did she really expect me to torture all of humanity by denying access to what could possibly be, the best tasting brownies in the entire world? And, what were the odds she’d know? Turns out, higher than I calculated. My only saving grace was that my son had altered the recipe to save time in the kitchen and really, they were not even close to how amazing the real ones tasted. Not even. But that’s not the end to this story or even the best part. One day she just happened to be driving through this town – you know, the one where my son’s restaurant was located and I, just happened to be in town at the same time. I mean, what are the odds we would run into each other there? Guess where she wants to grab a bite and catch up? Oh. No. – Oh. Yes. I’m praying she doesn’t want dessert. But, of course she does. And so, I’m forced to confess: Not only did I give my son the recipe, he gave me credit. And to her credit, she confessed she never forgot I brought her lobster that day and that it was a fair trade. Well, probably not, but we did reconnect and grow close again.

I write this story to honor her memory, and to share a very special recipe of a very special woman. Five years ago, Sherry left this world. That night in Idaho brought us back into each other’s lives, growing closer than we’d ever been, both of us having suffered hardship and great sorrow. One of the last times we were together was six years ago, right before Christmas. I was desperately ill with strep throat and needed a place to stay – with most of my family barely speaking to me (that’s a different story), she greets me with nurturing and motherly arms.

My body, weak and fragile, she prods me to lie down near the fire she’s laid in the hearth, giving me a cozy blanket and soft pillow for my head, while she makes some tea and fixes dinner. Her house is of course, decorated beautifully for Christmas, soft Christmas music is playing in the background and for the first time in months, I feel loved and cared for. Fittingly, she serves me her world-famous Kahlúa brownies for dessert.

I cry as I type the memory of that night – the night she offered me kindness and generosity at one of the most broken moments of my life. We laugh that night, she could always make me laugh. I worry I may forget the sound of her laughter. She always had the best laugh. I know I honor her in sharing this special recipe and telling you a story from our friendship. When you make these brownies, I hope you will remember too, the woman behind them. She was an incredible human and I miss her so much.

Cheers to your “Come to Jesus” moment when you bite into these brownies. They are not only good, they are World Class, just like Sherry.

Sherry’s Kahlúa Brownies

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2/3 cup softened butter

2 Cups Sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

½ cup Kahlúa

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In medium sauce pan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and mix in sugar, eggs, vanilla and kahlúa, stir in flour, baking powder & salt. Pour mixture into greased and floured 9×13” pan. Bake between 25-28 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting

In small bowl, mix together and set aside:

2 Tbs.Kahlúa

1 tsp. Instant coffee

In larger bowl mix:

½ cup softened butter

2 cups powdered sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

2-3 tsps. Milk

Frost brownies when completely cool then:

In small pan, melt:

3 oz. of semi sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbs. butter

Melt and drizzle in vertical lines approximately 1.5” apart across the frosting. Pull butter knife through the lines horizontally, alternating directions. Cut into 1.5 inch squares.

For best tasting brownies, freeze and serve cold. That’s how Sherry did it and that’s how I do it.