The news yesterday and today about our dangerously ill next-door neighbor is so encouraging that I find myself coming out of a dejected fog and being inspired to cook. I volunteered to bring a dessert to a public gathering tomorrow. It seemed a good time to try something I've been tempted by on Facebook: pecan pie brownies.
Mine didn't come out as self-contained or dignified as this stock photo, being more like a pecan-pie-brownie cobbler, but admirably gooey inside and crunchy outside, like the old joke about the polar bear and the igloo. Because the Facebook recipe advocated a brownie mix, which is out of the question, I substituted a Julia Child fudge-style brownie base with a Craig Claiborne pecan pie filling for the top. (You pour the brownie mix in the bottom and the pecan pie filling on the top, then bake at 350 degrees until it's Alton-Brown-style GBD, "golden brown and delicious.")
Presentation-wise, it might work better with a cake-style brownie and a shorter cooking time, so the pecan pie topping would be easier to cut while at the same time the brownie base would set up a little more. Nevertheless, I'll let people spoon out their servings, and there's certainly nothing wrong with the flavor. If I make it again, I may cut back on the sugar in the brownies, for contrast. Barely-sweetened whipped cream wouldn't hurt a thing.
That sounds both plausible and delicious. Enjoy.
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