Brownies for Book Club

 

About a year ago, I read a charming book called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

It takes place during World War II and tells the story of what happens to the residents of the British island Guernsey during the German occupation. The colorful characters on Guernsey gather clandestinely to talk about their favorite books and eat dessert, anything from Cherries Flambé to, yes, Potato Peel Pie. Their secret gatherings create a sense of community for those on the island, a sense of warmth and connection in a hard time.

The book gave me the idea to start a book club, not because we are facing anything remotely similar to the people of Guernsey, but as a place to get together, talk about things big and small, and of course, eat dessert.

It’s officially called The Austin Literary and Chocolate Cream Pie Society, though we are not very official. Like most book clubs, we drink a lot of wine and eventually get around to talking about the book. In the half year that we’ve been meeting there have been some very good books (from Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games to Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom) and some very good desserts (buttermilk pie, honey hazelnut cookies).

In honor of April’s book, the memoir Poser by Claire Dederer, I made cocoa brownies with brown butter and walnuts. In the book, Dederer writes about how doing yoga transformed her life. Don’t worry, it’s not what you think—she doesn’t become super toned and self-righteous, and she doesn’t become spiritually enlightened in a preachy way either. Instead, the years of yoga have inspired a sense of self-compassion, a sense that it’s OK not to be perfect.

Not to say that these brownies are just OK, they are actually really tasty. Though made with cocoa powder rather than melted chocolate, the flavor is rich. But what I think the author would like about these brownies is that they are easy. Really easy. No overly ambitious planning and slaving away for hours involved.

The hardest part about these brownies is the first step, which is to melt the butter and then keep it over medium heat until it begins to brown and smell fabulously nutty. The directions on this were perfect—to keep watching until the foam begins to subside and brown bits form on the bottom (which is just starting to happen in this photo).

Then you stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, and salt and let it cool a bit before adding eggs, flour, and nuts. That’s right, the entire thing takes place in just one saucepan. Easy, tasty, and good enough to share with friends or eat all by yourself.