Triple Ginger Pound Cake

What's better than fresh ginger? Well, crystallized ginger, powdered ginger and fresh ginger all together!

Get thee to the store and get all 3 gingers so you can hurry up and make this wonderful cake.

Triple Ginger Pound Cake

3 1/2 cups flour
1 TBSP ground (powdered) ginger
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 TBSP vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger
4 TBSP grated fresh ginger

Cream sugar & butter until fully combined. Add eggs & yolks, one at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next. Add vanilla. Mix in combined dry ingredients alternately with milk. stir until smooth. Lastly, stir in the gingers.

Bake in 2 greased loaf pans for about 1 hour at 350. Cool in pans for about 20 minutes before removing.

As you can see, these cakes did not rise much. I suspect that if I had slightly smaller loaf pans, the cakes would be a bit taller. In any case ... yum!!

Mocha Fudge Pie

I made this pie for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It was so delicious that I made it again 2 days ago. It's just about gone. It is that good. And so easy.

Mocha Fudge Pie

6 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 can sweetened condensed milk (this is not as disgusting as it sounds -- it is simply mil & sugar)
1/3 cup water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp instant coffee
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnut or pecan pieces
1 tsp vanilla

1 unbaked pie shell (I made my own regular old crust, but I think this would be good with a graham cracker crust too)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. While still on a low flame, stir in cocoa until dissolved. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, eggs, instant coffee dissolved in the 1/3 cup water and the chocolate chips. Whisk until completely blended and the chips have melted. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into pie crust.

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes.

This is such a rich pie that I recommend slim slices! I tried to capture the density of this pie in the photo, but I wasn't very successful.

Nut Bar Cookies

I've been making these cookies for about a year. My friend Christine gave me the recipe and it is ridiculously simple. She was going gluten free and these cookies satisfied the need that she often felt for traditional cookies. Me? I just think they're delicious and have no plans to go gluten free.

Nut Bar Cookies

2 cups almond meal/flour *
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg

Mix all of the above in a bowl until well combined. It will seem like 1 egg is not enough "wet" to incorporate all the "dry", but just keep mixing. It will happen.

Press into a very well greased 11 x 7 pan. If you don't have that size pan, you can use a square pan. It may take a few more minutes to cook.

Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes. At this point, you need to carefully cut the bars into the size desired. But be very careful to NOT try to remove the bars from the pan. That can only be done after it is completely cool.

Fresh from the oven and cut into small squares.

Cut and ready to be eaten!

Almond flour or almond meal is readily available, usually in the health food section of your grocery store. I often make this recipe with other nut flours. The cookies in these photos were made with a combination of hazelnut flour and pistachio flour, hence the green tint.

I found a great source for these alternative flours at nuts.com I've purchased yummy pecan meal in addition to the almond, hazelnut and pistachio. I find that I prefer the cookies with one type of flour, as opposed to combining as I did in this particular batch. While you're shopping there, have a look at their dried fruits too.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Butter Balls

I've been having fun trying some new cookie recipes this year. These chocolate chocolate chip butter balls are Rick's new favorite cookie and he won't let me put any into the goodie bags for our neighbors. Selfish cookie monster. This recipe is so simple and I'm anxious to try some variations, like substituting white chips for the chocolate ones.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Butter Balls

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter. Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg and vanilla until well combined. Stir in flour and cocoa. When that has all been incorporated, stir in chocolate chips. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1" balls (approximately). They will not spread, so they can be placed pretty close together on the cookie sheets. Bake on greased cookie sheets in a 350 preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Pour a cup of coffee, tea or milk and dig in when they cool a bit!

Key West Pork Chops

This is a recipe I've been making for years. As a matter of fact, the cookbook that provided the inspiration for it came with me on our 7 year sailing adventure. There weren't very many times that pork chops were available (ones that I would eat, that is), but when they were, this was a go-to recipe. I've adapted it from The New York Times Cook Book, by Craig Claiborne.

Key West Pork Chops

2 TBSP oil
4 - 6 pork chops (not the boneless kind - they dry out too much, even with this moist recipe)
1 1/2 cups raw rice (I think long grain white rice works best here)
1 onion, sliced
lemon or lime, sliced
salsa (your favorite brand, or homemade)
3 cups tomato (or V-8) juice
tabasco sauce

Brown the pork chops on both sides in the oil in a large frying pan. Here, they are just starting on side one:

Remove the chops to a plate and stir in the rice, just to coat with the remaining oil. Turn the rice into a large greased baking pan. You need a deep-ish one. Arrange the pork chops on top of the rice.Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Distribute the onion and lemon (or lime) slices on top. Spoon some salsa over each pork chop and add a bit of tabasco here and there. Here's what mine looked like at this point:

Pour the juice around the pork chops. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 325 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. I forgot to take a picture of them on our plates, but here's what the baking pan looked like after we ate half:

I served this with roasted brussels sprouts, because that's what I had on hand.

The Best Bran Muffins . Ever

I've been making these bran muffins for over 15 years.  I worked on the recipe for a few years before I got it just the way I wanted it.  The truth is, it is a conglomeration of several recipes, with enough changes that I feel I can call it Mine.

Vicki's Bran Muffins

1 egg
3/4 cup milk (I use 1 %)
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups All Bran cereal (that's the one that looks like twigs)
1/3 cup honey
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup raisins

Pour the milk on the cereal and let sit 1 - 2 minutes. Beat the egg with the oil, then add the milk/cereal mixture.  Stir to blend.  Add the honey, flour and baking powder, stirring just until moistened.  Stir in the raisins.  Spoon into 12 muffin cups, lined with papers.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

This etsy shop has some really cute cupcake liners: Cupcake Social

Happy baking!

Cherry Plum Crisp

So, I had a bowl full of cherries and a few very ripe plums.  What to do, what to do.  A crisp!  I haven't made a fruit crisp in ages -- obviously a long overdue dessert.

Cherry Plum Crisp

Fruit Layer
4 cups of fruit (I used about 3 cups of pitted cherries, halved and 1 cup of chopped plums)
  (I think this recipe could have benefited from another cup or 2 of fruit)
1 1/2 TBSP brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon (I completely forgot this)

Topping
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 TBSP chopped walnuts
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP melted butter

Combine all of the fruit layer ingredients and turn into a greased 9"x9" baking pan.  Combine topping ingredients until well mixed.  Bake at 375  for 30-45 minutes.  Keep an eye on this so as not to burn the oatmeal.  Of course, this is best served topped with vanilla ice cream. 

Two notes about this recipe:

I adapted in from my favorite apple crisp recipe, so feel free to substitute any fruit for the cherries/plums.
The oat topping will be chewy, but I like that kind of texture.  If you don't, you may want to either grind up the oats, use the quick cooking type or pre-cook them.

Margarita Shrimp

Last night's dinner was fabulous, if I must say so myself!  I can't remember where I got the original recipe, but I've modified it a bit for our personal tastes.

Margarita Shrimp

1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup oil (I used this stuff, but you can use any vegetable or olive oil)
1/4 cup tequila
1 tsp grated lime peel
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all the above ingredients and add 1 pound of large shrimp.  Marinate for 4-6 hours.  You can broil them for 5-7 minutes, but we prefer skewering them and grilling them.  I like to boil the remaining marinade and serve alongside the shrimp.

Shrimp on skewers, ready for the grill:

On my plate!

Chocolate Sambuca Cookies

Yes, I had to buy a bottle of Sambuca (the tragedy of being completely out of Sambuca is something I'm still coming to terms with) to make this recipe.  Of course, Rick had to take a sample sip before I used it in the cookie recipe, just to make sure it was up to par.  By the way, the finished cookies do NOT have an overwhelming licorice taste ... it's just right.

Chocolate Sambuca Cookies

12 oz semisweet chocolate (I used 1 1/2 cups of chips)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup almonds, ground pretty fine
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP Sambuca

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate & butter in the top of a double boiler (or in the microwave).  Allow to cool a bit.  Beat together the eggs, 1/2 cup sugar.  Stir in combined flour, baking soda, almonds, melted chocolate and Sambuca.  Chill for several hours or overnight.

Put 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in 2 different small bowls.  Roll 1/2 TBS of dough into balls.  Coat with regular sugar, followed by powdered sugar.  Set on ungreased cookie sheets about 2" apart.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  They will puff up and have a lovely cracked finish.  Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to racks.

Brazilian Coffee Cookies

This is another new recipe for me.  I've had this recipe marked in one of m y cookbook pamphlet thingies for several years and decided this was the year to finally try them.  Now I wish I had done it sooner!

Brazilian Coffee Cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 TBS milk (or cream)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
2 TBS powdered instant coffee (I used Folger's crystals and I like the look of the specks in the dough!)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder

Mix sugars, butter, milk, vanilla and egg until well combined.  Stir in remaining ingredients, blending well.  Shape into 1" balls (mine were bigger, so I didn't get the correct yield).  Place about 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten to about 1/8" thickness: grease the bottom of a glass, dip in sugar and press on each cookie, re-sugaring as needed.  Bake at 400 for 7 - 8 minutes.

These cookies are crisp on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside.  What more can you ask from a cookies??  If you're sensitive to caffeine, you might want to use decaf.

 

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

I started my holiday baking today, but I'm not foolish enough to think that the things I baked today will actually last until Christmas.  I live with Rick, after all.

Lemon Bars were first on the list, but I haven't cut them yet, so I'll share that recipe with you when I can get a photo of an individual bar.  A photo of the uncut bars, still in the pan would be dumb.


The second thing I baked were these lovely cookies.  They sort of melt in your mouth ....

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 oz (1 square) of unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 1/4 cups flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat, but you can certainly use white)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 TBSP cocoa powder

Cream butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar until smooth.  Blend in vanilla and melted chocolate.  Add flour and salt, blending until smooth.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Shape into 1" balls and place on cookie sheets.  I did not grease the cookie sheets because I have non-stick ones.  If you don't have those, you probably want to grease your sheets.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely (this can be done on the cookie sheets -- no need to transfer to cooling rack).

In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup powdered sugar and cocoa.  Roll the cooled cookies in this mixture.

Makes about 4 dozen.

If you're admiring the lovely leaf plate holding the cookies, I purchased it at the Bad Girls of the North craft show from Lynn Marie Naden (Contours by Lynn Marie).  She has a shop in Homer, Alaska and can be found at several galleries around the state.

Leftover Turkey

Those of you that have read (and possibly made) some of my recipes, know that I do not often turn to pre-packaged or canned goods.  This recipe for leftover turkey is an exception that I'm happy to share with you because it is SO GOOD!

The original recipe was given to me by a friend in Reno, but I've made several changes that I think make it much better.  It makes a huge casserole, so get out your largest baking pan!

Turkey Pasta Casserole

1 lb pasta of your choice (I've done this with bow-ties, ziti, rotini -- they all work well)
6 cups of cut up, cooked turkey
4 stalks of celery, cut up
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can tomato soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook pasta until slightly underdone. Saute the vegetables in a small amount of oil until tender.  Mix all of the ingredients (except the cheese) in a large bowl and turn into a large, greased baking pan.  Bake for about an hour at 350.  Sprinkle the cheese on top and heat just until melted.

This recipe originally called for spaghetti, but I like it much better with any of the shapes I referenced above.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you still have some left over turkey so you can try this recipe.  If not, you can always use chicken.

Golden Summer Cake

Rick came home from the store the other day with a buttload lot of nectarines.  Who asked him to get any nectarines?  I didn't.  Once I got close to the bag of said nectarines, I knew exactly why he bought them.  They smelled heavenly.  But they were all ripe, so I had to spring into action and figure out how to use a bunch of them fast.  There was no way we could eat them out-of-hand fast enough.

A quick search located this really great recipe.

Fruit Topped Golden Summer Cake (my name, not theirs)

1 cup flour (thanks to my friend Patty's recommendation, I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia (this is my addition to the recipe and I must say that it made a huge difference, but it is completely optional -- you could try some lemon extract instead or leave it out entirely)

2 nectarines, cut up

1/2 TBSP sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp nutmeg.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs and mix completely.  Add flour, baking powder and salt, stirring to combine.  Turn into greased 9" x 9" pan.  Scatter fruit over the batter and sprinkle with sugar/nutmeg mix.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

I know what you're thinking:  those don't look like nectarines!  and that isn't a square pan!

The first time I baked this cake, I used nectarines, but had to double the recipe to be able to use more than 2 nectarines!  The next time I baked it, not only did I double it, but I was finally running low on nectarines, so I added a bunch of fresh cherries -- a delightful combination!  The latest version (in the photos) uses both blueberries and cherries -- another delightful combination!

I really overloaded it with fruit, which doesn't seem to affect the recipe, but the berries did sink a bit.  I don't see this as a problem.

This cake is especially good topped with some vanilla ice cream. 

An Ambitious Cooking Project :: Egg Rolls!

I've made these egg rolls at least one time in the past, if I can believe the notes I made in the cookbook.  It was at best a dim memory.  So this recent attempt felt like the first time ... all over again.

The internet abounds with recipes and I will provide mine if you request it, but for now, I'll simply entertain you with photos of my egg roll experience.

Preparing the filling of cabbage, onions, carrots and water chestnuts, with a tablespoon (or so) of soy sauce and about a teaspoon of sugar:

Whisking the extremely thin batter -- in one direction only! -- while the pan in heating:

The pan is lightly oiled before I pour in the batter.  Pam worked better than liquid oil, as it gave a more even coating.  The pancakes are thin and cook relatively quickly.  The trickiest part is turning them to cook the other side.

They are stacked under a moistened towel to keep them soft.  I think the recipe made 8 or 9.

I wasn't able to get a photo of the actual filling and rolling and forgot to get a photo while they were frying.  So here is a picture of the finished product:

I served them with a selection of 4 dipping sauces.  We ate every single one. And then we had dinner. :)

Graham Cracker Bars

I must have made this recipe a dozen times or more.  It's that good.  And different enough to keep your tasters guessing.

Graham Cracker Bars

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup butter (I use 1/2 cup and it's fine)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 square unsweetened chocolate, melted
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
9 (or so) graham crackers
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs, beating well.  Add milk/vanilla combo alternately with mixture of flour, salt & soda.  Blend thoroughly after each addition.

Place 1/3 of the batter in a separate bowl.  Add the melted chocolate and the walnuts.  Spread in a greased 9 x 11 baking pan.

* This will seem impossible -- you will think you don't have enough batter to cover the bottom of this size  pan.  Just do the best you can and don't obsess about spreading it evenly.

Arrange (about) 9 graham crackers over the batter.  (Sometimes I can fit 9, sometimes I can't.  Have no idea why).

To the remaining 2/3 of the batter, add the chocolate chips, stirring well.  Drop by spoonfuls over the graham crackers and spread to cover.  Again, this will seem impossible.  Just do it.

Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.  When cool, cut into bars.

Rick Requests ... Chocolate Pie

I asked Rick what he wanted for dessert on New Year's Eve.  We were having some friends over and he was cooking cioppino

(sorry, can't share that recipe -- his version is Top Secret)

so dessert and appetizers were my job.  I scoured my recipe file and did not find anything worthy of New Year's Eve, so I selected this book as my next possible source for a good recipe:

I have been collecting Pillsbury Bake-Off books for about 15 years and found this beauty at an antique store several years ago.  Now, of course, it is available on Amazon (click the photo to go to the listing there).  This book is from 1959, when the Bake-Off had only been going on for about 10 years.  It is a treasure trove of old fashioned recipes.

Looking in the cream pie section, I found a delightful recipe for Coconut Shortbread Chocolate Pie.  Now that sounded festive enough for a New Year's celebration.

Coconut Shortbread Chocolate Pie

Crust
1/3 cub butter
2 TBSP sugar
1 egg yolk
1 TBSP cream
1 cup flour
1 cup coconut, cut up (I used unsweetened thick shavings and they were perfect for this)

Cream the butter.  Add the sugar, combining well.  Blend in egg yolk and cream.  Add the flour gradually and mix well.  Blend in the coconut.  Press into bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes. (yes, those 2 minutes can mean the difference between just-right and burnt coconut).

Filling

3/4 cup sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten 1 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in top of double boiler (over boiling water).  Gradually blend in the milk. Add the chocolate.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick (this always takes a bit longer than I think it will).  Stir a little of this hot mixture into the egg yolks.  Then add the yolks to the hot mixture, still stirring constantly.  Cook about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.  Cool at least 20 minutes.

(my chocolate did not fully melt, but I decided I liked the way it looked with the little darker brown specks throughout)

Turn the filling into the pie shell.  Chill.  Serve with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Happy New Year!

Kahlua Chocolate Walnut Squares

This is a recipe I've been making for years and it never fails to please.

(one does not need a fork to eat this -- I just want you to think I'm civilized)

Kahlua Chocolate Walnut Squares

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup Kahlua
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 TBSP Kahlua

Cream the butter with brown sugar and egg until smooth.  Stir in 1/4 cup Kahlua, flour and baking powder.  Fold in chips and nuts.  Spread in greased square baking pan.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Cool for about 15 minutes.  Brush the top with the 1 TBSP of Kahlua.  Cool completely.  Spread with Brown Butter Icing.  Cut into squares. Or rectangles. Or triangles.  Or don't cut it at all and eat the whole thing yourself.  I won't tell.

Brown Butter Icing

2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP Kahlua
2 TBSP milk or cream
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Brown butter in small saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

This yummy recipe is perfect for the season.  The combination of these wonderful flavors will delight your taste buds!  The recipe makes 2 loaves.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I substituted 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg & ground cloves)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 16 oz can whole berry cranberry sauce ( this is an old recipe - the cans are now 14 oz!)
1 16 oz can pumpkin (I only had a 29 oz can -- you can't imagine the higher mathematics that ensued trying to figure out how much I needed -- just get the right size can, please)
2/3 cup oil
4 eggs
3/4 cup chopped pecans

The recipe I had copied from who-knows-where contained no mixing directions, so I just mixed it all together in whatever order I grabbed the ingredients.  I don't think it matters for a quick bread recipe like this one.

Anywho, turn into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for about 65 minutes.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out of pans and cool on racks.

Fruitcake!

No, I'm not talking about me ... or my husband, silly.  I'm talking about real homemade fruitcake.  I know what you're thinking -- nobody really likes fruitcake.  Well, this one is the exception.  It's moist, tasty and full of chunky goodness.  This recipe comes from my (first) mother-in-law, who was a fabulous cook and baker.

The photo is  not a particularly good one, but I wanted to show you that it has no disgusting green and red candied cherries in it. :)

Theresa's Fruitcake

1 cup oil
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup orange juice
5 cups mixed fruits (I used i cup each of candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, figs, dates, raisins.  I think dried cranberries would be an interesting addition if you don't like the candied peels)
3 cups chopped nuts (I used 1 cup each of walnuts, pecans and almonds)

Combine oil, eggs and brown sugar.  Beat for 2 minutes until smooth.  Stir in 2 cups of the flour, baking powder and spices (feel free to make substitutions here too -- if you don't like allspice, just omit it) alternately with the orange juice.  Mix remaining flour with the fruits and nuts.  Mix into the batter.

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans.  Place a pan of water on the lower oven rack (I'm not sure what affect this would have, but I did it anyway).  Bake at 275 for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.  Let stand 15 minutes before removing from pans.  Then cool on wire rack. 

At this point, I wrapped one of the loaves in foil for immediate consumption.  The other loaf has been wrapped in cheesecloth that we soaked in Drambuie (because we didn't have any brandy on hand).  Then it was wrapped in foil and refrigerated.  I'll let you know how that one fared sometime in December!

Fudge Topped Brownies

Let me start by saying this is NOT my go-to brownie recipe as the frosting is really, really rich.  Rather, this recipe is for when you want brownies and fudge all in the same bite!

Fudge Topped Brownies

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1  1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine butter, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, eggs, milk and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Stir in walnuts.  Pour/spread in greased 13" x 9" pan.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Fudge Topping
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In heavy saucepan over very low heat, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk.  When melted, stir in vanilla.  Spread over hot brownies.

Devour.