brownies or biscuits ?

We went over to friends house for an extended afternoon tea yesterday and sat for awhile basking with our backs facing into the late autumn sun. These biscuits are always a crowd pleaser, so i took some along as its always good if i can get as many other people involved in eating them.

It's a fail safe biscuit recipe that is derived from the peanut brownie recipe in the SURE TO RISE Edmonds Cookery Book. (A New Zealand staple printed in its 17th edition in 1980 of which mine would herald from, and i am very fond of its blue type face with read headings, although the index is a bit annoying, its in the front and recipes are listed under sections - i much prefer alphabetical and in the back) I still make it on occasion with peanuts (but you have to be more sensitive to allergies these days than you did when this book was written) although I have found it works well with variations such as choc. chip or corn flakes.

I can just about make them blind folded and standing on my head (not suggesting you should try such a performance on your first go) my dexterity is necessary as i often make them with the help of M & m. They like to make the choice around flavors and extras and help in the shaping by imprinting or squashing the biscuits with a fork or their fingers. If you require a more uniform biscuit once you have combined all the ingredients you can form the mixture into a log and wrap it in glad wrap and refrigerate for an hour then cut it into 1cm sections.

Peanut Brownies

1 Egg

125g Butter

1 Cup of Sugar

1.5 Cups of Flour

1 tsp baking Powder (in the book they always promote Edmonds BP!)

2 dessert spoon cocoa

1 cup of peanuts

1/2 salt

Beat butter and sugar to a cream, then add egg, flour, BP, peanuts and cocos. Make into ball and flatten to 1 cm. (or roll into a log and put in the fridge wrapped in glad wrap). Bake 180*C 15mins

My Adaptations

Cut back the sugar 3/4 of a cup is plenty

Omit peanuts and salt

Add 3/4 cup of chocolate pieces cut up or drops or 3/4 cup of corn flakes.