Cocoa Brownies recipe

We went back to the beach today. It was a beautiful, warm day - perfect for lying in the sand reading a book at Haleiwa. Butterfly spent most of her time doing handstands in the water as she gathered more "rocks" - actually worn pieces of coral and shells. She must have been a fish in a former life - she's more comfortable in the water than she is on land.

We ate homemade pizza, spam musubi, cocoa brownies, plums, bananas, tangerines and Hawaiian kettle-style chips. I consoled myself with the idea that the veggies on the pizza and the fruit were healthy.

I called Mama to check on her - she was her back-to-normal grouchy self although she DID say she was fine. I'll call tomorrow to check on her again. She starts radiation treatment on Monday. I can guess all sorts of reasons for her bad mood, but the truth of the matter is that she's normally in a bad mood when interacting with me. It's just one of those facts of life. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I eat a lot of chocolate lately. I have several cocoa brownie recipes. This is a good one when I want something a little bit "cake-ier" than normal. I hope you like it, too.

Cocoa Brownies

2 sticks butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. plain flour
6 tbsp. cocoa (heaping tbsp. make richer brownies)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. chopped nuts, optional

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, then remaining ingredients. Bake in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. If you want more cake-like brownies, bake longer and use only level tablespoons of cocoa.

Makes 20 brownies.