This Christmas, in the spirit of giving, I want to bless you by sharing our recipe for Brownie’s Brownies. You’ll find it at the end of this post.

Brownie's Brownies - A love gift of joy. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2022.
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Brownie’s Brownies – A love gift of joy. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2022.

About teachers and teaching

In the teaching profession, every day is a challenge. Delivering a rigorous curriculum while attempting to meet the learning, behavioural and social-emotional needs of students can leave teachers feeling exhausted. However, a reprieve often comes during lunchtimes when staff meet in a common room or staffroom and share stories, student misdemeanours, frustrations, jokes and food.   

During my time as a teacher at St Peter’s Lutheran College, Indooroopilly (an inner western suburb of Brisbane), I had a colleague who regularly filled our staffroom with joy by sharing her home baked goodies with us. Even when there were no birthdays or special celebrations, she would bring to school her home baked biscuits, slices and cakes.

I’ve never forgotten her melt-in-the-mouth Brownies and her delicious Carrot Cake. Indeed, you’ll find her recipe for Carrot Cake on this blog (November 1, 2015). As an experienced teacher, she could “read” the room. She knew when we were exhausted from the constant pressures of the job and needed a lift to help get us through the next lesson. Her antidote: Irresistible food!

I loved this colleague. She was like a second mother to me. I was living with my brother, 700 kilometres from home. In place of my own mother, she offered a knowing hug or a shoulder to cry on when I needed it. But more importantly than that, she became my mentor. She would read through my lesson plans, share her Chemistry and Biology resources with me and assist me with marking student papers. She did all of this for me despite being a busy wife and mother herself, dedicating her life outside of school to her own family’s needs and activities. I survived my years of teaching at St Peter’s because of her love, kindness and generosity.

A lesson learnt

The most important lesson I learnt from her was just how much home baked goodies can bless and lift the spirits of exhausted teaching staff. Since my time at St Peter’s, my husband and I have taught at or been in charge of schools in five different localities in Queensland. At each school in which we’ve been placed, following my mentor’s example, we’ve baked slices and cakes to share with our colleagues, especially when we can see they are fatigued.

Happily, my mentor shared with me her recipe for Brownies. The recipe included walnuts. My husband (“Mr Brown”) loves Turkish Delight, so he decided to replace the walnuts with Turkish Delight. The result was a hit! The “new” Brownies became affectionately known as Brownie’s Brownies.
My husband replaced the walnuts with Turkish Delight
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My husband replaced the walnuts with Turkish Delight. Photo source: Ruth Salecich-Brown 2022.

“Brownie’s Brownies”

In 2014, the staff at my husband’s school encouraged him to enter a batch of Brownie’s Brownies, full of Turkish Delight, into the Stanthorpe Show’s Brownie baking section. When we finally got to attend the show, he was shocked to discover that his Brownies had won first prize! 

On occasions we have been asked to bring Brownie’s Brownies to parties where the birthday girl or boy has another favourite chocolate bar. For one 40th birthday party, for example, we swapped the two Turkish Delights for two Cherry Ripe bars to please the birthday “boy”. Not surprisingly, he loved his custom-made Brownies.

We’ve tried other variations. One is to replace the Turkish Delight with milk and white chocolate bits to make triple choc Brownies. Another is to make gluten-free Brownies (some of my current colleagues are gluten intolerant), replacing the plain flour with rice flour. The result is just as amazing!    

While we don’t usually give out our recipe for Brownie’s Brownies until we leave one school and go to another, this Christmas we are making an exception. In the spirit of giving, I want to bless you by sharing our recipe with you. I am writing this while soaking up the aroma of Turkish Delight Brownie’s Brownies baking in my mother’s kitchen. (Together with my husband and children, I am currently holidaying at my parents’ home in Brisbane.)

I’m making this special batch of Brownie’s Brownies to take to a dinner party tonight. It’s being held at the home of very dear friends whom we see only once a year, during the Christmas season, and who live (coincidentally) not far from St Peter’s Lutheran College.

Lovingly, Ruth Salecich-Brown xx

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Brownie’s Brownies sliced and ready to serve. Photo source: Judith Salecich 2022.

BROWNIE’S BROWNIES

Ingredients

100 g butter
200 g dark cooking chocolate
¾ cup plain flour
1¼ cups castor sugar
¼ cup cocoa
3 eggs
2 Turkish Delight chocolate bars

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 1800C (1600C if fan forced).
  2. Line a 28 cm x 18 cm slab tin with greaseproof (baking) paper.
  3. Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave for 1 minute.
  4. Combine sugar, flour and cocoa.
  5. Cut the Turkish Delight into small pieces and place them individually into the flour mixture.
  6. Stir in the eggs.
  7. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter mix.
  8. Spread evenly in the prepared tin.
  9. Bake for 40-45 minutes (or until top looks crumbly).
  10. Cool completely in tin.
  11. Slice to serve.

Variations     

  • Use 150 g of chopped walnuts or macadamias in lieu of the Turkish Delight.
  • Replace the Turkish Delight with chocolate bars of your choice.
  • Use 150 g of milk and white chocolate bits in lieu of the Turkish Delight.

Source: Ruth and Cameron Brown, 2006

GALLERY

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Author

Ruth Salecich-Brown

Wife and mother of three (including a set of twins), secondary school teacher (special needs), Christian ministry leader and musician, friend and confidante, "jack of all trades", lover of food, music, photography, reading and exercise.

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9 thoughts on “Brownie’s Brownies: A love gift of joy”

  1. I love this story! Ruth has brought them to our place many times and they always come with kindness, good conversation and of course are delicious. Hardest thing is keeping the kids out of them!

  2. Love this story Ruth! Happy New Year!

    The staff room stories reminded me of perhaps my most interesting memory. First year out, western suburbs Sydney, 1st class (= Year 2 here). At morning tea time I burst into the staff room with this “Paul East bit me!” The deputy said, “Bite him back”! They were the days! I didn’t by the way!

    • It is memories like these and comments from colleagues that keep the profession bearable! Love, Ruth. xx

  3. What a lovely story Ruth, the gift of love is even more special at this time of year. Thank you for sharing another of your beautiful recipes. PS I made the little german loaves, what a hit!

    • My pleasure, Linda. Glad the little German loaves (“Brotlaibchen”) were a hit with your family. I miss working you. Love, Ruth. xx

  4. Such a lovely story. I like how the brownies have evolved and I look forward to trying this recipe. ( huge fan of Turkish delight)

  5. I am going to see if I can get my daughter to make these brownies. They sound yummy. Thank you for the recipe and interesting story. I was a special ed. teacher many long years ago.Blessings to you and your family.

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