Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Panda Brownies

My senior year of high school, I would go to my friend Amanda's house for lunch almost every day. Some days we would bring our own lunch, some day's we would buy lunch, and LOTS of days we would eat whatever they had at their house {Thanks Malia!}. They even had a treat drawer that was always one of the first places I went.


These brownies on the other hand... they could never belong in the treat drawer.  These homemade wonders were too good for that drawer of prepackaged sugar!! I can't even tell you how many times I consumed these things growing up... They were like a staple in Amanda's household. Which is why it kills me that it wasn't until last summer that I remembered there goodness. How I went the last few years without them, I will never know! Her family actually just calls them Double Iced Brownies, but to me they have always been Panda Brownies {get it... Amanda Panda? I know, I'm funny, right!?}. And since I am sharing some recipes this week that remind me of my brother, and he had a love of brownies, I thought these bad boys would be fitting. 


The actual brownie base isn't as chocolate-y as you may think, but once you get both of your frostings on there, the brownie itself is plenty sweet and incredibly addicting! **Make sure you let them cool completely before applying your first frosting, and then refrigerate them before applying the 2nd layer! This is a great recipe if you need a treat for a large group.



Panda Brownies


Brownies
beat 4 eggs
add 2 cups sugar
then add 2 cups flour
 
Melt 2 cubes margarine
(or butter. I don't love margarine) and 2 squares baking chocolate 

*(or 6 T. cocoa and 2 T. butter) 
Blend together and add to egg/sugar/flour mixture.
 
Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and mix.

Add one cup of your favorite nuts if you like that kind of thing 
(I added pecans on half of the brownies after they were frosted)
Bake on a large jelly roll pan at 350 for 20 minutes.



Cool Completely!

 
First Frosting
1 cube butter
3 Tablespoons instant pudding mix (vanilla)
1 pound powdered sugar
enough milk to make creamy



Second Frosting
Make your favorite frosting. I used this recipe.


After brownies have cooled, frost with vanilla frosting and refrigerate until hard (@ least 30 minutes). Apply chocolate layer of frosting. Return to refrigerator if you want the 2nd frosting to harden up (I find its easier to cut them that way). Slice into individual pieces and enjoy!




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3 comments:

  1. Um, those look a lot better than whenever I make them... And once again, I feel like a celebrity!!

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  2. These look so good! Thanks for posting them Annalisa! And thanks to Amanda (or her mom) for the recipe. Can't wait to try them!

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  3. Oh my gosh! These sound so good! Anything with 2 layers of frosting has got to be freaking delicious! I need to make some!! :)

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