take a deep breath...and bake

To simply say the last couple of days at work have been busy would be a gross understatement. They've been the non-stop 'fun' that makes hours pass like minutes quitting time comes and you wonder where the day went blink and you'd miss it kinda days.

Don't get me wrong. I like being busy at work. (Sure beats the alternative.) But it doesn't make me an interesting blogger. Once I get home, I just want to turn the ol' brain off for a while, brew a good hot cuppa tea, coax the bird onto the shoulder, the cat onto the lap, and settle in for a quietly mindless evening of TV.

And then the munchies hit. One of my new years resolutions was a vow to not keep junk food and munchie-type things in the house. If I want something sweet or salty, I'm going to have to walk across the park to get it or make it myself ... a kind of work-off-the-calories-in-advance approach. It's been working pretty well, too. I'm indulging a lot less frequently. But when the gotta-have-its hit, this is a favourite quick and easy recipe of mine. The son, the cat, and the bird say they like it, too. Be warned: these butterscotch brownies are very sweet at first but mellow nicely for the second day. Can't report on day three...they never seem to last that long.

Mom's Butterscotch Brownies

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter, blend in sugar and let mixture cool. Stir in egg and vanilla.

Sift dry ingredients together and blend with sugar mixture. Result will be quite stiff.

Spread batter in well-oiled 8x8 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut into squares while warm.