Roommates and Brownies

Here's a little peak into my process for deciding what to make:

Me: I have to pick something for Monika's birthday thing tonight. Do you have any requests, or suggestions?

The Resident Taste Tester: No, pick whatever you want.

Me: Ok, how about lemon poppy seed cookies?

RTT: No, I don't like that.

Me: Ok, what do you want?

RTT: {flips through cookie photos for 10 minutes} I want brownies.

Me: Ok, here are 4 choices of brownies. Which one do you want?

RTT: The trufle brownies.

Me: Ok, I'll make trufle brownies. Here's a photo.

RTT: I don't want those. They look like cake.

Me: Really. Ok, what do you want?

RTT: Peanut butter swirl brownies.

Me: Ok, I'll make those, but I'll use this other recipe so I can make a larger sheet of brownies and just add peanut butter to it.

Two hours and a sheet of baked brownies later...

RTT: Those look too cakey.

I'm currently in the market for a new roommate. One who likes cakey brownies.

So I'm going to a friend's birthday potluck game night tonight, so no Wine Sunday menu this week. Be prepared for something amazing next Sunday, as I was harassed for not inviting the Quanity Control Expert and another mutual friend over previously.

My brownie/cake batter, pre-baking

The brownies turned out cakey but tasty, per the RTT. The picture that she had picked out only made a small amount of non-cakey brownies, so I went with another recipe for Buttermilk Brownies that made more, apparently cakey brownies. I'll have to make her the original ones sometime, or I'll never hear the end of it.

My two recipe sources, held open by a wine bottle. Hey, it's Sunday.

I followed the buttermilk brownie recipe precisely, except that I added the peanut butter swirl from the other recipe. FYI, the swirl is a tasty mix of peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla, all things I love. The RTT, who never licks bowls or batter, was all over the swirl bowl and disappeared with the spoon from it.

The RTT, checking the quality of the peanut butter swirl. I think it passed.

My Quantity Control Expert was at the birthday party and was the first to pick up a brownie and taste it. Her immediate response: "This is cake." And then she proceded to ask everyone eating them if they were cake or brownies. The overwhelming response was cake.

Apparently I failed at making brownies this time around, although everyone said they tasted good regardless of if they were cake or brownies. I'll redeem myself next time with a fabulous fudgy, not cakey, brownie. Be prepared.