I was a 22-year-old hippie wannabe in a long, flowy blue and white skirt, engaged to my long-haired fiancé for nigh on two weeks, when he invited me to the family 4th of July event “out to camp.” Where I come from, camp was for Girl Scouts and rich kids who were farmed out for the summer. A place by the water, in this case by Messalonskee Lake, was a cottage. Clearly, I had some learning to do.

I was greeted by his grandma, and quickly made the rounds of all the relatives assembled on the porch for the purpose of shelling peas. In the oven was a whole salmon, dressed in herbs and butter. I was skeptical of this fish, but this was no time for “no thank you.” After much ado about the cooking of the peas, we gathered at the picnic tables in the yard and enjoyed a quintessential New England July 4th “dinnah.”

After time for cleaning up and swimming, dessert was presented. There was probably something with strawberries, or Jell-O, I don’t recall. But I do recall the brownies: chocolate with mint frosting, and fudge glaze shimmering in the hot sun. I’m sure I had more than one. They were rich, buttery and divine, and I had to learn how to make them.

I sought out the cook, Aunt Lynn was her name, and she was noted for her decadent desserts and her passion for Yahtzee and penny poker. She shared her recipe, but quite a few years passed before I could step into those big shoes. When she passed away, I felt the responsibility for the recipe weighing on me. I began an annual tradition of recreating her confection, and I always looked forward to it.

Time went by and we had new brides. I bought more than one brownie pan as a shower gift. Nobody took the baton, though … so I kept on.

Until July of 2013. I was in the kitchen getting step 1 of the recipe ready for the oven when my then husband cried out from the other room. He was suffering from advanced prostate cancer and had been troubled with severe back pain for a few days. This episode seemed different, worse. I called the ambulance, and we went to the hospital. The brownies remained on the counter, unbaked. He stayed the night in the hospital, and the next morning I learned the dreadful news that he could not feel his legs. Despite heroic surgical measures, he never regained any feeling. And he never came home again.

It was all different after that. I felt estranged from the family that had welcomed me all those years ago, and the brownie recipe remained stashed in the summer recipe box. That is, until this past Christmas when my nephew, who had served in the Air Force for many years all over the world, returned home to finish his military career. It seemed fitting to welcome him back with the recipe he had missed for many July 4th holidays.

I figured out how to mail a batch without messing up the frosting and spent $40 in postage to send the brownies to Virginia. I know he and his family appreciated the gift, and I felt that I had freed myself from the weight of the recipe. It was time to let it go, and hope that a new generation would embrace it.

CHOCOLATE MINT BROWNIES

The recipe came from “Aunt Lynn” Taylor. If you use white Crème de Menthe to make the frosting, add a few drops of green food coloring.

Combine:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter

In a microwave-safe dish, cook 30 seconds on high, stirring after each, and repeat until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, beat

4 eggs until frothy.

Gradually add

1 cup sugar.

Add cooled chocolate mixture and
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Gradually fold in

1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt.

Pour batter into ungreased 13×9 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool completely.

FROSTING

Beat together until smooth

1½ cups sifted confectioners sugar and
½ cup softened butter.

Add
2 tablespoons green Crème de Menthe.

Frost the cooled brownie layer and refrigerate until set, preferably overnight.

GLAZE

Microwave together until melted and smooth

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and
6 tablespoons butter

Pour the glaze over the frosting and spread quickly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

MEET THE COOK, Cathy Taylor, Waterville

“I have always enjoyed cooking. I think I made almost every recipe in the Betty Crocker Children’s Cook Book, but my favorites were the ones that were fancy – a cake made to look like an Easter bonnet or a castle, or sliced pears arranged on a plate to look like a mouse. As time went on, I especially embraced cooking and decorating for holidays and special occasions. My family feasted on Roasted Chestnut Soup, and Flaming Figgy Pudding. I just about spent the mortgage one time creating charming Cherry Blossom Petit Fours, too pretty to eat. And once I was enticed into making a Croquembouche – a Christmas tree tower of cream puffs encased in glistening spun sugar. (Unfortunately, the tree listed to the side, and the spun sugar stuck to the kitchen floor.)

“Among my most memorable events were the two 5 a.m. Royal Wedding breakfast feasts, to which my favorite lady friends were invited, and each gifted with a handmade fascinator to accent her PJs. We ate scones with clotted cream and wedding cupcakes, and watched the fairy-tales unfold.

“My cooking style is a little more subdued now, and I struggle with the challenges of cooking for just two, without too much waste or too many bags in the freezer. Winter Sundays are always cozy, with crock pots of stew or chili, and football on the TV. We stay away from recipes like these brownies, with all that butter …

“I’m retired from full-time work, but I keep busy. I’m taking classes at the University of Maine to finish my degree. I enjoy ballroom dancing, reading, my flower boxes, riding in my vintage red Miata convertible, and evenings on the couch with husband Rick and my very spoiled Chihuahua, Brady.”

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