Gooey Lemon Brownies

I think I can control the weather. Well at least crappy weather. We had a pretty mild winter this year (last year?). The only really bad part was the icy cold winds. Then, one day I decided to get my hair cut really short because I was tired of how my hair just hung down on my head. You know what happened the next day? There was a blizzard. So because of my newly cropped do, the back of my neck was left unprotected from the harsh elements of the outside. Then when I went back to school from winter break, my anatomy classroom, which has always been freezing, felt even colder. The worst part was when I found out my new seat was right under the coldest vent in the classroom. I know it’s the coldest vent because my teacher did a test one day and it was blowing out 40 degree air into the room.

Spring has finally sprung and so far we’ve had a fairly decent one. Well at least for the month of March. Again, because the weather was so nice and I realized I actually like short hair, I decided to get it cut again. Not two days later, temperatures dropped from the lovely 70s to the 40s with nasty rainstorms. The weatherman predicts snow either today or tomorrow. So for the sake of nice weather, maybe I should just stop cutting my hair.

I know that wasn’t the most interesting thing to read, but I will reward you for your patience with brownies! And not just any brownies: lemon brownies! And they are super-duper delicious! I’m usually not one to grab for a citrusy type snack, but for some reason I was just craving something citrusy. Maybe it was the nice spring weather (before I cut my hair) or maybe it has to do with everyone blogging about grapefruit cakes and glazes, orange breads, and lemon sandwich cookies. Either way, I was hit by the spring bug and I wanted some lemony action. That’s when I found these babies.

They are not overly tart, but you can definitely taste the lemon in these bars. And the glaze that goes on top adds just enough lemon kick to make the bars complete. You may notice that these aren’t very tall, but that’s because there is absolutely no leavening in this recipe at all. Even though I usually like my bars with a little height, I don’t think I would have liked it for this particular recipe. The short and dense bar makes it extra chewy and delicious. Not only are they delicious, but they even remind me of spring. I think it has to do with the pretty yellow these turned out to be. Some lemon desserts are just too… bright. You know what I mean? These look delicate and refreshing.

Gooey Lemon Brownies

Adapted from Becky Bakes
Makes 9x9 inch pan

Ingredients
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Juice from half a lemon
Zest from one whole lemon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with tin foil and liberally spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and fold until everything has been incorporated.  

Spread batter into the prepared pan. It may take some coaxing, but it will eventually spread out evenly. Place in the preheated oven and bake 16-18 minutes or until the top has lightly browned.

Let it cool in the pan for about five minutes while you prepare the glaze.

To make the glaze, whisk together ¾ cup powdered sugar, juice from half a lemon, and water by the teaspoon until you have reached your desired glaze consistency. Pour over the cooled lemon brownie. Slice and serve. These are perfect at room temperature, but if you want it heated just a tad, microwave it for 5 seconds.