Grandma Holmes's LBJ Brownies

UPDATE: After publishing this post, my Mother-in-Law Patti sent me a photocopy of the recipe that she had clipped from the Detroit News in June or July 1966. It turns out that Grandma Holmes got the recipe from Patti. The recipe was created by LBJ's daughter, Luci Baines Johnson. Patti recommends baking the brownies at 325 for 40 to 45 minutes to prevent the edges from getting too brown.

Who knew that LBJ liked brownies? MDS has read the entire Robert Caro biography (all four volumes, to date) of Lyndon Baines Johnson, but does not recall a single reference to brownies. But MDS's Grandma Holmes did have a recipe for "LBJ Brownies" that appears to be copied from a newspaper. And, a Google search revealed the exact recipe under the name "Mrs. LBJ's Brownies." I suspect that the recipe was published in a newspaper during an election season. Could Grandma Holmes have anticipated that her grandson would read over 3,200 pages about LBJ? Probably not. But, her grandson does like brownies, as do I, so this recipe was a hit.

When I made the recipe, I left out the nuts. Now, I like nuts and I like brownies, but I have never liked nuts in my brownies. I have no good explanation, but to me, nuts have always spoiled good brownies. With or without nuts, this recipe is guaranteed to be delicious.

LBJ Brownies

• 1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Melt the butter in a sauce pan; while it is melting, put the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add about 3/4 of the melted butter to the sugar. To the rest of the butter, add the chocolate squares and stir often on low heat to melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat in the eggs one ata time. Stir in the nuts, flour and vanilla.

Bake in a greased 8X8X2 pan at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Do not get too done; test with a finger or straw. Cool and cut into squares. Enjoy!