Lemon Cardamom Brownies

Let me start off by saying that my sister said these were "not really brownies" as she was eating her second one.  I guess technically they aren't brown like brownies, but these are definitely brownies -  rich, moist and decadent, everything a brownie is supposed to be in my book. 

I actually made these last weekend for a few of my boyfriend's friends that were helping him with one of the VW’s buses and I needed a delicious dessert to go with dinner.  I didn’t want to make my go-to brownie recipe (which is pretty awesome), but wanted to try something new for the blog and I had the perfect people to try them out. 

 

So I started looking at what I had on hand and right away I remember that my father had just picked a bag of fresh lemons from his tree for me.  Now, I had the ingredient, but needed the recipe.  I started searching and came across this recipe for Sticky Gooey Lemon Brownies from Becky Bakes.  They sounded interesting so I thought I would give them a try.  I adapted the original recipe by adding cardamom which compliments the flavor of lemons perfectly.  Let just say the end result was amazing! I personally have to say that it is on the list of PERFECT desserts in my book.   One of boyfriend’s friends said it was now his new favorite.  That compliment is not taken lightly from someone who has taste tasted quite a few of my desserts in the past.  A great compliment for the baker!

So what does this brownie taste like? Imagine a thick, moist cake topped with a sweet-sour glaze.  The Cardamom adds just enough spice to leave you wondering "what's in there?" I promise your taste buds will be on overload with this dessert. This is a perfect dessert for a work potluck or family party...or just because.

Happy Cooking everyone!
 

Lemon Cardamom Brownies
Makes 16 Brownies



Ingredients

Brownie

2 cups all purpose flour


1 ¼ cups granulated sugar


½ teaspoon cardamom


¼ teaspoon salt


½ cup and 2 tablespoons, melted butter (sweet cream)


3 eggs


1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk )


1 teaspoon vanilla


3 tablespoons lemon juice


1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Glaze

1 cup powder sugar


3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Prep work:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Squeeze lemons for juice
3. Grate lemons for peel.  ( I used my small holes on my grater, only grate the surface once removing just the yellow color)
4. Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil and smear with butter (about 1 tablespoon)

Instructions

• Whisk  the flour , sugar, cardamom and salt in a bowl till combined and set aside.

• In a separate bowl combine melted butter, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon peel.
• Mix until smooth
• Add butter mixture into flour slowly, quickly stirring until all is combined and batter is smooth

• Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes

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• Remove brownies from oven and cool .Once cooled, remove foil from brownies and put back into tray (this is to keep the glaze from sticking to the foil and breaking on to the brownie when you cut them (you can skip this step if you like)
• While brownies are cooking make the glaze

• For Glaze, combine powder sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel.  Mix with a spoon until all the lumps are removed. Pour over warm brownies. Cool

• Cut into 16 pieces and cool