"Sheryl Rosen" > wrote in message
...
>I have to make 2 13x9" pans of brownies Saturday. (As Barb says---boys and
> girls! One with nuts, one without)
>
> The recipe I use is basically Barb's, minus the baking soda.
> Which means each pan uses half a pound (2 sticks) of butter and 4 ounces
> of
> unsweetened chocolate. (also 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, and a few other things,
> too).
>
> Butter is nearly $4 a pound this week!!!!
>
> I know what to expect with cookies when subbing margarine for
> butter...cookies with butter tend to be flatter, a little crisper,
> margarine
> in cookies yields a higher, slightly more tender cookie. Butter flavor
> Crisco is actually my choice for chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin
> cookies,
> because I like a taller,crunchy cookie and that yields the best result for
> my taste. But brownies? I had no idea what the difference would be,
> texture-wise, between the two fats.
>


I almost always use margarine to make brownies. I can't tell any difference
because the chocolate overpowers any subtle difference in taste -- but I
always make sure the label says "margarine" and that it has 100 calories per
tablespoon. Parkay, Bluebonnet, and most of the other brands that used to
be margarine are now "spread" with anywhere from 65 to 90 calories per Tbsp,
and that's enough difference in moisture and fat content to screw up baked
goods.

Be careful with the salt. If you use salted margarine (and almost all of it
is salted) the brownies will probably be too salty if you add any additional
salt.

HTH, :-)
Bob