I love old spiral-bound cookbooks. I have a collection from small towns, churches, school fundraisers, inns and backcountry lodges. They are little time capsules, filled with the recipes people made for their families, friends and communities.
This recipe for Dressed for Success Brownies was inspired by a spiral-bound cookbook called The Chocolate Town Cookbook, which I bought at Ganong Chocolate in St. Stephen, New Brunswick.
St. Stephen is known as Canada’s Chocolate Town, thanks to Ganong Chocolate and Candy Factory, founded there in 1873 by brothers James H. and Gilbert W. Ganong. The town has celebrated an annual Chocolate Festival since 1984.
I remember touring the old red-brick Ganong factory with my brownie troupe when I was a little girl. Decades later, I was thrilled to take my own son on a tour of the modern factory when he was about the same age. Donning lab coats and hair nets, we followed our host—an oompa loompa, naturally—through the factory and then happily spent our allotted ten minutes eating as much candy as we could in the special tasting room at the end of the tour.
If you find yourself in New Brunswick on the August long weekend, I highly recommend checking out the family fun at Chocolate Fest.
Back to the brownies
The original recipe was called Macaroon Brownies. Its contributor, Bertha Bousquet of St. Stephen, added this charming note: “These I used to make when I wanted to impress the members of the rotating card parties that we used to have. They were a big hit.”
I can see why.
These brownies have everything I crave: dense, fudgy chocolate, chewy coconut and crunchy walnuts. But it’s the unusual topping that really sets them apart—a little bit chocolate glaze, a little bit marshmallowy stickiness. It’s what dresses these brownies for success, and why I gave them a new name as I adapted the recipe.
Thanks to Ms. Bousquet for the original. Some recipes are worth bringing back into the world.
PrintDressed for Success Brownies
Enjoy these chewy, fudgy brownies with a cold glass of milk.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 24 squares or 48 bars
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
For the brownies:
1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup chopped walnuts
For the filling:
1 – (7ounce – 200 gram) package shredded unsweetened coconut
1 – (10 ounce – 300 mL) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
For the icing:
¾ cups sugar
¼ cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
To make the brownies:
- Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides between additions, followed by the vanilla.
- Add the flour, cocoa, and cream of tartar to a mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to combine then add them slowly to the creamed mixture. Once mixed, fold in the walnuts.
- Spread half this mixture into a parchment lined 9×13 baking pan.
To make the filling:
- Stir the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla together and spread the mixture over the brownies in the pan. Then top with the remaining brownie mixture.
- Bake at 350℉ for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack.
To make the icing:
- Whisk the sugar, milk and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the miniature marshmallows, chocolate chips, and vanilla and stir until the marshmallows and chocolate chips are melted.
- Remove from heat and cool at room temperature.
- Spread on the cooled brownies once the icing settles into to a spreadable thickness.
- Cut in squares or bars. They also freeze well.
Keywords: Dressed for Success Brownies
