Here at Read Fast, Eat Slow, we are celebrating Bake for Family Fun Month. And sometimes, we have to borrow the family.

That’s how I got to do a baking day with the V family.

When I arrived, Mom informed me that we were baking in teams, with Dad and the boys working on brownies, Mom and the girls making her famous Yummy Bars. (You can find the recipes at the end of our post.)

Mom had the ingredients laid out. The Vs are a gluten-free household. Mom likes this brand of GF flour, and it’s much handier than mixing her own blend.

Some ingredients for Team Brownie.

And some for Team Yummy Bar. 

Mom is a KitchenAid mixer fan.

We get started. This young cook looks ready to jump into action.

This woman just might love baking even more than I do.

The mixer performs its magic.

Okay, let’s spread this dough.

Team Yummy Bar did that well.

Let’s check on Team Brownie as they start at the stove.

Look at how much chocolate they’re using. That right there ought to guarantee some good brownies.

Checking the instructions — good idea.

Team Brownie pours in more brown sugar.

You can see that this was seriously a team effort.

We are all about training the young cooks.

Back at Team Yummy Bars, somebody knows how to smack those walnuts.

Save some dough to sprinkle on top.

Learning how to do all the cook’s jobs.

Oh, that’s what we do with the extra dough.

She sprinkles walnuts on half the bars, just in case some people don’t love them.

Oven-ready!

Back at Team Brownie, they prepare their pan.

Whoa! Glorious batter. I consider volunteering to “clean” the pan.

While the brownies bake, I meet Rhino, the littlest member of the V family. He likes his snack: pumpkin seeds.

A Team Brownie member “fixes” Mom’s KitchenAid mixer.

Meanwhile, the dishwasher at the V house destroys all evidence of a major cooking project. He’s fast!

And they’re baked!

Fork ready. This brownie looks like chocolate bliss.

I don’t think one Yummy Bar will be enough, do you?

TRICIA’S YUMMY DESSERT

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 12 oz. chococolate chips, divided
  • 1 cup nuts
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups toffee bits, divided

Heat oven to 350′. Grease a 9×13 pan.

Mix flour, sugar and butter. Add eggs, mix well.

Add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and all nuts (we spread on half the pan).

Reserve 1 1/2 cups dough mixture, set aside.

Press remaining dough into pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Pour on milk. Top with 1 cups toffee bits. Sprinkle with pieces of reserved dough. Top with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining toffee.

DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

  • 2 sticks (8 oz.) butter
  • 8 oz. good quality semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350′. Prepare a 13×9-in pan with with foil and spray foil with cooking spray. Alternatively, you may use parchment. These are pretty sticky at first!

Melt butter and chocolate in 3-qt. heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth.  Add 1 cup sugar to the hot chocolate mixture. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Whisk in remaining 1 cup sugar and vanilla. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time until mixture is glossy and smooth. Whisk in salt and cocoa powder, then add flour and stir until it disappears (do not overbeat).

Spread in pan and bake until a pick inserted in center comes out with crumbs, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then chill for an hour or more. Lift from pan, place on a cutting board. Cut into squares.

Makes one 13×9-in pan. Yield depends on how big you cut your brownies, but they are rich, so small is fine.