"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.
>
> My thought to economize slightly on the brownies was to use 1 stick of
> butter and one stick of margarine per pan. (rather than 2 sticks of
butter).
>
> I searched and searched on the web and couldn't find any documentation on
> this subject: the effects of butter vs. margarine on brownies. Plenty on
> cookies, but nothing on Brownies.
>
> So after nearly an hour of Googling...I decided to do something drastic.
> I made a half-batch of my regular brownie recipe, and used half butter and
> half margarine.
>
> They are in the oven, about half-way done.
>

You remind me of my elderly inlaws. They'll drive 40 miles to buy gas that
is 1 or 2 cents per gallon cheaper than local.:-)

Dave