High altitudes and baking do not always "mix" well!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

I never thought it would be as difficult as it sometimes is to change my ways of baking because of high altitudes. We lived in Glendale, AZ for about 25 years and baking was pretty easy...you just followed the directions in the recipe. Then we moved to Colorado, and I had to change the way I baked my cakes and brownies. My husband didn't seem to mind, because the more I experimented, the more he got to eat my mistakes. We both grew...me in my baking techniques, and my husband in his waistline. After over 2 years of experimenting with my brownie recipe, I finally got the adjustments right, so that the middle of the brownies didn't sink to the bottom of the pan. I make several different varieties of brownies. My husband's favorite is raspberry cream cheese swirl with cream cheese frosting. Here is the recipe for just the basic brownies:

HIGH ALTITUDE DIRECTIONS FOR
MOM’S BROWNIES

Yield: Makes 9x13 pan

1 ½ cups butter, melted
2 ¾ cups sugar
1 T. vanilla
6 eggs
1 ¾ cups flour, unsifted
1 cup cocoa
½ t. baking powder
¾ t. salt
1 T. water
1 cup chocolate chips

Prepare as directed for regular brownies, except change to above amounts for ingredients. Also, do not grease sides of pan. Bottom only! Bake at 350° for approximately 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and center is firm to the touch. Run knife around outside of brownies before removing from pan.

I recently traveled to San Diego to make a wedding cake for a friend as a wedding gift. I forgot how nice it was to bake at sea level. Oh well, it still isn't enough to make me want to leave Colorado!