Brownie Christmas Trees (with Hotel Pan Brownie Recipe)

When I was growing up, my mom ran a catering business out of her home.  She did a lot of wedding receptions, dinners, etc.  One of her most popular items people ordered were her wedding brownies.  We loved when people ordered brownies, because she always trimmed off the edges all the way around the pan and put them in a tupperware for us to eat after school.  They are seriously the best brownies I've ever had.  Insider's Tip: They are also delicious frozen.

So what exactly is a "hotel pan?"  This.  

If you google "Hotel Pan," it brings up all kinds of restaurant style steamer pans, etc.  You want the one that looks like this and the coordinating lid.  Do yourself a favor and get yourself one.  They are great for a million different things...particularly this brownie recipe!

***

Hotel Pan Brownies

8 large eggs

4 tsp vanilla

4 cups flour

4 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 cubes butter

1 large cup cocoa

1. Melt butter and cocoa together in saucepan.  Allow to start cooling.  You can speed up the cooling process by dumping the mixture out of the hot saucepan and into your KitchenAid bowl or the large bowl you plan to use to mix everything together.

2. Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl.

3. Crack 8 eggs and your vanilla into a container with a pour spout.

4.  When butter/cocoa is cool, begin mixing in the dry ingredients and the egg/vanilla mixture a little at a time.  

GREASE AND FLOUR your hotel pan and spread batter into pan.  Batter will be THICK.  Like so thick you are sure it can't be right--it is!!!

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Cool and frost.

***

We used this recipe this week to make these cute little trees we originally saw over at onelittleproject.com: 

 We delivered them to Daddy's work, and they were a big hit!  

***

Frosting: 

1 1/2 cubes butter

Scant 1/2 cup cocoa

Salt

Vanilla

Canned Milk

Powdered Sugar (close to a bag)

1. Mix butter and cocoa together.

2. Add a couple shakes of salt, and alternate adding canned milk and powdered sugar until you have the right consistency and richness.  

3. Frost while still glossy and smooth so it will set up nice but not crack when cutting the brownies.