"i'll never fall in love again..." 1969 & other tales

   1969 was a good year. i was in kindergarten, sporting a pixie haircut & carpooling every afternoon at 12:30pm with two of my best friends, john & shawn.
   my clearest memory of that year (aside from meeting my best friend, kristie, & the GLORIOUS play kitchen in our classroom- that even at the age of barely 5 was my favorite place on earth) was listening to "i'll never fall in love again" playing on the radio in the blue oldsmobile on the way to st. stephen's methodist church every afternoon (kindergarten was private in OK in 1969). "what do ya get when you kiss a guy? you'll get enough germs to catch pneumonia- after ya do, he'll never phone ya...i'll 'll 'll ......"
   what i DON'T remember was the blessed day in that year when mrs. nickle scribbled down the recipe for brownie fudge cupcakes & gave it to my mother.    l  i  f  e  c  h  a  n  g  i  n  g.
   perhaps there is no single recipe that defines my family like this one- it is our family tradition. period. there is no telling, although i wish there was, how many hundreds (thousands, definitely thousands) of these my mom & sisters (& friends & nieces) & i  have made since that day........enough to build an oleo colliseum (see * i can't believe it's not butter* from april for the oleo lowdown-this is one of the exactly 3 recipes in the world that must be made with margarine-butter just doesn't get the same result-weirdly).
   they are perfect. perfect. perfect. made with simple pantry ingredients you always have on hand (or should). they are fudgy, rich & develop this wonderful crackly top when they bake- no need to frost. they're so easy to mix up in a single bowl (no mixer needed), tote well to everywhere & anyone at all who has ever tried one has fallen in love on the spot.
   it's the ONLY family recipe that has ever begged the question, "should we SHARE it?" "COULD we share it?" it's almost sacred.
   well, i think the statute of limitations has run out on hogging this recipe, so now, some 42 years later, it's going public. it may disappear tomorrow since i didn't hear back from my sisters & mom when i asked their permission to post it & they may blow a brownie fudge gasket when they see this .....so, write fast, my 20 followers (& julius)........this is your chance!
   i think i hear karen carpenter singing in approval............

*brownie fudge cupcakes*

1 stick (nearly plastic) margarine ( i like imperial brand the best)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans-optional, but recommended*
*man, these are full of naughty, bad ingredients*
melt & mix the "oleo:)" & chocolate chips in the 'wave or on the cooktop... in a medium mixing bowl mix the other 4 ingredients together, beating well.....add the chocolate mixture- no need to cool before- mix well & pour into 10 paper lined muffin tins....that's it- ridiculously easy...bake at 325* for , hmmmmm, i never set the timer.....say, 18 minutes, until they crackle on top but are still slightly underdone.....we eat them warm right out of the muffin pan, but if you have people coming over, then 1. make a double batch 2. hide them & 3. serve with ice cream & hot fudge (homemade is best & easy- i'll post that one soon)....it's so fun to share this special recipe with you all-happy mother's day!
*almost forgot to mention that these are insanely good with a peanut butter cup smooshed in before baking- we love the great value brand b/c they have really creamy centers & melt marvelously*

-the snackmom
*this post created a little bit of a stir for the 9 hours it was on recently- my mother saw it & read it & hinted that maybe the statute of limitations NEVER runs out on things of a sacred nature, like brownie fudge cupcakes- then she was shocked when i hastily deleted it....you see,  she wasn't serious, she was trying to joke around with me a little- it's just that she's not the goofy, joking type- you all who know & love her appreciate how kind & sweet she is- and she DOES like to laugh a lot, but she just doesn't kid a lot- so i took it seriously & got all prickly-panicked-you know that feeling......but really all along she was happy for me to pass on this little treasure that means so much to our family......so, to make a long story a little bit longer.....here it is......at long last- joy said just today that she is happy to be sharing it , too, though josh doesn't think she's made hundreds of them-she needs to get bakin' 'em.....hoping jana feels the same way- we're sure she does:) we hope she does....