Can you actually make Alex B Toklas' Brownies

Cafe Society
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From the Master’s own article: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/880/alice-b-toklas-brownies-the-recipe The recipe is available. Does anyone on these boards make it, or anything like it?

Wait a minute. That’s not what I’m asking on an open forum. No, really, before you all jump to testify your favorite pot brownie recipe, I’m really not asking about that ingredient.* I’m asking about the quoted recipe.

I suppose step one, grinding hard spices in a mortar and pestle, is a little beyond me. But people probably use spice grinders these says. Dusting spices (and other … dusted … items … mentioned later*) over dried figs and dates is pretty simple too. But kneading the dates and figs to mix the spices … that seems pretty hard to do by hand, and a hand mixer won’t really help. So I guess that’s the toughest bit of the the recipe for me to envision.

Also hasn’t Brion Gysin selected the final ingredient in correctly? He wants it gone to seed but still green, isn’t that when there’s the least amount of active? Anyway, I’d heard its cooked in butter, because heat is needed to convert the plant compounds into active material.*

*OK, so I am asking wondering a little bit about that bit too. But really, my question is all about this spicy, uncooked fudge recipe.

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Alice, not Alex.

That recipe sounds like an awful lot of trouble.

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I don’t know. Must be easy clean up, you only use one pot.

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Gah. I made some other typos too. But you can’t edit a first post. I hope the MODs will fix the title.

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You can edit a first post the same way as any other, and subject to the same 5 minute limit.

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Self-report your post. Click on the red-bordered white triangle with the exclamation point in it. You’ll be taken to a screen where you can type in an explanation of what you want done with/to the post.

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As far as kneading everything together, you’re not supposed to make it into a smooth dough. You’re just mixing and blending the flavors together.

The final “fudge” will have diced pieces of fruit and nuts in it, held together by the sticky dates and all that butter. The recipe reminds me of Lara Bars, I wonder if they were inspired by old fashioned “fudge” recipes?