Orange Brownies

"Orange brownies" you say? Don't be deceived there is no chocolate here, but never fear, they are delicious.  Read on....

If I were to name this recipe, I would have called them Orange Bars, as they are quite similar to lemon bars, but with a different citrus flair. They are soft and chewy out of the oven and will keep well in an air tight container for about one or two days. Plus they smell amazing from the time you begin zesting your orange until you take them out of the oven and pop one into your mouth.

Orange Brownies
Recipe from Paula Deen
Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4 eggs

2 teaspoons pure orange extract

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest and beat with a handheld electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes*, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.

Glaze:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares.

*I ended up cooking mine about 10 minutes longer than is suggested in the original directions.