Serving it up:

Mud season is a gray and rainy time here in the northeast. The snow has melted, the ground is thawing and the rain is coming down. Sometimes a sweet and gooey baked treat is the perfect pick-me-up on a gray and rainy day.  This baked treat fits the bill perfectly, a brownie-like cake base topped with nuts, marshmallows and chocolate icing. Due to its bumpy appearance it resembles a bumpy and muddy gravel road during mud season. But of course this tastes much better than mud!

Thanks to my sister for this recipe. While she has never been here in mud season, I am pretty sure she has seen her fair share of mud in the places she has lived.

Makes: about 24 squares

Oven: 375°F (175°C)

Bake: 30-35 min. plus second baking 3-5 min.

Abbreviations:

• c. = cup. USA cup measure has the capacity of 8 fl. ounces.
• t. = teaspoon
• T. = tablespoon

Gooey and delicious Mud Squares.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. butter or marg
• 2 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/3 c. cocoa
• 1 c. chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans are a good choice
• 3-4 cups of mini marshmallows

Method:

Set the oven for 350°F.(175°C)

Cream together the first 2 ingredients.

Add the eggs.

Mix the flour and cocoa together and add to the mixture.

Spoon the batter into a 9×13 greased pan and bake for 30 -35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the top of the cake evenly with 3-4 cups of mini marshmallows, enough to completely cover the cake.

Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes until the marshmallows are slightly puffy.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top of the melted marshmallows.

Cool for 30 minutes.

Icing:

• 3 c. powdered sugar (icing sugar)
• 2 T. cocoa powder
• 1/3 c. butter or marg, softened
• 2 t. vanilla
• 3 T. milk – you may need to add more

Method:

Mix all the above together. If using an electric mixer or beater, be sure to start the machine at a low speed or you will have powdered sugar everywhere!

You may want to add some more milk so that your icing is rather thin and can be drizzled across the top of your marshmallow.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife dipped frequently in hot water. A cool knife will pull the marshmallow off the cake. The squares are very sweet. Smaller squares are recommended so you don’t get a sugar overload!

Dishing it out:
For me, mud season is greeted with mixed emotions.  I love winter. I’ve successfully skied Mad River Glen, do my fair share of shoveling and don’t mind driving in the snow. Although I hate to see the snow disappearing, there is excitement in knowing that the spring flowers will soon be appearing in our gardens.

Mud Season reminder:

Meanwhile we all manage to get through mud season by knowing which gravel roads to avoid and which can be more easily traversed. And that’s why we tell you to follow our directions and not trust GPS. We’re locals, we know the best routes.

It is the moisture in the soil from the melting, thawing and the rain that allows Vermont to be the ‘Green Mountain’ state. This past winter Sugarbush Resort, just  mile from us, recorded 363 inches of snow at the top of the mountain, just one inch short of the 1995-96 record snowfall. It was indeed a great 2016-17 winter.
Whether you visit West Hill House B&B in the winter, spring, summer or autumn, you will be guaranteed a warm welcome and a plate of home baked goodies will be waiting on the sideboard.