Fifty-Five Best Brownies

Bakers who take an ``anything goes'' attitude toward trying new recipes and who can endure the inane and useless commentary (e.g., ``You'll never wear a frownie when you make yourself a brownie'') may turn up some interesting variations on an old favorite. The Zismans ( The Great American Peanut Butter Book ) have chosen these versions from more than 3500 submitted in response to the authors' request for recipes through newspapers and magazines. Unembellished chocolate confections are rare, but there are some, like Jessie's brownies, in which the flight of fancy is limited to pecans and cocoa frosting. A favored approach seems to be adding a second flavor, like a liqueur (in amaretto brownies supreme and Kahlua brownies), fruit (in strawberry brownies and two kinds of cherry brownies) or chopped candy (in peppermint-candy brownies and peanut-butter-cup brownies). Some preparations take a bit longer than others, notably those with layers, such as tarte au chocolat and peanut butter double deckers, but these treats are well within the range of most bakers. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Aug.)