DEAR ABBY: Why are brownies called brownies if they are black? -- JUST WONDERING IN HOUSTON
DEAR JUST WONDERING: I took your question to Lachlan Sands, executive chef at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Los Angeles, who says, "The first mention of 'brownies' is in a Fanny Farmer cookbook published in 1906. They are not called brownies because of the color, but were named after Celtic pixies."
P.S. If your brownies are turning out black, you may be baking them too long.