Triple Chocolate Brownies

One evening, I was sitting at home alone with the baby when the chocolate urge struck. The baby was already in her jammies and I didn’t want to drag her out of the house so I found myself searching through recipes that would satisfy. Brownies seemed like an obvious choice and since I hadn’t tried a new variation in quite some time I decided to give it a go. I must say, at first bite I wasn’t overly impressed with these brownies. I was expecting a chewy, fudgy brownie and it just wasn’t so. I was so disappointed I almost threw the whole pan in the garbage. Good thing I didn’t though, because after these brownies sat overnight they turned into just that. A perfectly chewy, fudgy, delicious brownie. These were a real treat and I’m glad I gave them a second chance.

Triple Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients:
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 oz.) sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2  tsp. salt
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

Directions:
Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.  Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated.  Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined.  (It took me a while to get the flour evenly incorporated and I was worried it would affect the texture of the brownies, but they turned out fabulously – no need to worry.)  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer.  Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.  

Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into squares as desired.  Store in an air-tight container.   

Source: Baking Illustrated

Pumpkin Blondies

 

The other day there was quite a bit of pumpkin talk on the message boards I frequent. I immediately wanted pumpkin something and as soon as blondies were mentioned I had to have them! Luckily, I had all of the ingredients at home (except the white chocolate chips) and was able to whip these up fairly quickly. I used the 4oz of white chocolate chips I had left and added semi-sweet to make up the difference. I know lots of people are fond of the pumpkin/white chocolate combination, but I’m just not that crazy about white chocolate so it was a good substitution for me. I would recommend keeping some of the white chocolate though, because it does lend a nice sweetness. I was very happy with how these turnd out. They are absolutely delicious!

Pumpkin Blondies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) chocolate chips (white, semi-sweet, or a combination)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and cut into squares.

Source: Cate’s World Kitchen

Butterscotch Bars

Recently, I was looking for a treat to bring to my internship to thank them for having me there all semester. To me, nothing says thank you like some homemade goodies. I went on a recipe search for something that wasn’t too unhealthy. I ended up deciding on these butterscotch bars.

There were a couple of things with this recipe. The first being that some of the topping fell off. You could add more butter to prevent that, but I honestly don’t think I will next time. Yes, the topping fell apart a bit, but the taste and texture were fine  (plus, I’d rather save the extra calories!). The second issue is the serving size. Cooking light recommends cutting these into 36 squares — yeah right! I made them a little bit bigger. Finally, I omitted the nuts. I don’t like nuts and usually omit them from everything. I’m sure they would be delicious in these if you like them. Overall, I really enjoyed these and everyone at my internship raved about them! 

Butterscotch Bars
Ingredients:
1 Cup packed brown sugar
5 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
9 oz all-purpose flour (about 2 Cups)
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 Cups butterscotch morsels
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted (I omitted)
cooking spray 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla and egg. Combine flour, oats, 1/2 tsp salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add oat mixture to sugar mixture and stir with a fork until combined (mixture will be crumbly). Place 3 cups oat mixture into the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking pan coated with cookig spray; press into bottom of pan. Set aside.

Place condensed milk, butterscotch chips, and 1/8 tsp salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 1 minute or until butterscotch morsels melt, stirring every 20 seconds. Stir in walnuts, if using. Scrape mixture into pan, spreading evenly over the crust. Sprinkle evenly with remaining oat mixture, gently pressing into butterscotch mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Place pan on a wire rack; run a knife around outside edge. Cool completely.

Source: Cooking Light

Lemon Bars

Yep, another recipe involving lemons. I had a bowl full of beautiful lemons a couple weeks ago and found lots of wonderful ways to use them. There are so many variations of lemon bars out there and I really tried to pick the perfect one. I ended up going with a Cook’s Illustrated recipe since they have yet to let me down. These were fantastic. We brought these over to my mom’s to share with my grandparents and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. If you’re looking for a wonderful lemon bar recipe look no further because these are wonderful.

Lemon Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 Cup all-purpose flour
2/3 Cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra to decorate
1/4 Cup cornstarch
3/4 tsp table salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at very cool room temperature cut into 1-  inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan

For the filling:
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated lemon zest from 2 large lemons
2/3 Cup lemon juice from 3-4 large lemons
1/3 Cup whole milk
1/8 tsp table salt

Directions:
For the crust: adjust the oven rack to middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lay second sheet crosswise over it.

Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1 second bursts. Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into an even 1/4 inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

For the filling: Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar, and flour in a medium bowl, then stir in lemon zest, juice, milk, and salt to blend well.

To finish the bars: Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mixture to reblend and pour into warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Transfer the bars to a cutting board, fold paper down, and cut into bars. Sieve confectioners’ sugar over bars, if desired.

Source: Cook’s Illustrated

Blondies Revisited

I have just recently been introduced to blondies. In fact, it wasn’t until this post that I ever tasted a blondie. While that recipe was good, it was more cakey in texture and I prefer a more fudgy brownie or blondie. I decided to give another recipe a try and was quite pleased by the results. These blondies look more fudgy just by looking at the picture. They also had a wonderful flavor. Yum! I don’t care for nuts so I never add them to baked goods. If you enjoy them, add them in. I’m sure it’d be quite tasy.

Blondies
Ingredients
1 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
12 Tbsp (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 Cups brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup baking chips

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on large rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer nuts to cutting board to cool; chop coarsely and set aside.

While nuts toast, cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking pan, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in baking chips and turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula.

Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes; do not overbake. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove bars from pan by lifting foil overhang and transfer to cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Source: Lovestoeat

Cheesecake Bars

I was asked to make a dessert for a bake sale at my internship. Most everything had been spoken for and when my supervisor mentioned cheesecake I thought bars would be much more appropriate. They are perfectly portioned for a bake sale and much easier to package. I never got to taste one of these, but I got wonderful reviews. I guess I’ll just have to make them again! 🙂

Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
1/3 Cup Butter, softened
1/3 Cup packed brown sugar
1/3 Cup chopped walnuts (omitted)
1 Cup siften all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup white sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

To make the pastry, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the flour and nuts (if using) and stir until mixture becomes crumbly. Press the mixture into an 8 inch square baking dish and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the filling, beat together the white sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla mixing well. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over baked crust.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Keep regrigerated.

Source: Allrecipes

Pumpkin Spice Brownies

I am probably the only person that doesn’t care for the pumpkin spice kisses. I was really disappointed since I love almost everything pumpkin. I was left with a whole bag and really didn’t want to waste them. When I saw these brownies I thought they would be the perfect treat to bring into my internship. I did however, really enjoy the kisses in a brownie. I thought the pumpkin flavor really came through and complimented the chocolate well.

Pumpkin Spice Brownies
Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
45 Hershey’s Pumpkin Pie Spice Kisses, unwrapped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with foil. Coat with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon together.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring until it melts. If the butter will not melt you can put it back over the water (a few pieces may be left unmelted, you don’t want to overheat the whole mixture).

Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed and pur in the chocolate-butter mixture. Mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for 30 seconds (the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated). Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula.

Place the unwrapped kisses in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Drop by spoonfuls into the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the kisses to create a marble effect.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Source: Dinner & Dessert

Cranberry Bars

Last weekend we were invited over to the neighbors house for an impromptu dinner. Of course, she wouldn’t let me bring anything, but that didn’t stop me! I had some fresh cranberries in the fridge and I found this recipe that sounded wonderful, and they were! The batter is very thick and it almost seems as though they should be made in a smaller pan, but they came out just fine. Try these while cranberries are in season — you will not be disappointed!

Cranberry Bars
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1/2 orange (I used lemon)
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. dried or fresh cranberries
1/2 c. white chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Directions:
preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil, and coat with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, zest, and nutmeg. Set aside

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar on high until soft and light in color, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer to low and beat in eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla. Combine thoroughly. Slowly mix in flour mixture. Remove from the stand mixer and stir in cranberries and chocolate.

Spread batter into the prepared pan (batter will be very thick) and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 1 hour before removing from the pan. Cut into bars. Yields 32 bars.

Source: Adapted from Good Things Catered

Apple Spice Bars

Here is another recipe that has been floating around and for good reason! These are like a minature bite of apple pie, but without all the fuss. A truly great fall treat.

Apple Spice Cookie Bars
Ingredients
2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
small pinch ground cloves (I omitted)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.)
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degress. Line a 9×13 baking dish with foil and baking spray.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine butter and sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (approximately 1 minute). Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine. Add vanilla and turn mixer to slow speed. Add flour mixture gradually until just combined. Fold in apples

Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake until cooked through — about 30 minutes or until top slightly bounces back to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving.

Source: Good Things Catered

S’mores Bars

Mmm mmm, these are good! I have had these starred in my google reader forever, but didn’t want to make them in fear of eating the whole pan :). We had some friends over for dinner (who are also fellow ‘smores lovers) and I thought this would make a perfect dessert. Next time (and there will be a next), I think I will add more marshmallow.

Smores Bars

Ingredients

½ Cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
¾ Cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-⅓ Cups all-purpose flour
¾  cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Milk Chocolate Bars (I used semi-sweet chips)
1 cup marshmallow crème

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350^o. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating well. In a separate bowl stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until blended.

Press half of the dough into the greased baking dish. Arrange chocolate chips over dough. Spread with marshmallow crème. Finally, scatter remaining dough over marshmallow, carefully pressing to form a layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Source: Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings, originally from Hershey’s Kitchens