Author Archives: w2s_ad7c8fa81a43

Feb 8

Blizzard Brownies

Living in the Northeast means you have to expect snowstorms at least once in awhile. Today is apparently one of those days. They’re calling the impending storm a weather event of epic proportions,  or something ridiculously dramatic along those lines. I mean, I get it: You want people to be prepared. And that’s fine. But I just find it a touch annoying that every storm that rolls around these days is hailed as the biggest, baddest version  of anything we’ve ever known.

Now, having gotten that rant out of the way, I will say that it looks like we’ll be stuck at home for the next day or so. And based on previous experiences, we can’t really rule out the possibility of a power outage. See, most people’s power companies are equipped to handle weather-related outages. Mine isn’t. So generally, when the power goes out, it stays out for awhile. And while we did invest in a generator, we can only use it to power so many appliances at a time—which means if we do wind up with an outage, my ability to bake will be seriously hampered. And since I obviously can’t risk being cooped up for the weekend without an ample supply of sweets on hand, I decided to take a few minutes to whip up a batch of brownie goodness.

These brownies are, simply put, super yummy. They’re definitely dense and intense, but they’re not quite as sweet as your average brownie. I like how the coffee flavor really comes out and complements the rich dark chocolate without being too overpowering. And these are definitely the kind of brownies that would go well with a nice scoop of vanilla or coffee ice cream. So if you’re expecting to be stuck indoors this weekend, take 15 minutes out of your evening (yes, that’s really all you need to throw these together, including cleanup) and bake yourself some brownies. Then go grab a blanket, queue up your favorite movie, and enjoy some delightfully delicious downtime. You can worry about clearing out your driveway tomorrow.

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Blizzard Brownies (or, for some context, Intense Dark Chocolate Brownies)

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
2/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 and ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup confectioners sugar,plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon instant coffee
¾ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon milk (I used skim)
½ cup dark chocolate chips (again, I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1.    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
2.    In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugars, instant coffee, and salt.
3.    Add in the eggs one at a time, and mix well (I recommend using a spoon instead of a whisk—the batter will be quite thick at this point, and it may be easier to work with a spoon).
4.    Add in the oil, water, and milk, and mix well.
5.    Stir in the chocolate chips.
6.    Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Wait about 20 minutes and then dust with confectioners sugar.
7.    Let the brownies cool completely before cutting into them. Or, if you’re me, reject the notion of self-control and grab yourself a warm, gooey bite shortly after they come out of the oven. Either way works, I suppose.

Feb 7

Shortbread Caramel Brownie Bars

Sometimes a plain old brownie just doesn’t cut it. Or at least that was my way of thinking when I decided to go for something a little more jazzed-up on the brownie front.

These brownies are awesome and delicious. You get a buttery shortbread crust, a gooey caramel layer, and a soft, chewy brownie on top. What more could you want? The only downside is that they do take a bit of time to prepare, as there are multiple steps involved. (I made these over the weekend…no way do I have time for multi-step baking during the week.) But if you have the time, and the patience (which is just as important), do yourself a favor and bake up a batch of these beauties. Have I mentioned how utterly delicious they are?

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Shortbread Caramel Brownie Bars
From myrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter
2 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
12 ounces individually wrapped soft caramels, such as Kraft
1/4 cup whole milk
10 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
To make the crust:
1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cut up 1 cup of butter into chunks.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, cornstarch, and the butter chunks.
4. Process until the dough comes together and press it evenly over the bottom of a buttered 9×13 baking pan.
5. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown.
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely before adding the next layer.
To make the caramel layer:
1. Unwrap your caramels and place them in a microwave-safe bowl with the milk.
2. Cook in a microwave oven on full power for one minute. Stir the mixture, then cook and stir at 30-second intervals until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes longer.
3. Spread caramel mixture evenly over cooled crust and chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
To make the brownies:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour chocolate and remaining 1/2 cup butter into a large bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water). You can also use a double boiler. Stir the mixture until melted and smooth.
3. With a whisk or a mixer on medium speed, beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well-blended.
4. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, and salt until well-blended.
5. Pour chocolate mixture over caramel layer and use a knife or spatula to spread level, completely covering caramel.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Feb 6

Dried Fruit and Nut Cake

The other day, I was in the mood for something a little different. And I had various containers of dried fruit in my pantry that I really wanted to use up, ‘cause, um, yeah, I needed to clear some space to accommodate my latest Costco run. (Ever been to Costco? That place is wonderful and evil at the same time—especially because whenever I go there, I just seem to get into this mode where I start thinking “yes, it is a good idea to buy three different types of chocolate chips in bulk.”) Anyway, the dried fruit (among other things) had to go, so I took the opportunity to tackle a recipe I’d seen awhile back.

This cake is really more like a giant granola bar. And I’ll warn that it’s fairly dense—you need a pretty solid knife to cut through it. But it’s also super tasty, and incredibly quick and easy to make. The most time-consuming part was chopping up all the dried fruit, and even that only took a few minutes. And the result was an interesting concoction that I’ll happily be eating all week long.

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Dried Fruit and Nut Cake
Recipe from David Leibowitz

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons AP flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I like nutmeg, so I used a bit more, but not quite a half teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of ground cloves (I omitted this)
Pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups of chopped up dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, apricots, dates, and prunes)
1 and 1/2 cups of chopped nuts, lightly toasted (I used walnuts and pecans)

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, eggs, salt, and spices in a large bowl.
3. Stir in the dried fruits and nuts.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 90 minutes. Cool the cake in its pan. When ready to slice, you’ll definitely want to bust out the cutting board and a sharp knife.

Jan 31

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread

My obsession with sweets can sometimes get out of hand. There are days where I could seriously take down half a dozen sugary frosted cupcakes in a single sitting…and then there are those days where all I want is something mildly sweet to accompany my morning coffee.

I discovered this recipe awhile back and decided to finally give it a try. It was super easy, and the result was a yummy chocolate loaf cake that’s perfect for breakfast (in other words, not too sweet). The recipe yields two loaves, so feel free to cut it in half. Or you can do what I did—make one classic chocolate chocolate chip loaf, and use the second half of the batter to get creative. I’ll explain.

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread

From Barbara Bakes

Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups AP flour, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of softened butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups applesauce
1 and 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Optional: 1/3 cup dried cherries, cranberries, peanut butter chips, or anything else you feel like throwing into the mix that goes well with chocolate

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two medium loaf pans (I used cooking spray).
2. Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, and set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until it gets fluffy (about two minutes).
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Add the vanilla and applesauce, and mix until combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
7. Coat the chocolate chips with two tablespoons of flour and stir into the batter.
8. Spoon half of the batter into one of the prepared loaf pans; add your mix-in of choice to the remaining batter, stir, and pour into the second prepared pan.
9. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 

 

Jan 30

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Bars

My one-year-old’s favorite food in the world is mushy bananas and oatmeal. Want to know what my two least favorite foods in the world are? Bananas and oatmeal (not necessarily in that order). I find both unbelievably unappealing.

But despite my distaste for oatmeal in its liquid, mock-breakfast cereal form, I’ll be the first to admit that oats and sugar have a way of working wonders in the oven. Case in point: these easy oatmeal raisin bars. They’re thicker and chewier than your average oatmeal raisin cookie, which, in my mind, makes them oh so much better. And they take less than 15 minutes to prepare—which is about the time it takes me to wipe the usual post-breakfast oatmeal-banana remnants off the floor, highchair, and baby’s face/hands/clothes/body on a regular daily basis.

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Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 and ½ sticks of unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup AP flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1 cup raisins

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter an 8×8 baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter the paper as well.
3. Whisk together the butter, white and brown sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth.
4. Add flour, oats, and raisins; fold in just until combined.
5. Spread your batter in the prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
6. Let the bars cool completely before cutting. You can use the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan easily.

 

Jan 28

Oatmeal Muffins With Dried Fruits and Pecans

I’m a big fan of muffins. I mean, all you really have to do is call a cupcake a muffin, and you can totally get away with eating it for breakfast.

But while I have to admit that some muffin recipes pack a bit too much early-morning sugar even for a sweet tooth like me, these muffins are, objectively speaking, perfectly breakfast-appropriate. They’re not super sweet, but the combination of dried fruits brings a lot of flavor to the table.

You can definitely feel free to substitute the dried fruits I used for others you might prefer. And if you’re not a fan of pecans, you can get away with using walnuts instead—though I think the pecans work wonderfully.

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Oatmeal Muffins with Dried Fruits and Pecans
Adapted From Simply Recipes

Ingredients:
1 cup of traditional rolled oats
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup buttermilk**
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
3. Stir in the pecans and dried fruit.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or spoon, stir the mixture together gently until just combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the muffins sit in the pan for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Don’t have buttermilk on hand? Just pour a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup, and then add enough milk to bring the mixture to the one-cup mark. Let it stand for about five minutes, and then you’re good to go.

 

Jan 27

Marshmallow Caramel Swirl Brownies

Sometimes I get into these “I’ve got to have a brownie” moods—which is funny, ‘cause I’m not always the biggest chocolate person (I know, blasphemy). In fact, most days I’d opt for a blondie before going for its cocoa-laden counterpart, but yesterday I was all about the dense, gooey chocolate brownie. I took a recipe I recently made, added a couple of tweaks, and about half an hour later found myself sitting on the couch with a warm, delicious concoction that took no more than 10 minutes to actually throw together.

Now I’ll admit that I enjoyed the downtime almost as much as the brownie. Almost.

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Marshmallow Caramel Swirl Brownies

Ingredients:
1 stick melted butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 cup caramel chips (these can be tricky to find, but butterscotch chips work just as well)
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup marshmallow fluff, divided

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 pan.
2. Combine the melted butter and cocoa.
3. Add in your sugar and mix well.
4. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
5. Stir in the flour, salt, vanilla, and instant coffee, then whisk to combine.
6. Stir in the caramel and chocolate chips.
7. Stir in ½ cup of the marshmallow fluff
8. Pour brownie mixture into the prepared pan.
9. Top mixture with remaining marshmallow fluff, using the edge of a greased spoon to swirl it around.
10. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean (I wanted these brownies a little on the gooey side).
11. Let brownies cool a bit more in pan before cutting. Or, if you simply can’t wait (and I wouldn’t judge you if that were the case), go ahead and dig right in. They’ll be a little tricky to cut, but in my humble opinion, they’re even more delicious when they’re warm and soft.

 

 

Jan 24

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

Yesterday was just one of those days—the kind of day where the phone just kept ringing, the emails just kept coming, and every time I did a little victory dance in my head for completing a task, another popped up. Oh, and then I picked the baby up from daycare and saw that he’d dirtied not only the outfit I sent him in, but a spare outfit as well. You know what that means: an extra after-hours laundry session. Fun times.

By the time I finally got around to baking (‘cause on a day like that, you’ve gotta have cake), it was late, and I needed something I could a) throw together quickly, and b) have bake while my husband and I were eating dinner.

This cake was perfect in that regard. It took about 15 minutes to prepare, and part of that included busting my stand mixer out of the cabinet and setting it up. And with a relatively short bake time, it was ready just as I finished the dishes from dinner.

I got the recipe from Bake or Break. If you haven’t visited this site yet, I highly recommend that you check it out. There are so many yummy recipes it’ll probably make your head spin—but in a good way, promise.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients:
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 pan.
2. With an electric mixer, combine the flour, brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter for a minute or two on low-medium speed. Remove one cup of the blended mixture and set aside.
3. Mix in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Mix in the milk and vanilla.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
6. Transfer the batter your pan and sprinkle the top with the cup of reserved flour mixture plus your chocolate chips.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

Jan 21

Chocolate Chip Blondie-Topped White Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

Sometimes I have a hard time deciding what I want. This applies to life in general, but also dessert. Hence my dilemma earlier today: Was I in the mood for blondies? Or did I want to go the chocolate route and bake up some brownies?

I decided I simply didn’t have to choose and instead opted to whip up a crazy but deliciously indulgent concoction that took a surprisingly short amount of time to prepare. I call them chocolate chip blondie-topped white chocolate marshmallow brownies. I know that’s a mouthful, so feel free to call them whatever you like. Just have a tall glass of milk on hand when it’s time to bust into these bad boys.

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Chocolate Chip Blondie-Topped White Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

Ingredients:
For the brownie layer:
1 stick melted butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup chopped marshmallow bits (you can cheat and use miniature marshmallows—it’ll save you time—but I opted to quickly chop up some full-sized marshmallows because I wanted really small pieces)
For the blondie layer:
1 stick melted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup AP flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips

Method:
For the brownie layer:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8×8 pan.
2. Combine the melted butter and cocoa.
3. Add in your sugar and mix well.
4. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
5. Stir in the flour, salt, and vanilla, then whisk to combine.
6. Stir in the white chocolate chips and the marshmallows.
7. Pour brownie mixture into the prepared pan; set aside.
For the blondie layer:
1. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar.
2. Whisk in the egg, followed by the vanilla.
3. Stir in the flour and salt, then whisk to combine.
4. Stir in the semisweet and white chocolate chips.
5. Pour the blondie mixture on top of the brownie mixture; use a spatula to smooth the top.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Jan 20

Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Pecan Toffee Blondies

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a wonderful little blog called Dunk and Crumble while looking for a chewy blondie recipe—‘cause that’s just how I like my blondies. I found this recipe and decided to tweak it just a bit by adding toffee bits to the mix. This recipe makes a nice-sized 9 x 13 pan, and it took almost no time to throw together. Best of all, I didn’t have to bust out the stand mixer, hand mixer, food processor, or anything of the sort. All I needed were some mixing bowls, a whisk, a spoon, and a pot for browning the butter. The result? A tasty, chewy blondie that made this busy baking mama a very happy gal.

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Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Pecan Toffee Blondies

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the pan
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks (I used Ghirardelli—they were on sale)
½ cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup toffee bits

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper, letting two inches of the paper hang over the side of the pan.
3. Combine the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt in a small-medium bowl
4. Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and keep heating it, stirring frequently, until it turns nice and golden brown. Once browned, bring the butter back to or close to room temperature (if you’re impatient like me, you can consider cheating and putting it in the fridge for a few minutes).
5. Mix the white and brown sugars in a medium bowl.
6. Add the cooled butter to the sugars and whisk until well-combined.
7. Add the eggs to the sugar-butter mixture and whisk.
8. Whisk in vanilla.
9. Add in the flour mixture and whisk until just incorporated.
10. Stir in the chocolate chunks, pecans, and toffee bits.
11. Transfer your batter into the prepared pan (it will be pretty sticky and dense, but resist the urge to mess with it).
12. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top and sides start to brown slightly and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
13. Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper and cool on a rack. Once they’re completely cool, feel free to slice ‘em up—and do your best not to eat half of them in a single sitting.