King Arthur Flour Brownies

How do you like brownies? Thin and a little hard (well-cooked)? Thick and chewy? Edges? Middles? I've long been resigned to the fact that, for my tastes, the best brownies come from mixes. Seriously. How yummy are the brownies that have that flaky crisp top, chewy and moist in the middle? I feel I've given homemade brownies a fair shake- I try new recipes every now and then, but haven't found anything outstanding (and brownies must be thick and made in a 9"x13" pan! None of this 8" square business).
I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it's adapted from the King Arthur Flour recipe. It's easy and quick- melt butter in a saucepan, add sugar and cook for a couple minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl, beat in eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Add flour and chocolate chips (and I sprinkled chopped caramels on top) and bake!

The cooking time says 30 minutes, but mine only took 20.

These brownies are delicious- moist and VERY fudgey. Not really chewy like I like, but still delicious. The search is still on....

• Double Chocolate Caramel Brownies
• adapted from King Arthur Flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup caramels, chopped

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan

2) In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Cook for a couple more minutes (do not boil). Set aside to cool.

3) In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 4 eggs and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan. Sprinkle chopped caramels over the top.

7) Bake the brownies for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting. Makes 24 brownies.

TWD- Peanuttiest Blondies

After this cake last weekend, I wasn't much in the mood for running to the store for the things I didn't have for this recipe- non-natural (unnatural?) peanut butter and peanuts. Dorie says not to use natural peanut butter, but I did and it was really good. These blondies are great- the texture reminded more of a bar cookie than blondies/brownies, though. And my baking time was about half of what the recipe calls for. I loved the addition of cinnamon in these!

Bakeologie had the recipe!

TWD- Milky Way Brownies and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cake

Ok, I don't love mint chocolate desserts. I kind of like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but not really. So these brownies, which have York Peppermint Patties mixed in, got Milky Way bars instead. Mine were really thin and fell apart. I'm more of a thick, chewy brownie fan, but these were chocolatey and moist. And chocolately. Did I say that? 
Head to Karen's blog for the recipe!

 

 And a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake:

TWD- White Chocolate Brownies

I'll make this short, but not so sweet. Meringue and brownies do not mix. And brownies should not be made with white chocolate. Sorry, but I thought these were awful. But if you're interested, the recipe is here.

TWD Rewind- Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia

Ok, so this week's recipe is really supposed to be for Honey-Wheat cookies, some mixture of wheat germ, honey and lemon. Hmm. People on the P&Q said they were good, but I'm not buying it. So I decided to make Chocolatechic's Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia since I missed it making cakes. Everyone said these were unbelievably gooey. Mine were pretty soft for a while, but after sufficient cooling and sitting out for a bit, they firmed up. Not really my favorite recipe- I subbed almond extract for the vanilla because I'm at my mom's and I couldn't find her vanilla. It was definitely too strong and I don't recommend it.

I like my brownies a little crispier on the edges and chewier in the centers. But you will have to definitely check out Chocolatechic's blog. Beautiful pictures, great recipes, and a great sense of humor!

TWD- Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

Have to make this quick as the baby is starting to cry upstairs. This week's recipe was for yummy oatmeal, chocolate bars. I left out the peanuts since I forgot to get them when I went to the store and it was raining cats and dogs today. Crazy.
The base is an oatmeal cookie-type crust, topped with a thick fudgy layer, which I topped with almonds. The oatmeal layer is scattered across the top.
I think I underbaked mine-the bottom layer was a little gooey.
We ate these chilled as suggested in the book- I like the chocolate fudgy layer more firm that way. These are definitely rich and sweet- the cure to any sweet tooth! Go here for the recipe!

Brownie Pudding

Do you have Souplantation (in other places called Sweet Tomatoes) where you live? I hope so. I first went there years ago and I thought, "What? Eight bucks for a salad bar? No, thanks!" Then when my brother and I lived together in Los Angeles, we would go together and I started loving it. Now, we take our kids there and they absolutely love it (but it's more than 8 bucks). One of my favorite things there is the Chocolate Lava Cake- chocolate cake on top of gooey, chocolatey pudding. Paired with their nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (and, ok, I confess, sometimes toffee bits), it's so yummy. And since you just ate a bunch of salad, it's ok, right?
Anyway, I found a recipe that's very similar to Chocolate Lava Cake. I just stumbled upon it in my BHG cookbook. I was looking for a dessert to serve guests last night. Since I had all the ingredients for this, it won. First, you make a one-bowl brownie batter. Pour it in a greased baking dish. Then mix together boiling water, cocoa powder, and boiling water. Pour it over the batter and bake.
Some kind of magic happens and the brownie rises to the top, the pudding sinks to the bottom and you have a yummy dessert! This has to be served warm with either whipped cream or ice cream. The oatmeal chocolate chip cookie ice cream we ate it with was PERFECT!

Chocolate Brownie Pudding
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cupc granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• Ice cream for serving

Directions

1. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, granulated sugar, the 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, the baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Pour into the prepared pan.

3. In another medium bowl stir together the brown sugar and the cocoa powder. Stir in the boiling water; slowly pour over batter in pan.

4. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 20-25 minutes to allow pudding to set. Serve warm with ice cream. Makes 10-12 servings.

TWD- Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte

Ohhhh this recipe is SO good!
That's how good it is- I had to start the post by saying that. Chocolate. Cherries. Cream cheese-y mousse on top. I know some people on the P&Q were saying they don't like chocolate and cherries together. Not me. No siree! Black forest? Yes. Cherry-dipped chocolate ice cream cone? Hand it over!
This recipe is a moist and fudgy brownie base, filled with chocolate chunks and dried cherries (I omitted the kirsch).Then it's topped with a cream cheese marscarpone mousse. I confess here that I made a substitution. Made as is in the recipe, this would have cost me close to $15. For the topping, I used 8 oz cream cheese, 1/4 c sour cream, 2 T butter, 1/3 c sugar and 1T vanilla as in the recipe.
The torte turned out AMAZING and was a big hit with our guests. Check out April's blog for the recipe!

Amazing Chocolate Brownies

Afternoons are kind of coveted in my house. It's the time when #2 and #3 are asleep and #1 is busy doing something that doesn't involve me. Today, however, she sat next to me and said, "Can we make brownies?" Since I was reading through a Confetti Cakes cookbook trying to figure out some fun Halloween ideas, I had a brownie recipe on hand. So I thought, why not?
Since this is from a kids' cookbook, I figured it would be a simple, no-frills brownie and a guaranteed hit with the kids.
I was not disappointed.
Melted chocolate and butter,
Mixed with sugar, brown sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla,
just until blended, and pour in a pan.
These brownies are moist and chewy, with crispy edges and papery top. Perfect. The girl who owns this giraffe plate ate 2 (after dinner, of course).
Amazing Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Confetti Cakes For Kids
makes 20
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/4 t salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 T vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" x 13" pan.

2. In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate over med-low heat.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, salt, sugars and vanilla on low.

4. Slowly add the chocolate mixture and beat on low until combined.

5. Remove the bowl from mixer and fold the flour in using a rubber spatula.

6. Pour batter in prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top has formed a shiny crust and is moderately firm.

7. Allow brownies to cook for 20 minutes in the pan. Release the brownies by running a metal spatula or knife along the sides of the pan. Flip the brownies over onto another pan or cakeboard.

TWD- Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

This week was chosen by Life in a Peanut Shell for Espresso Cheesecake Brownies. I thought these sounded really good- a moist brownie topped with an espresso cheesecake layer, topped with sweetened sour cream. Actually, now that I type that out, it sounds like a lot. And it was.
Don't get me wrong, I love brownies and I LOVE cheesecake. I would like a brownie cheesecake. But not so much cheesecake on top of a brownie. With sour cream. The whole thing was a little much for me. And I thought the tangy sour cream and the tangy cheesecake was too tangy for me.
Check out Melissa's blog for yummy pics and the recipe!
For some reason, my pics aren't uploading. I'll try again later!

TWD- Brownie (Jumbo) Buttons

Mmm... brownies. As I've mentioned before, my husband claims to not be a brownie fan, so when I saw that these were chosen this week by Jayma, I wasn't too sure about making them. Then I saw that they take about 5 minutes, only make a few (even fewer if you make them in a regular muffin pan like I did- you'll get exactly 6), and got rave reviews on the P&Q so I went ahead and made them with my daughter. These are GREAT if you ever need a quick treat and as far as brownies go, they're my favorite kind- moist, chewy and dense (not cakey).
And you know my non-brownie-loving husband had one and liked it. :) Check out Jayma's blog for the recipe!

TWD- Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies

I always joke around with my husband because he always says he doesn't like brownies. He makes a face when I say that's what is being served or what I'll be making. But whenever they're around, he eats them. He claims they're too chocolatey and sweet. I'm afraid this recipe is probably what he's talking about.
I made mine in a round 9" pan because I lent my 8"x8" pan out. I left out the nuts since we no likey and the coffee since we no drinky. I definitely achieved the gooey center and paper crust!
Dorie says in the book that Katherine Hepburn was famous for her brownies. This adaptation, with cinnamon added, is Dorie's tribute to the actress's brownie. These are moist and very, VERY chocolatey. I couldn't really taste the cinnamon- the warmth would've been a nice tone down to the overpowering chocolate. And believe me, if I think they were too chocolatey, they were TOO chocolatey. Head to Lisa's blog for the recipe. And congrats to Lisa for winning the TWD logo contest!

TWD- Chipster Topped Brownies

Well, I almost didn't make this because I wasn't in the mood to make TWO batters. Then I read the P&Q and everyone said it was amazing. So I got a burst of energy this afternoon and while child #1 was coloring in her new $1 coloring book from Target and child #2 was sleeping, I whipped these babies up.
The concept is a layer of brownies (sans nuts for me) topped with a layer of chocolate chip cookies (I made butterscotch-toffee).
Everyone in the P&Q said not to overbake, so I was (overly) cautious. Mine ended up being basically cookie dough in the middle, even though the tester didn't come out batter-y. The outside pieces were fabulous- crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
The brownie layer and cookie layer separately were SO good, and together.... well, you'll have to make these to truely experience the goodness! Check out Beth's blog for the recipe!