The search is over

I love brownies and have made many mixes (my current favorite is the Trader Joe's Truffle Brownies) and many batches from scratch.  I've messed around with lots of recipes (as you can see if you click the label "brownie" or look at the index) but now, the search is over.  These were the best I've made so far.  They were a cake-like consistency on the edges and a fudge-like consistency in the middle.  I don't like them super sweet but if you want them sweeter, increase sugar to 1 cup.  You could also substitute melted butter for the oil for a richer flavor.  Alas, they were eaten too quickly for a photo!

Best Basic Brownies
from All Recipes

1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 8x8 pan.  Mix oil, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add eggs and beat until combined.  In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add to the mixer while mixing on a medium speed.  When the batter is thoroughly mixed, spoon into the greased pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool before slicing.

Another brownie recipe

Are you ready for Valentine's Day?  Now, I'm not a big fan of overly commercialized Hallmark holidays but I *heart* Valentine's Day.  It's probably because my birthday is the day before and I have happy memories of heart shaped cakes as a child and cheesy dollar store decorations as a college student, but to me, it's fun.  Really, we shouldn't need an excuse to tell people we love them (or eat chocolate) but we have one every 14th of February.

So, the next few posts are a departure from the healthful fare I've been making at home and on to something more decadent.  You know I have been searching for the perfect brownie recipe and I think this comes really, really close.  They are fudgy and chewy and just plain ol' yummy.  Added bonus:  you probably have all these ingredients at home and they are quick & easy to make.  I used semisweet chocolate chips and used a 9x13 pan for a double recipe.

Make some plans to show somebody you love them!

David Lebovitz's Brownies (9-12 brownies)

6 tablespoons butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch process
3 tablespoons corn starch
optional: 1 cup nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Butter an 8x8 pan (or line the inside of an 8-inch square pan with foil so that it goes up the sides to the rim then lightly grease the foil with butter or non-stick cooking spray). Preheat the oven to 350º.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over very low heat on the stove top, stirring constantly until smooth.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time.

4. Sift together the cocoa powder and corn starch in a small bowl then stir them into the chocolate mixture. Beat the batter vigorously for at least one minute, until the batter is no longer grainy and nearly smooth. It will pull away from the sides of the pan a bit.

5. Add the nuts, if using, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

6. Bake for thirty minutes, or until the brownies feel just set in the center. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.

Troubleshooting: If the finished brownies are crumbly, that means you didn’t beat the batter long enough in step #4. 

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

When the little girls go to bed early, naughty things happen in our house.  Like raspberry souffles and peanut butter cup brownies.  I've made different versions of brownies from scratch but don't have one recipe that's my favorite or go-to.  This recipe was chosen because I recently bought the unsweetened baking chocolate discs from Trader Joe's and I wanted to use those.  I found it on Joy of Baking and it's called "Katharine Hepburn's Brownies Recipe" . . . ooh la la.  Maybe I was also a little attracted to this recipe because I recently watched about a half hour of African Queen and about half of On Golden Pond.  I can't watch a whole movie these days without falling asleep!

Bonus:  You only use one bowl.  I left out the nuts and added 6 dark chocolate peanut butter cups (also from TJ's) chopped up.  Heavenly!

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (9 or 12 depending on how you slice them)
from Joy of Baking

2 oz (60g) unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped peanut butter cups

Coarsely chop the baking chocolate and butter.  Melt in a medium bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water.  Stir in the sugar.  Then, stir in the vanilla and eggs.  Finally, stir in the flour and salt.  Fold in the peanut butter cups.  Spread in a greased 8x8 baking pan and bake at 325 for 30 minutes.  Cool before slicing.

Food from other people

No photo of food this time around but this is what the view looks like for me these days . . . holding baby girl and getting a chance to rest. Some of the reasons I'm able to rest and recover is because a) I have had a lot of help from family and friends - particularly my mom! b) baby girl is a good sleeper and big sister has been doing pretty well with the transition to not being the only kid and c) we've been blessed with food that others have made for us in the past weeks since baby girl was born.

Friends are bringing us meals for a few more weeks and it's been such a huge help in the evening to not have to cook and have a hot, wonderful meal delivered by people we love! If you'd like to bless a friend with meals, check out www.mealbaby.com. It's an online meal registry and works really well.

I thought I'd share two recipes of food we've had recently. My friend Will brought over some Nutella Brownies which were awesome . . . we polished them off before he even left our house (not the full batch below). He made them in mini muffin tins this time but I'm not sure of cooking times for that modification.

The other recipe is for meatballs that my mother-in-law has been making for church potlucks. Now, as my family can attest to, I'm not a huge meatball fan. But, I really like these - they are more like mini meatloaf and there isn't too much sauce (which I prefer). These also disappeared really quickly in our house after they were delivered!

Will's Nutella Brownies (8 large brownies)
originally in Sunset magazine

About ½ cup butter
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter or spray 8 muffin cups

2. Microwave ½ cup butter in a heatproof bowl to melt. Add chocolate, stirring until melted, then add sugar and cocoa and stir to blend. Whisk in eggs, vanilla, and salt. Add flour and stir until smooth. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups.

3. Using a small spoon, make a depression in each portion of batter 1 in. wide and ½ in. deep. Spoon 1 tbsp Nutella into each.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into brownie part comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 20-24 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes. Using a small metal spatula, loosen brownies from pans, move to rack, and cool completely.

Judy's Barbequed Meat Balls

Meatballs:
2 1/4 lbs ground beef
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups milk
1 small onion, chopped
2 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
Diced celery and green pepper if desired

Sauce:
1 cup tomato catsup
2 1/4 T worchestershire sauce
1 1/4 cup water
3 3/4 T vinegar
3 T sugar

Mix the meatball ingredients and form into balls. Brown in skillet. Transfer to oven proof pot or casserole dish. Combine sauce ingredients and pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

How sad is this: I downloaded photos from my digital camera this morning and I have a picture of these brownies, a couple of the pie I made on Christmas (not blog-worthy), and basically, none of Christmas. I did so bad this year. We do have some great video on the Flip that we got for Christmas but not much else. So, if you're related to me and have Christmas photos and want to share, I'd love to see them!

I've been eyeing this recipe for awhile since it was featured on Tuesdays with Dorie (original recipe from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours"). Yesterday I wanted to make dessert for friends and had all the ingredients for this without having to make another trip to the store.

The cheesecake layer was amazing. I thought the brownie layer was a little dry and not great. Maybe I cooked them too long or maybe the brownie was cooked too much by the cheesecake was cooked through. Even so, the cheesecake flavor dominated and the whole pan was gone quickly.

Espresso Cheesecake Brownies (makes 9)

For the brownies:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center. Butter a 9" square baking pan and set aside.

To make the brownies:
Whisk together the first three ingredients. Put the butter and chocolate over a double boiler with water simmering. Stir until the ingredients melt, but don't overheat so that the butter separates. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside.

Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture with a whisk, then add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each egg, then beat in the vanilla. Next, gently stir in the dry ingredients until they disappear. Set aside.

For the cheesecake:
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon flour

Allow the espresso to cool to tepid. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the cream cheese on medium until it's completely smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat for 3 minutes more. Beat in the vanilla and espresso before adding the eggs one at a time. Beat for 1 minute after each egg, then reduce the speed to low and add the sour cream, then the flour. The batter should be smooth.

Pour about 3/4 of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth it out, then pour the cheesecake layer over the top, taking care to make it even. Place spoonfuls of the rest of the brownie batter on top, and use a knife to swirl the dark and light batters together. Be careful, however, not to plunge the knife into the base brownie layer. Swirl only as much as necessary.

Bake for around 30 minutes. The brownies should come away from the sides of the pan. The cheesecake will puff and turn lightly browned around the edges. Transfer the pan to a wrack to cool. Once it reaches room temperature, refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until well chilled.

Brownies to feel good about

Have you heard of those cookbooks (like the one by Jessica Seinfeld) where people (moms) add pureed vegetables to things to get some nutrition into their vegetable averse progeny? Well, my attempt at making brownies with sweet potatoes has nothing to do with that. I just thought it looked interesting and wanted to make a dessert with no white flour and no sugar. The recipe I tried was from Cook 4 Seasons and my trial run with making these did not disappoint me. I felt good letting my daughter have one after dinner. And, I admit, I've made 2 batches in 3 days. I HAVE to stop eating these.

I used good quality cocoa powder and my husband first thought it was flourless chocolate cake. He didn't guess there wasn't any added sugar and it doesn't have a maple flavor like I expected it too. Don't be put off by the espresso powder if you don't like coffee-flavored desserts. I think the small amount adds a lot to the recipe (and I had some in the cupboard after making the chocolate-espresso cookies). I hope you like them too - and I hope you don't overdo it like I did.

Notes: I left out the pecans but otherwise made it like the original recipe. If you don't have/use coconut oil, try pure butter or grapeseed oil instead. I used canned sweet potato puree from Trader Joe's (100% sweet potato) because I had some on hand but it's easy to make your own as described at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients:


Batter:


Sweet Potato Brownies

4 T extra-virgin coconut oil
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. whole wheat flour (or teff for gf)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 T espresso powder
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
2/3 c. sweet potato puree
1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch square pan.  In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt coconut oil.  Remove from heat and stir in cocoa.  Let cool slightly.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, espresso and salt.

Combine maple syrup and sweet potato puree, followed by egg an vanilla.  Blend with the cocoa mix.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring to combine until no traces of flour remain.  Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake until the surface barely looks dry and an inserted knife comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes.  Cool before serving.

Spicy Chocolatey Goodness

Last week, my friend Lisa made these brownies and brought me one - they were awesome. I've been looking for a homemade brownie recipe that uses powdered cocoa instead of chocolate and you already know that I love chocolate with cinnamon and a little spice. We both agreed that the cayenne could be increased a little but it'll depend on the spiciness you desire and the spiciness of your cayenne.

Lisa's comment about the recipe was that it's not a typical What's For Meat recipe because of the white flour and sugar . . . I'll write more about my love/hate relationship with white flour and sugar soon but you should try these amazing brownies!

Mayan Cocoa Brownies
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp water
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease(or butter or nonstick spray) a square pan (9x9 or 8x8). Combine sugar, butter, water in a large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you insert a toothpick in the center it should be slightly sticky.

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

The best laid plans

On Saturday afternoon, three things happened almost simultaneously: I took my beautiful irish cream bundt cake out of the oven, my daughter woke up from her nap, and my neighbor knocked on the door to tell me his wife was in labor and he needed me to watch his daughter. I quickly tried to get my daughter's shoes on, juice cup filled, and then remembered the bundt cake. I frantically tried to shake it out of the pan onto a cooling rack and it all fell to pieces. So sad! The pan was well-greased and it looked like it should have come out with no problem but I wasn't . . . um . . . gentle or patient with it.

So, I salvaged ten pieces of cake (and didn't make the glaze which is the best part) and made some brownies with a mint topping. They were okay - I liked how easy the recipe was but they were more the consistency of fudge than brownies. Does anyone think that there should be baking powder or baking soda in this recipe? I think if I cooked it for ten minutes more, it would have been better. I'm adding some time to the recipe as it is written below.

Mint Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan. In a largeish saucepan (I think the one I use is 2 quarts), melt 1 and 1/2 sticks (3/4ths cup) butter and 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate. When melted, remove from heat. Then add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 3 eggs, 1 cup of flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix it all up and put it into the pan and bake for 40 minutes.

As soon as you remove them from the oven, pour a whole bag of mint chocolate chips over the top as evenly as you can. I used Andes Baking Chips Let them sit there a few minutes and then cut the brownies, leaving them in the pan (this is more like scoring - you want to prevent the top coating from breaking as much as it would if you waited until they were all the way cool).

Variations and tips: When you stir in the eggs, make sure the pan is off the heat and stir constantly so you don't scramble the eggs. You could add 1/2 tsp peppermint extract to the batter for mintier brownies. If you have unsweetened chocolate, increase the sugar to 2 cups. I haven't tried it yet but I bet peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips would make equally great toppings.

PS - the end of the story is that by the time we walked out of the front door, the neighbor's mom showed up so I didn't need to watch the little girl after all. And, the new baby is named Rosemary - congratulations, neighbors! Oh, and my daughter and I ate way too much of the messed up cake with our hands. It was delicious but I had a headache from too much sugar and baby girl was still going strong at 9pm that night.