After Eight Brownies

How do you make an incredibly rich brownie even richer? Simply add a few Junior Mints into the batter and some After Eights on to the top! After the brownies have been in the oven for half their cooking time, simply take a movie theater sized box of Junior Mints and strategically place the candies on the batter. The Junior Mints will start to melt and sink in. Once the brownies have finished baking, remove the brownies from the oven and turn off the heat. Place the After Eights over the top of the brownies and place them back into the oven for a minute or so, so that the chocolate melts. Remove the pan from the oven and then, with a rubber spatula, spread the chocolate so that it forms an even layer over the brownies. Set aside and let harden. (You might want to toss these in to the fridge for a short while to speed up the process.)

Wait until the brownies have fully cooled before you cut into them. And in this case, these brownies are better when eaten cooled and the top has had a chance to harden.

This is my favorite brownie recipe!
One Bowl Brownies -- These are really fudgy!

4 squares Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. *vanilla
1 cup of flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your brownie pan.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwaveable bowl (not plastic!) for about 2 minutes, until butter is melted. Stir butter and chocolate until you get a smooth mixture. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour. Pour and spread in to your prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted int he center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not over bake. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Chocolate and Peppermint Dipped Brownie Balls

When the kids decided that they wanted to bake for ALL their teachers (there are 23 teachers and staff members who oversee/teach/take care of my 3 children) I was fine with the idea, but told them that they needed to help me. So each child helped and as a result we had all sorts of fabulous goodies to package up. We are huge chocoholics. So, it seemed natural we bake some chocolate goodies. Brownies and brownie balls were on our list. To dress them up and make them more festive we dipped them in melted chocolate and then again in crushed candy cane. Our treats were not only tasty, but very pretty!

One Bowl Brownies -- These are really fudgy!

4 squares Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. *vanilla
1 cup of flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your brownie pan.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwaveable bowl (not plastic!) for about 2 minutes, until butter is melted. Stir butter and chocolate until you get a smooth mixture. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour. Pour and spread in to your prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted int he center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares, remove and eat!

Should make 24 brownies!!!


To make the Brownie Balls you'll need to follow your favorite brownie recipe. (Box will do, but home made is really better in this case.)
* After the brownies are done and have cooled, use a small circle cookie cutter and then roll the brownie in your hands in the shape of a ball. Place on parchment paper and repeat until all the brownies (save for the edges) are used up.
* Make a double boiler by placing a metal mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water. Carefully pour in about 1/2 bag of chocolate chips. Stir slowly and frequently until the chocolate is smooth and well blended.
* While chocolate is melting placed crushed candy cane pieces on a small plate.
* When the chocolate is ready, carefully dip the brownie ball into the chocolate and cover, roughly, half the brownie ball, then dip again into the candy cane and place on the parchment paper, candy side down.
* Repeat this step until all the brownie balls have been covered and dipped.
* Place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to help the chocolate harden.
* Serve on a pretty plate, platter or package them up for gifts.

If you are in a time crunch, or simply do not want to be bothered by making the brownie balls, you can do this with regular brownies. The result is still stunning.

White Chocolate Peanut Buttter Bars

Two of Christopher's favorite ingredients and he was determined to find or create a recipe using them. We saw a few recipes and then created our own from those using our ingredients. I was a little unsure about the white chocolate and peanut butter combination, but he assured me that it would be good. Indeed he was right. My 9 year old has a fantastic sense of taste!

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of peanut butter chips
Nonstick cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Directions

In microwave or double boiler melt the butter and add in, slowly 1 cup of white chocolate chips. Make sure the chocolate is well blended into the butter. Transfer to mixer and add sugar. Mix well. Gradually add eggs, one at a time and baking powder and peanut butter until well blended. Beat in flour and the remainder of the white chocolate and the peanut butter chips.

Pour into greased brownie pan. It is hard to spread and you will have to work the batter into the corners. It may seem as though  there is not enough, but the brownies will rise nicely.

Bake for about 25 minutes.
Makes 2 dozen nicely sized (not huge!) bars.

Mint Oreo (flourless) Brownies

Nothing screams American like Oreos and brownies!

So I had to try a little experiment just to see what would happen when you added America's favorite cookie into your brownie mix! I took about a half a box of mint Oreos and handed them off to Alexander (my 4 year old) to mash with a fork in a bowl. While he mashed I prepared the brownie batter. (You could absolutely use a boxed brownie recipe for this. I was going to but I had run out!) Once the batter was ready we added the crushed Oreos and mixed them well into the batter. I poured the brown ooey goodness into a brownie pan and baked in the oven for 33 minutes. (I opted for 33 because the directions said between 30 and 35 minutes!)

After 31 minutes had passed I began to notice a burning smell coming from the oven. Oh no! I couldn't possibly have ruined them, could I have? Well... anything's possible! When I opened the oven I saw that the batter his risen and bubbled and some indeed poured over and into the oven. Luckily the brownies still looked in tact. I used a rubber spatula to push the *overflowing brownie mixture back into the pan. After about 30 minutes I cut the brownies. I should have waited longer. I put the batter into the freezer for a few and cut them again. I really wanted to make star shaped brownies as it is America's Birthday, after all, but I didn't want to press my luck. Little squares would have to do. After about 15 minutes I took the brownies out of the freezer. These are certainly not the prettiest brownie I have ever made but Oh. My. God. are they good!!!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
4 squares of Baker's chocolate
OH MY GOD!!!! I forgot the flour!!!! 2 cups of flour!!!! Ha Ha Ha!!! This is hysterical!
So don't add the flour this time around ;)
Approx 1/2 box of Mint Oreos

Add butter and sugar and mix well. Add eggs and Mix well. While mixing add baking powder and vanilla. Melt chocolate in microwave, approximately 1 minute, and blend well. Fold in cookie pieces. Pour into greased brownie pan and bake at 325 for 30 - 35 minutes. Line the oven with aluminum foil.

Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting. Or place in freezer for 15 minutes prior to cutting into squares.

*I'm pretty certain that the addition of the 2 cups of flour would have kept the batter from bubbling and overflowing!

Fully Loaded Candy Bars

This recipe was adapted from Bobby Flay's... well, only the blondie part. Everything else is completely my crazy doing... my cravings for chocolate and salty and sweet have kicked in 100%. I was bored. And stressed and I cook and bake when I am bored and stressed and now I need someone to come and take all this stuff off of my hands!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature
2 cups of light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 cups of mini peanut butter cups -- (I like the really small ones at Trader Joe's. If you can't find them, halve or quarter Reese's mini pb cups)
1 cup of Milk Duds, cut in half
1 cup toffee bits, like Heath
1 1/4 cup chocolate covered pretzels broken into small pieces
* Any of these candies can be substituted... Snow Caps, M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, various candy bars chopped such as Twix, Snickers... be creative and have fun!

In a large mixer, mix together butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Add flour and mix well.

You might think the pretzel pieces sound a bit odd, but the crunch adds such a wonderful texture, and the salt from the pretzel seems to enhance the peanut butter flavor. I was not prepared to be wowed as I was!

In a well greased brownie pan pour the mixture so that the entire pan is well covered.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
Cut into squares after they have cooled for 10 - 15 minutes. Let cool another 20 minutes before removing squares from the tin and serving.

Little bits of caramel seeping through when the blondies are still warm. When they have cooled, the caramel adds a delightful chewiness! Chewy, crunchy, soft, crisp -- you experience it all with these decadent treats!

Decadent Brownie Balls

So I was tinkering. I tend to tinker. I can never leave anything alone. I made some brownies. I used a small circle cookie cutter to cut them so that they would all be the same size and so they would look a little prettier, more festive if you will, than a regular square. And then I rolled one. I've made brownie balls before and they are quite good. But I wanted to do something to this little ball. And I wondered what it would be like dipped in chocolate. Would it be good? Decadent? Too rich? So I turned all the little circles into balls. And then I made a ganche of sorts. I say of sorts because most recipes call for cream and I had none. I had nothing but 1% milk.

I made a double boiler by placing a metal mixing bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. When the bowl got hot and the water started to steam I turned the heat down and added my bad of chocolate chips. I then added some milk, slowly, a little at a time. I would guess a total of 1/4 of a cup and let it temper (warm) on the melted chocolate and beat it in so the chocolate formed something resembling a rich chocolate putting.

Using a skewer I placed the brownie ball in the chocolate and made sure it was well covered and then placed the chocolate covered brownie on to a cutting board that was covered with wax paper. When there was no more room I set the balls in the fridge to chill. (Freezer is good too, but mine was stuffed!) When the chocolate set and then drizzled some white chocolate over the top to cover up the imperfections and create fun patters.

I melted the white chocolate the same way, though I did not add milk and turn it into a ganache. When the white chocolate melted I poured it into a ziplock bag and made the smallest of incisions on the corner so that I could squeeze the chocolate through. When the chocolate cooled I simply placed the bag in the microwave to soften the chocolate.

I made my simple designs and returned the balls into the fridge to harden again.

These brownie balls are not only pretty, fun and festive but they are delicious, completely decadent!

Ingredients:

* Brownies already made and rolled into balls. I think in this case a boxed mix is more suitable than a brownie made from scratch. I tried both and like the brownie made from the mix better in this recipe.

* 1/4 cup of milk

* 1 bag of chocolate chips

* 1 bag of white chocolate chips

* Ziplock bag

* Wax paper or other nonstick surface

Reread for directions!

Summer BBQ With Friends

We had our close friends over for a BBQ lunch yesterday. Our friends Beth and Chris were celebrating their 13th Anniversary and our friends John and Kara had just returned home after 2 years in Japan. Mutual friends Mike and Laurie joined us. All donned their children. Great time and great food was had by all!

The Menu

Grilled Vegetables
Corn Salad
Lemon Parmesan Pasta Salad
Tomatoes with Basil and Feta
Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Basil

Grilled London Broil
BBQ Chicken
Lemon Garlic Chicken

(For the children:
Corn on the Cob
Grilled Hot Dogs)

Dessert

Warm Brownie Ice Cream Sundae
Watermelon

Grilled Vegetables

4 Summer squash

3 zucchini

3 red peppers

1 orange pepper

1 green pepper

1 container white mushrooms
1 package Italian Dressing Marinade (Good Seasons)

I washed and cut all vegetables into chunks

And made the low oil version of the dressing (recipe on the back of package)
I put all the veggies in two large Tupperware containers and poured the dressing equally over both batches and left the veggies to marinate overnight.

You can either grill the veggies prior to serving or grill ahead of time and serve at room temperature. If you want to grill the night before just remember to take the vegetables out of the fridge at least an hour before serving to bring them back to room temperature. I'm all for getting as much done ahead of time as possible.

You can use any salad dressing (use a low oil for less flare up on the grill) you desire. These vegetables are wonderful in balsamic dressing as well.

Corn Salad

The corn salad is The Barefoot Contessa's Recipe. It's a summer staple. I've posted it before. Click here for the recipe.

Lemon Parmesan Pasta

The lemon Parmesan pasta salad is another summer staple. I adapted it from Giada de Laurentis' recipe. This time I added some fresh parsley from the garden. It was a nice touch! To see the recipe click here.

London Broil

My husband has a dry rub recipe that we adore and therefore he seldom alters. Because he never writes down amounts certain elements vary from time to time, though the flavor is very consistent.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 Top Round or Shoulder London Broil
Garlic Powder
Charcoal Seasoning
Meat Tenderizer (Adolph's)
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper

Trim steak of all fat

Rub generous amounts of charcoal seasoning, tenderizer and garlic powder onto both sides of the steak. Massage well.

Add a little salt, pepper and as much of the cayenne pepper as you can handle!

Wrap steak in Saran Wrap for at least an hour so that the meat can absorb the flavors.
Grill to taste for rare, medium rare, or well done

BBQ Chicken

We totally cheated and used our favorite jarred recipe. I trim the breasts of all fat and "goop."I then cut each chicken breast into quarters that I let the chicken sit in the marinade overnight and thinly sliced some garlic for additional flavor. I use a fork to poke holes in the chicken so that the flavors can penetrate deep inside. I used 6-8 breasts and 2/3 jar of the sauce. The remaining sauce was poured over the chicken as it was grilling. (The chicken cooked about 5 minutes per side because the pieces were fairly small. You will want to check for done-ness as you do not want undercooked chicken!)

Lemon Garlic Chicken

For the marinade:

1/2 Cup of olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Trim and cut the chicken as in the above recipe and place in a large marinating dish. In a small bowl mix together lemon and olive oil, pour over chicken. Lightly sprinkle each piece of chicken with the seasoned salt (both sides) and use a fork to poke holes in the meat so that the flavors can really penetrate. Sprinkle garlic over the marinating chicken. Flip container from time to time to help enhance flavors -- so that each piece is completely covered in the olive oil mixture.

(Pictured below, BBQ and Lemon Garlic Chicken)

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed With Feta and Basil

My friend Laurie brought this with her and it was out of this world. She got the recipe from the Williams-Sonoma website. I will be making this for sure!

Sliced Tomatoes with Feta and Basil

Had I know Laurie was bringing the other I would have made something different. But nary a tomato was left over so people must have enjoyed!

5 tomatoes
1/4 cup crumbled feta
2 Tbs. chopped basil
Olive oil
Sea Salt

Wash and slice tomatoes. As you pile them in the plate be sure to sprinkle each slice with feta and basil and lightly sprinkle with salt. Repeat so that each slice is covered. Drizzle olive oil over the top.

Brownie Sundae

Whether you opt to make yours from a box or from scratch, this recipe will delight everyone!

You will need, brownies pre-cut into square
2 flavors of ice cream, more if you dare!
Hot fudge sauce
Caramel Sauce

I arranged everything on the table and left it as a make your own Brownie Sundae bar! Couldn't be easier!

Sliced Watermelon
Simple and perfect for summer. Need I say more?

A Valentine Lunch

My friend Emily came over for lunch yesterday. I hadn't seen her in ages and I wanted something that was light, relatively fuss-free and that we could linger over. So I made a Valentine Salad that I served along with a nice crusty baguette and garlic, olive oil and butter spread, Pellegrino, a fresh, light white wine. For dessert we had miniature heart-shaped fudge brownies, and little cranberry almond shortbread cookies.




Valentine Salad

2 hearts of Romaine, picked and trimmed,
1 can hearts of palm
1 can artichoke hearts (I used the ones packed in water)
Kalamata olives, pitted -- a dozen or so
Marinated mozzarella balls, small -- about 10
1 can of garbanzo beans

Directions:
Cut lettuce into thin strips, or shred
Drain artichoke hearts, and quarter
Drain hearts of palm and cut into small slices -- if one has a tough exterior, simply remove outer layer
Drain and rinse chick peas
Cut mozzarella balls into quarters
Add all ingredients in to salad, in no particular order

Vinaigrette, known as
"Grandma's Dressing"

1 cup of light extra virgin olive oil
1/4 apple cider vinegar
4 tbs. water
2tbs. powdered beef bouillon

In a cruet or jar add vinegar, water and bouillon, shake well. Add Olive oil and shake well until emulsified.
My mother in law makes this salad dressing all the time. I was surprised by the addition of the bouillon, but it adds a depth of flavor that really accentuates the flavors in a salad. We use this salad dressing frequently here too. In fact, the kids all eat salad in this house, but only with Grandma's Dressing!

Garlic Olive Oil, Butter Spread for Crusty Baguette

I learned this trick many years ago when I was working at Williams-Sonoma. We often had samples of our product for customers to nibble on when they came into the store. The bread maker we sold there was a hot comodity. We were in a recession then, as we are now, and people were looking for ways to dine with friends that was less expensive than going out to dinner. They loved the idea of being able to make home made bread with ease. This spread was one we came up with at the time that we offered along with the warm, fresh breads that emerged from the bread bakers. It was met with rave reviews!

1 stick of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
In a small food processor combine all ingredients and mix well.
I like to serve the butter in small ramekins

Dessert...
The brownies were made by using my old standby-- my favorite tried and true recipe. I substituted the nut pieces for semi-sweet chocolate chips. About 3/4 of a bag's worth!




Cranberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup of dried cranberries


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream butter and sugar together until well blended and stiff, add the vanilla and mix well. Add the flour and mix well. Fold in cranberries. Place dough onto a lightly greased tart tin or jelly roll pan. Make sure that dough is evenly spread. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool and harden and with cookie cutter cut out hearts. (For the best results place the sheet in the freezer for a few minutes)

Pumpkin Brownies

Can't get your fill of pumpkin? Well, while these brownies are loaded with pumpkin puree you won't taste much of anything but chocolate. So if you are looking for real pumpkin flavor these might not be the answer to your cravings. However, if you want all of the pleasure of a rich, decadent chocolaty treat with very little guilt, these, my friends will not let you down!

My kids told me this morning that they wanted something "junky" as their after school snack. (This means no more yogurt and strawberries or cheese and apples.) So I decided to give them what they wanted... and have the last word at the same time.

The recipe could not be more simple.

You'll need one box of your favorite brownie mix (or whatever is on sale at the time!)
and one can (15 oz.) of pumpkin puree.
You'll make your brownies as the box requires and replace the oil with the can of pumpkin puree.
Add chocolate chips if necessary. (For Alexander it was absolutely necessary!)

In the end you will have a super decadent ooey gooey treat filled with vitamins A and C and virtually no fat.

This was a great hit and I will be bringing these to a Halloween party on Thursday afternoon.

OK, seriously THESE are the best brownies... EVER!

I had a few friends over yesterday afternoon and made the strawberry bread I make all summer long. Alexander thought it would be fun to dump a bunch of sprinkles (Jimmies for my Massachusetts amigos!) into the batter. I wasn't sure how it would come out but it was great! I also whipped up a batch of brownies because I am always fearful that there will never be enough food even though I usually have too much. I rummaged through my chocolate baking stuff and was miffed to see I had no baking squares. I remembered reading someone's food blog that you can make brownies using Hershey's cocoa powder. I knew I had a can (or two) on hand and went to check the label to see if there was a recipe for brownies. Nope. So then I went to the Hershey's recipe website and saw this recipe. Double chocolate brownies blows any regular brownie out of the water!

Double Chocolate Brownies Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Fudge Topping (I did not have this and used Dove's Dark chocolate Fudge Topping)
1 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I used Nestle's semi sweet chocolate chunks)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used no nuts. I Loathe nuts in my brownies!)
2 Tbs. instant coffee -- I have done this ever since I learned that Ina adds coffee to her brownies too!

Directions:1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. 2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour and baking soda; add alternately with topping to butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. 3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 24 bars.

I did not take any pictures and there weren't any brownies left to photograph once the guests and kids left!

Back in the saddle again brownies!

These are the easiest, most basic and most delicious brownies you could ever bake. I got the recipe off the Baker's chocolate box. They are fool proof and always a hit.

I will post the original recipe and then the changes I made to make them my own -- er, excuse me, Alexander's own!

4 squares Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. *vanilla
1 cup of flour
1 cup of coarsely chopped *pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your brownie pan.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwaveable bowl (not plastic!) for about 2 minutes, until butter is melted. Stir butter and chocolate until you get a smooth mixture. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour and add nuts. Pour and spread in to your prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted int he center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares, remove and eat!

Should make 24 brownies!!!

*I added a bag of chocolate mint chips instead of the nuts. I loathe nuts in my brownies! Regular chocolate chips are divine in this as well.

*Instead of the vanilla I added a generous shake of pure peppermint extract to enhance the mint flavor of the chocolate chips.