Irish Cream Brownies

I have not blogged in a very very long time. Working full time with a toddler does not allow for kitchen experiments on a regular basis. Now that Christmas is almost here (3 weeks!) I am in full on baking mode and had to post what I have made.

These brownies are from the lovely Paula Deen in her usual rich, buttery, fudgy style. I might have overbaked them a bit but once I partially froze them, they were very easy to cut into 36 small squares. I have added more cocoa and will definitely up the irish cream amount next time as well.
Enjoy!

Irish Cream Brownies
Cooking with Paula Deen, Christmas 2006
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (I used 2/3c. chocolate chips)
2 1/3 cups sugar, divided
5 large eggs, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
2 T. cocoa


In a medium saucepan, combine butter and chocolate. Cook over low heat until melted, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and coat lightly with Pam no-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, beat 2 cups sugar and 4 eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy (about 4 minutes). Gradually add flour and salt. Stir in melted chocolate mixture. Add cocoa.
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1 egg and liqueur.
Pour half of chocolate mixture into prepared pan. Spread cream cheese mixture over chocolate mixture. Spread remaining chocolate mixture over cream cheese layer. Run a knife through layers to swirl cream cheese, if desired. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting. (Or partially freeze).

Double Fudge Brownies or I Love Paula Deen

Paula Deen needs to be related to me. I don't think any television cook has ever made me as happy as she has. The recipes in her magazines never fail to delight my guests and are so easy! Even her layer cakes are, well, a piece of cake.

Anyway, before I drool all over the keyboard, here is the recipe for my 'go to' brownie. I made a little icing for them - the recipe included below. But honestly, if you let the brownies cool and sit overnight, they really don't need icing. The flavors will have deepened and the fudgy texture develops. Or, like Josh, you just might need your brownies to have icing.
Enjoy!

Double Fudge Brownies
Paula Deen Holiday Baking 2007

1c. sugar
3/4c. firmly packed brown sugar
3/4c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4c. Swiss Mocha flavored instant coffee mix
1 1/4c. all purpose flour
3/4c. chocolate chips
1 c. butter, softened
4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13x9" baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat all ingredients except chocolate chipson medium speed until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 30 min.

Icing:
Combine 1c. powdered sugar, 1/4c. cocoa, 1 t. vanilla and 1/4c. milk. Add extra powdered sugar until spreadable consistency.

A Twist on the Marshmallow Brownie

I don't like to mess with recipes. Sometimes I will add chocolate chips or change the type of liquer used, but for the most part I stick to what is written. Baking is too much of a science to mess with it, and while I admire greatly those cooks who can create and change a recipe, I know it will never be a skill of mine.

Somehow, though, shortly after making the Butterscotch Marshmallow Blondies, I got the brainstorm to rearrange the chips used and create something new. I won't say that this is the brownie winner of winners, but I would make it again with some changes especially because I like the taste of brownies better than blondies.

The only difference I made to the blondie recipe a couple of posts down is to switch the chocolate chips in for the butterscotch and the butterscotch in for the chocolate chips. The only problem with this is that I think butterscotch chips are genetically made different than their chocolate kin and work well as a dough base, whereas the chocolate chips kept the dough kind of dry.

You will also notice in the picture that the marshmallows blew up in the oven and left craters in the top of the brownies. There goes all the gooey marshmallow goodness in the middle of the bars. To remedy this, and I wish I would have thought of it earlier, I would have mixed the marshmallows into 2/3's of the dough and spread into the pan and then spread the remaining 1/3 dough over the top so that the marshmallows were encased inside. That would have been brilliant and way yummier.

So the bottom line is, the switch was do-able and delicious, it just needed more fine tuning. All in all, I love this recipe whether I eat it as chocolate or butterscotch.
Ciao!

Browniebabe of the Month

I really do have a love - hate relationship with Brownies. I love eating them, I hate making them. So it was with great trepidation that I decided to make an entry for Browniebabe of the Month hosted by Once Upon A Tart.
I am not sure what I do wrong exactly. They burn, they sink in the middle, they stay goo-like, they taste like a bad chocolate cake. In every way, my brownies to not make the mark. Well I cant say that entirely. My Malt Brownies are delicious and I wrote a whole post on them, but I do not think that that is a norm with me. The humidity in the air must have been just right or maybe I greased the pan properly or maybe my eggs were fresher than normal. Whatever the case, they worked and I have had at least three failed attempts since. What a big disappointment.
You will notice that my entry is from the blondie family, and for good reason. I honestly think it is the cocoa that is messing me up. I don't think I can properly see what color the batter is turning in the oven. Are they getting too dark? Are they still way too fudgy? So maybe without the chocolate base, I had the chance of being successful.
Turns out, my theory may have been correct. They turned out really nice. I know the pic isnt great, but you have to take my word for it. Even Justin, with a definite hangover, managed to eat an entire one and declared it delicious.
I didn't make many changes to the recipe except to add more baking time. The recipe can be found in various forms on Allrecipes by searching Marshmallow Brownies or Butterscotch Blondies.
Just be forwarned the mixture, before baking, looks like not even close to enough batter and way too many marshmallows. But never fear, those marshmallows turn into the gooey Blondie product in the end.
Ciao!

Marshmallow Butterscotch Blondies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup butterscotch chips
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
Using a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Pour in the butterscotch chips, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
Mix in the melted butterscotch chips, then the flour, baking powder, and salt until smooth.
Stir in the marshmallows and chocolate chips last.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. The batter will barely cover the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in preheated oven. Cool, and cut into squares.

Chocolate and Laundry

A night at home and piles upon piles of laundry to do. I don't think that laundry is ever a chore that you can fully say "I'm done!" and walk away. Sadly, no matter how much I wash, there is always twice as much spilling out of the basket. Now I wish I had taken bathrooms when Josh and I first divied up chores.

In amongst the sorting and folding, I felt like chocolate last night. Well I felt like baking and the chocolate craving followed. Here I thought we had bought so many groceries and yet I found myself with very little cocoa and flour and no chocolate chips to be found. That made my choice of recipes quite limited so I settled on these peanut butter chip brownie cups. These are circulating throughout the blogging world but I think they actually originated on Allrecipes. I have a few versions in my files but this one seems to be the best. I would certainly use smaller muffin papers so they look prettier but Josh's office is not picky about such things. They just want to eat. The reviews were raves and I honestly don't have any suggestions to make them better. The recipe said I would end up with 16 and I had 26, I guess it depends how big you make them. Mine were 4 bites, give or take. Actually, if baked in the mini foil papers for Christmas they would be very yummy one biters, though I think the bake time would need to be played with. Also, 25 minutes was perfect, not too gooey and not too dry.

Ciao!

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups Makes 24
Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package Peanut Butter Baking Chips

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil bake cups.
In large microwave-safe bowl, place butter. Microwave until melted.
Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; beat well. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in peanut butter chips.
Divide batter evenly into muffin cups; Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until surface is firm; cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Another Flop - Brownies, What A Surprise

So I really want to try all the recipes floating around my house, really I do. But I am starting to shy away from the strangers. They aren't so friendly lately.

Last night it was getting late and I really wanted to make brownies for Josh to take to work. I pulled out a new recipe that I had found in my Grandma's cupboard when we moved her. For some reason we had never made it before which shocked me because Grandma is big on bar cookie recipes, even though many of them have not worked for her either. This one came from a Robin Hood Flour magazine insert, though, which makes me wonder why it wasn't better. Normally the recipes that come from product labels and their adverts are quite good.

OK, so this one was partly my fault and partly the recipes. I am going to post the recipe eventually so that someone else can maybe try it and see if it was actually all my fault. Chances are it was. The recipe is in two parts: a chocolate shortbread crust and then a gooey egg and coconut mixture that is supposed to ooze into the shortbread layer during the second baking. The shortbread layer tasted bad when I made it - not enough sugar maybe and too much shortening? - but I baked it and it came out really nice. The second layer I messed up. It calls for eggs and brown sugar to be beaten as if you are making a pecan tart filling. I only had white sugar and figured that there would be no harm, so much coconut and chocolate chips were being added that they would even it out. Not so. The white sugar made a coconut meringue type substance that baked crispy on the top of the brownie and stayed gooey in the middle. When I tried to cut the darn things, the crisp layer seperated from the gooey layer which seperated from the shortbread layer.

Josh and I did taste the final result and it was quite good, the shortbread layer was actually a welcome change from the intense sweetness of the coconut layer. I think if I saved it and served a heap of vanilla icecream over top, no one would notice the unattractive nature of the squares. (Josh did manage to cut 4 squares that looked presentable). It definitely would be a good brownie icecream pairing.

So try them out if you think the brown sugar mistake might have been the only problem. Like I said, Robin Hood flour has never steared me wrong before. Must have been me.
Ciao!

Black Bottom Coconut Dream Bars
Crust:
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2c. shortening
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

Combine flour and sugar. Add shortening and chocolate, mix until blended. Press into ungreased 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Filling:
2 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2c. coconut
1c. chocolate chips
1/2c. walnuts
1t. vanilla

Beat eggs until thick and light in color. Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy.
Mix flour and baking powder, fold into egg mixture.
Stir in coconut, chips, nuts and vanilla. Spread over baked crust in pan.
Bake 35 minutes or until light brown. Cool and cut into bars.

The Brownie Quest

Yes I baked again this weekend, I think it has become a sickness. It seems like a personal mission to get through that pile of never tried recipes. Lately I have been having such great luck in the kitchen - minus the granola fiasco - so that just furthers my drive to dwindle the pile down to nothing.

This time I decided to try a brownie recipe. I did this with much trepidation because brownies are not my friend. I know, I know, brownies are by far the simplest of all baking. Not so in my world. My brownies are dry, crumbly, form huge fissured through the middle, never cook in the middle and turn inedibly black along the edges... can anything else go wrong? Even if the brownies tasted good and just looked shabby, i could overlook it. But they taste horrible and can't hold their shape. So after a total disaster this Christmas with my York Peppermint Patty Brownie recipe, I gave up and vowed to never make a brownie again. How quickly I seem to forget my feelings toward evil recipes.

The recipe was for Malt Brownies and uses one of my favorite things - Ovaltine powder. I was so curious what a cherished childhood drink mix could do to a potentially nightmarish recipe, that my baking conscience was set aside and I took a chance.

I am posting the recipe because these are, yes I admit, the best brownies I have ever had and probably will ever have. I made a full batch with the intention of sending them with Josh to work but, sorry guys, Licia was over for the weekend and we almost devoured the pan. They are really that good. Looks like I am on a hot streak in the kitchen, maybe I should tackle pie crust...
Ciao!

Chocolate Malted Brownies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering pan
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder, such as Ovaltine Malt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300F. Brush a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with melted butter. Line bottom with parchment paper; set aside.
Sift together flour, malted milk powder, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until combined. Turn off heat and transfer mixture to a large bowl.
Add dark brown and granulated sugar and stir with wooden spoon until smooth.
Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.
Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. Let batter cool 5 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread with a spatula to evenly distribute batter and malted milk balls. Bake until center is firm and surface looks dry, about 45 minutes, turning the pan once after 30 minutes. Let brownies cool completely. When ready to serve, cut into 20 2-by 2-1/2 inch pieces. Serves 10 to 12.