Tag Archives: Brownies

Peanut Butter Chocolatey Goodness

Posted on by

4

I love all things with peanut butter and chocolate

You may have noticed I make lots of recipes with that combo of flavors. What can I say? I’m an addict a really smart girl. 

For better or worse…I was not able to demolish the entire pan of these brownie bars. I received a request, similar to the one I received for the yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Once again, it from one of my sister’s friends from college. However, this one was slightly less specific.

If there was chocolate and peanut butter involved, I was golden. What a smart guy!

I have had my eye on this recipe for a while now, so I knew that this was definitely going to be the lucky winner for this request.

As most peanut butter and chocolate recipes turn out, this one was absolutely devilishly delicious. I didn’t have it in me to give the entire batch for the guy…so I may or may not have kept a few at my house…

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

(adapted from Cookie Madness)

1 stick butter, cut up
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups chocolate chips

Ganache:
3/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon butter, softened

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8×8 or 9×9 inch metal pan with foil and spray bottom with cooking spray or rub with butter or if using a glass pan, just spray with cooking spray or oil with butter.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. When light and fluffy, add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in egg, the egg yolk and vanilla. By hand, stir in the flour and chocolate chips. Spread batter in pan and bake on center rack for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool completely.
  3. Make the ganache. **Put the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. In a saucepan or in a microwave-safe measuring cup, heat the cream until starts to boil. Pour the cream over the chips and let stand for a minute. Stir well to melt chips; stir in the butter. Spread on cooled brownies and let set. I put mine in the fridge to speed up the process.

Random Fact of the Day: It is estimated that at any one moment, 0.7% of the world’s population are drunk.

Related articles

Brownies, better than from the box!

Posted on by

2

Can you believe there is just like one more month of summer left? This is SO DEPRESSING. I don’t want to go back to school!!! AT ALL.

I don’t want to take the ACT. I don’t want to take Pre-Calc. I don’t want to take Physics. I just wanna bake brownies. Is that really too much to ask for?

Since I love Jess over at How Sweet It Is and all of her ah-mazing recipes, I decided it was time to make some of her brownies. I know she’s famous for her Better Than Crack Brownies, but unfortunately I didn’t have any Rice Krispies on hand.

So, I went with the classic brownies. The one she uses as a base for many recipes. It must be good then, right?

Well, they have passed the ultimate test. My dad just downed 3 of them, so I’m guessing they’re alright. Oh yeah, I also had one and I’m using my self-control powers to stay away. It’s really, really, hard. In my opinion they’re best in a square baking dish, to make them nice and thick. Try them!

Brownies

(from How Sweet It Is)

1 stick butter, unsalted

3 squares baking chocolate

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 c. flour

1 t. vanilla

1 c. chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 x 9 baking pan.
  2. Melt butter in microwave safe bowl and melt chocolate in double boiler. In the mixing bowl, cream melted butter and chocolate together. Add in sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add in eggs, beating in one at a time. Add flour and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until just barely done.
Random Fact: Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung. Take that China!! So everything actually isn’t/wasn’t  made in China.
Related articles

Fudgy Brownies (under 90 calories!?!)

Posted on by

6

WHAT?! I don’t really know how to calculate calories but I guess Eating Well does. They did all that dirty work for me :)  

These brownies may not be the most chocolatey things you have ever had but they do give ya that little big ‘ol chocolate fix you need when you don’t wanna be weighed down with the guilt of regular brownies. 

You can easily make these a more chocolatey if you just add a bit more chocolate in the melting process on the stove (but then they obviously won’t have the same itty bitty amount of calories!/fat) <– But who am I to talk about calories? 

Dark Fudgy Brownies

(From Eating Well)

3/4 c. flour

2/3 c. powdered sugar

3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

3 oz. chocolate (dark, semisweet, or bittersweet will work fine)

2 1/2 oz. chocolate (Same as above)

1 1/2 T. canola oil

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 T. light corn syrup, blended with 3 T. lukewarm water

2 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

1 large egg

1/3 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with foil. Coat with cooking spray.
  2. Sift flour, confectioners’ sugar and cocoa together into a small bowl. Combine the 3 ounces chocolate and oil in a heavy saucepan; place over lowest heat, stirring, until just melted and smooth. (Be careful not to burn your chocolate!) Remove from the heat and stir in the white sugar, corn syrup mixture, vanilla, and salt until sugar dissolves. Vigorously stir in egg until smoothly incorporated. Gently stir in the dry ingredients. Fol in the walnuts and remaining 2 1/2 ounces of chocolate. Turn out the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly.
  3. Bake the brownies until almost firm in the center and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 20-24 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about an hour and a half.
  4. Carefully lift brownies out of pan and cut into 20 squares using a sharp knife.

(Makes 20 brownies, 86 calories each and 3 g fat)

Related articles

Chocolate Covered Happiness

Posted on by

20

I don’t know about you, but this has/is going to be a very stressful week for me. Hence all of the sweet cookies that have been baked up around here lately. I have to take the dreaded finals this week. EW. I hate finals. I rarely actually hate, but I feel this occasion needed to bring out the big guns, the h-word.

Hate may actually be an understatement. I don’t really understand finals, because you could do great on every unit throughout the semester but if you just move on after that unit and do great on the next one, you could forget lots of stuff you knew before. It’s just annoying how one test can completely destroy your grade.

Thank goodness I’m a genius, so there should be no problems here. HA! Sometimes I wish I could just have the smartest kid in the world’s brain for an hour. Just for a few tests. Please? I’ll make you brownie balls :)

Alright, time to get off the pity pot and onto the good stuff. Have you ever heard of brownie balls? THEY ARE AWESOME! And oh so easy. And HEALTHY!!! Just kidding about that last part. But at this point, come on-who cares? It’s dessert, not count your calories time.

Yes, I'm still trying to get rid of Easter candy haha

Pretty much all you’ve got to do is bake the brownies according to the package, or if you’re feeling super energetic you could just make your own recipe. Then you let it cool for about 15 minutes or until you can touch them without baking your hands. (Owwy!) After that you shape them into balls, freeze them, dip them in chocolate and pop them in the fridge. Then after that, you eat them like there’s no tomorrow.

Shoo! Go make them now! ;)

Chocolate Covered Brownie Bites

(Idea from http://picky-palate.com/)

1 box of brownie mix

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

toothpicks

  1. Prepare brownie mix according to directions on package. Bake until slightly undercooked and only a little bit of brownie sticks onto an inserted toothpick. Let cool for 15 minutes.
  2. When you can touch the brownies comfortably, scoop with a cookie scoop or spoon and roll tightly into a ball and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Keep rolling brownies into balls until all of them are gone, unless you want to save some of the brownie to eat as regular brownies.
  3. Insert toothpicks into balls and pop into the freezer for an hour or two.
  4. Place chocolate over a double broiler, or in the microwave, to melt. Roll each brownie ball into chocolate and place on  parchment paper to dry. Place in the fridge for chocolate to set. Enjoy at room temp or chilled.

Would you like to see how I completely screwed up my first batch of brownies? How many people do you think can actually mess up a boxed brownie mix? Heh…I know of one.

Looks good right? Trying to make it healthier by making it half oil, half applesauce

Still doesn't look too bad, right?

Dum Dum DUUUUUM.

When the timer went off and I look in the oven, needless to say- my mind was more confused than a penguin in Hawaii

Then I realized-Wait! This is perfect for my blog!! It’s a disaster, however it is not exactly beautiful, but whatevs…

I realized later that what I think went wrong was that I forgot to add a second egg. The half applesauce, half oil could’ve been part of the problem but I don’t know. All I know is that now I’ve got some seriously killer brownie balls.

Eventually these babies did turn out, I do think I would even waste 10 boxes of brownie mix just for these guys...

What’s the worst tragedy you’ve had in your kitchen?

Related articles

Brownie Cookies

Posted on by

13

A chocolate bar and melted chocolate. Chocolat...

Image via Wikipedia

well, so you know how the world was supposed to end last Saturday? Apparently the guy who predicted that changed the date to October 21. Mark your calendars! Just tryin to keep ya in the loop. ;) I don’t know, but I’m pretty convinced that he just keeps changing the date for until he dies. (Eh that sounds horrible) I mean no disrespect, but have you seen him?? It’s a miracle in itself he’s still alive. Turning 90 in July! That is impressive. Well keep chuggin big guy!

Anyways, on to cookies! I’ve seen many recipes for this and they all look so good!! I’ve tried a few of those double chocolate cookie recipes before. I like them, don’t get me wrong, but they just don’t taste like the right chocolate to me. Maybe it’s just me. I’m pretty convinced that it is the cocoa powder that is doin that for me so I figured these are worth a shot since they just involve melting, mixing and baking.

These brownie cookies, have you heard of them? Have you tried em? I thought they might be exaggerating. But MAN, these do taste like brownies! I didn’t think it was possible, but boy was I proved wrong (which obviously doesn’t happen often, wink wink)

These will for sure be the cookies I will go for when I need my chocolate fix! 

These unique little guys have a pretty cracked top with a nice ooey, gooey middle and then a bottom that has this texture that just somehow finished it off perfectly! It feels weird to talk about the bottom of the cookie, but trust me, when you make them you will understand. These are quite rich, glass of milk or water is definitely recommended!

Brownie Cookies

(from The Dainty Chef)

1/4 c. butter

2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips, divided

3/4 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs

3/4 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

  1. combine butter, unsweetened chocolate, and 3/4 c. chocolate chips in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter and chocolate melt; let cool.
  2. Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually add flour, salt and baking powder, beating well. Then add the chocolate mixture and beat well. Stir in remaining 3/4 c. chocolate chips. 
  3. Scoop dough onto baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly on baking sheets;  finish cooling on wire racks.  

I have hit the chocolate heaven

Related articles