fudgy peanutbutter brownies

hey people! sorry i haven't posted in a few days... i was taking a bit of a breather after busting out about 300 cupcakes in over 3 days time... but it's about time to get back to business and get my butt back to baking... but what goodies to bake...

i was kind of over cupcakes for the moment after being surrounded by them... and cookies are great, but i wanted something a little more sinful... a little more indulgent... and something that wouldn't take a long time to prep... so... after thinking about it i settled on some fudgy, and rich cocoa brownies... but i wanted to jazz it up a bit... how about brownies topped with buttercream... naaa... how about brownies topped with ganache or salt caramel... naaa... oooh! i got it! i just had an epiphany... brownies topped with the baked peanut butter cream (you know, that deliciously creamy peanutbutter topping for their banana cream pie... it's heaven!!!)

so off i was... on a mission to bake a fabulous brownie... and oh man!! it was... the combination of a fudgy chewy brownies with a creamy light peanut butter cream... AHHH-MAZING!

quick one bowl fudge brownies:
ingredients:
1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350, and line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting the excess hang over the edges, lightly butter the foil
2. melt butter and chocolate on low heat on the stove top in a saucepan or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl, remove from heat or microwave and cool slightly
3. one at a time, whisk in cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour and then pour into prepared pan
4. smooth the top of the batter
5. bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges are set and center is a bit soft, a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a little batter coating it
6. cool at room temperature for an hour
7. top generously with the peanut butter cream (recipe below)

peanut butter cream:
ingredients:
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

directions:
1. using mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in medium bowl until smooth
2. beat in vanilla, then peanut butter
3. beat heavy cream in a separate bowl until firm peaks form, then first fold a large spoonful of whipped cream into peanut mixture to loosen, then fold in remaining cream in 2 additions
4. spread peanut butter layer evenly over brownies
5. chill in the fridge until ready to devour :)

enjoy your weekend and happy baking everyone!!

the baked brownie... need i say more...

listen... i could go into a huge schpeeal (is that how you spell it?) about why i made these, and i could write a paragraph or two describing their awesomeness... but i certainly will not... all i am going to say is... holy cow... i am in brownie heaven... and if you're a brownie or choco-holic you must stop what you are doing and make these... NOW... GO... stop reading... preheat your oven and mix up the batter... GO! NOW!!

the Baked Brownie
From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 baking pan (i didn't have one on hand, so my brownies were a little thicker)
3. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa
4. put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth
5. turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan, and allow mixture to come to room temperature
6. add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined.
7. add the vanilla and stir until combined, do not overbeat the batter at this stage or brownies will be cakey
8. sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible
9. pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top
10. bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until toothpick inserted comes out clean
11. let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares
12. enjoy and savour each bite of heaven... :)

happy happy baking everyone!!

outrageous brownies...

mmmm... those look delicious don't they... my teeth are just aching from how sweet these brownies are... they are just pure indulgence... deep rich fudgy brownies, topped with salt caramel, dark chocolate ganache, pecans and chocolate chips and toffee chips... whew...now that's a taste overload...

somehow my brownies went from just plain ol' brownies... to turtle brownies... to outrageous... and let me tell you... these are amazing...

fudgy brownies
ingredients:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4 1/2 oz flour (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons natural cocoa (not Dutch-processed)

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9x9 pan and set in parchment paper, letting the two ends hang over the edge and grease the parchment
2. place the chopped chocolate and the butter in a metal bowl, and set it over a double boils, stir the mixture until the smooth and the chocolate has melted completely
3. remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then whisk in the sugar, salt, and vanilla, then add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring until combined and smooth
4. sift in the flour and cocoa, and whisk into batter to combine
5. scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula, then bake brownies 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
6. let the brownies cool in the pan for a few minutes, then lift the brownies out of the pan, transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting into bars

for salt caramel topping:
ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract *optional, but i always use it :)

directions:
1. in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to a boil
2. using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals on the side of the pan
3. boil over high heat until a deep amber caramel forms, about 6 minutes
4. remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream (this will bubble up so be careful!), followed by the butter and salt, then vanilla extract
5. let the caramel cool to room temperature before using

for brownie assembly:
well... just go bananas... cover them with as much or as little of your choice of toppings... my choices: pecans, toffee and chocolate chips, ganache and lots of ooey gooey caramel... what a feast! :) but just be careful... a little sliver of these goes alooooooooong way... :)

hope you enjoyed this bit of indulgence... and as always...

happy baking everybody! :)

bacon brownies! need i say more!

umm... 2 words... BACON, and BROWNIES... say it with me... BACON BROWNIES... one more time... BACON BROWNIES... has the awesomeness set in yet... maybe i'll reiterate it one more time... BACON BROWNIES!!!

combine the warm, deep chocolaty fudgy brownies with the salty smokiness of bacon... and what do you get... one badass brownie ... that's what you get...

just thinking about their goodness makes me sweat like a sinner in church!

i can't wait to make these again, but with one tweak... the crispiness of the bacon gets kinda lost in the brownie... now, don't get me wrong, these are still some awesome brownies, but the bacon kind of got chewy during the baking process... so next time, i am going to bake the brownies for a bit, then coat the top of the brownies with the bacon, and then finish baking... like a crispy crunchy bacon crumb topping... now how does that sound to ya'll... sounds freakin amazing to me!

Bacon Brownies
recipe adapted from 17 and baking, and from The Hungry Engineer

ingredients:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
4 1/2 oz flour (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons natural cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
4 strips bacon (i went with 6 strips of really crispy bacon :) yum!)

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9x9 pan and set in parchment paper, letting the two ends hang over the edge and grease the parchment
2. heat a large pan over medium heat and cook the bacon till it's nice and crispy, let cool and break into pieces
3. place the chopped chocolate and the butter in a metal bowl, and set it over a double boiles, stir the mixture until the smooth and the chocolate has melted completely
4. remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then whisk in the sugar, salt, and vanilla, then add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring until combined and smooth
5. sift in the flour and cocoa, and whisk into batter to combine, then stir in the bacon
6. scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula, then bake brownies 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
7. let the brownies cool in the pan for a few minutes, then lift the brownies out of the pan, transfer them to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting into bars

happy baking everyone!

fudgy, salty... yummy!

first off... i'm kinda psyched about my pictures for this post... i used my hubbys snazzy camera all by myself, and kudos to me... but now on to business...

when i asked the hubs what he wanted for his fathers day treat (hey! get your mind out of the gutter! ha ha!)... he said so matter of factly... brownies... salt fudge brownies to be exact... and since i haven't made brownies in quite a while (well, that's a lie... i made brownies a week or so ago, but i dropped them... ) so needless to say i was kinda excited to bake these puppies up... again... but this time, have them actually make it to dessert...

a few weeks ago, i came across this recipe at "Bake or Break" and i knew i HAD to try it... and man oh' man... these were amazing... i'm not a fan of cakey brownies... i like my brownies on the fudgy more underdone side... and these were just that... super fudgy... not overly chocolaty... and BONUS! the sea salt... i love sweet and salty treats... these were a big hit with the hubs too... of course he smothered his in ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and guittard chocolate sprinkles... me... i'm more simple... a shot of espresso, or a glass of red wine with the brownie... and i'm a happy camper...

so if you're in the mood for an awesome chocolaty treat... bake a batch of these up... soo goooooooood!

fudgy seasalt brownies

ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 ozs. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350° and line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting the excess hang over the edges and lightly butter the foil
2. melt butter and chocolate on low heat on the stovetop in a saucepan or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. remove from heat or microwave
3. one at a time, whisk in cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour
4. pour into prepared pan, and sprinkle salt over top of batter, then using a butter knife, swirl salt into brownie batter
5. bake for 30-35 minutes, until edges are set and center is a bit soft, a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a little batter coating it
6. cool at room temperature for an hour, then cool in refrigerator for an hour or until firm

happy baking everyone!

guess who's coming to dessert...

so once again, thank you dorie greenspan... and above all... thank you katharine hepburn!! without these two ladies i would have never had come across with what i consider one of the most amazing brownie recipes i have ever had the pleasure of making and of course... EATING! chocolaty, super fudgy with this spicy cinnamon undertone that lingers on your palate and just takes it to another level...

supposedly, katharine hepburn was famously remembered not only for her oscar winning performances but also for her outrageous brownies, once giving these 3 rules to live by... (1) never quit, (2) be yourself, and (3) don't put too much flour in your brownies...

pretty good advice...

anyways, this recipe that is featured in dorie's book "baking: from my home to yours" is an adaptation of ms. hepburns recipe... and its is DELICIOUS!

caution for all you chocolate lovers out there... you might overdose on pure happiness!

brownie recipe:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (8tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. fine ground instant coffee or espresso
2 lrg. eggs, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 ozs good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

directions:
1. center oven rack and preheat oven to 325
2. butter a 8 inch baking pan, line bottom with parchment, re-butter the bottom and dust with flour (tap out the excess) and place pan on a baking sheet
3. whisk together thee flour, cinnamon and salt
4. in a heavy bottom saucepan, over low heat start to melt the butter, once it starts to melt, sift in the cocoa powder and the instant coffee
5. continue to cook, stirring until the butter is completely melted and the coffee and cocoa powder is blended into it
6. remove from heat and let cool for 3 minutes
7. using a whisk, or rubber spatula, beat in the eggs one at a time into butter cocoa mixture
8. next stir in the sugar and vanilla, but dont beat too vigorously as to add more air into the batter
9. whisk in the dry ingredients, and then the chopped chocolate, and scrape the batter into the pan
10. bake for 30 minutes, and transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool for at least 30 minutes before taking them out of the pan. cool completely before cutting into pieces

oh so fudgy... oooey gooey... just dont forget the icy cold milk!!!