Homemade Chocolate Brownies

I was in the kitchen most of the day.

 I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast (which is rare around here...we eat those for dinner more than for breakfast). The good news is I made a couple extra batches to freeze.

For lunch, I cooked hot dogs and threw together some watermelon slushes for the kids.

Next I got started on dinner: crockpot roast beef, roasted potatoes, homemade yeast rolls, and green beans.

Then I started thinking, "A dessert would be nice..."

 I really don't make them very often.

 Well, just about that time, a friend of mine sent me an e-mail with a brownie recipe that she had made that I had loved.

 Perfect.

 I looked at the ingredients. I had them all!

Perfect again.

 And they didn't take too terribly long to make.

Perfect again.

So brownies it was!

 Since I started cooking differently (more from scratch) for my food-sensitive kid, I have tried a couple of brownie recipes. None came close to what we wanted in a brownie. Until this one. This one worked.

 Oh, here is the link to the original recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted (I use unsalted for baking)

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup all-purpose flour (I actually used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)  I used pecans

You can also add semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or caramel bits.  I added the semi-sweet, just a handful.

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350.

Grease a 9 x 13 dish.

Stir the sugar and vanilla into the melted butter.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

Add flour, beating until mixed.

Add in nuts, caramel bits, and/or chocolate chips.  (I added both pecan pieces and semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Pour the batter into the greased pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes (until a toothpick comes out "clean").

Cool and then enjoy!

We ate ours with a little side of ice cream. 

YUM. :)

Reba

Double Fudge Brownies

I wonder if they have classes in how to photograph food?  People I can somewhat photograph with success.  Food, not so much.

Anyway, there won't be a weekly menu because I am visiting my sister in Kansas with the girls who are attending camp here.  So I am off cooking duty for much of the week.  And who knows what I will make when I get home. :)

I did stick to last week's schedule for the most part. We did have one impromptu sushi night (a date at home) so I never made the roast. But otherwise I stuck to it.

Saturday night we had grilled steak (marinade recipe coming soon). The kids have been begging for a dessert. I had one in mind but when I went to make it, we were missing some key ingredients. Bummer.

So I pulled out my handy dandy cookbook.  It is a family recipe cookbook.

And I searched for a dessert that I did have a recipe for.

I came upon a recipe from my Aunt S. from Indiana.

Double Fudge Brownies.

That sounded good.

And even better, I had all of the ingredients!

And they were good.

Too good.

It is a good thing I left town the next day because the leftovers would have been a HUGE temptation for me.  I am sure my boys will polish them off while I am gone.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup margarine (I used unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz...I would love to try these with dark chocolate chips too)
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan or a 4 cup measuring cup, combine margarine/butter, sugar, and water.  Bring just to a boil.  (I did mine in the microwave because my pots were all dirty from our dinner)

Add chocolate chips and vanilla.

Stir well until chocolate melts, and the mixture is smooth.

Transfer to a large bowl.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  (I just used my mixer)

Gradually blend in flour mixture.

Add in nuts if desired...I didn't at this point. My crew is about half and half on who likes nuts. So I waited until I had put the mixture in the baking dish.  Then I sprinkled nuts on half of the mixture, so we had some with and some without.

Spread into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Cool.

I served them with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Yum.

A nice sweet way to end our day!

Reba

Peppermint Dream

Not a great picture, but we were so ready to eat these, I didn't feel like taking time to do more. :)

Child 2 is my sweet tooth child.  Or one of them anyway.

So when it was her turn to make dessert, she was more than excited.

She pulled out a calendar of recipes and zeroed in on this one.

It is not necessarily a specialty kind of recipe.

But that didn't stop us from eating them...

Ingredients:
One pan of brownies prepared according to package directions (your choice...we had dark chocolate, my favorite)

One box of instant chocolate pudding, prepared

Peppermints (crushed)

Cool Whip

Directions:
Layer in a glass/cup...

A brownie (or two)

Crushed peppermint

Large spoonful of pudding

Cool Whip

More crushed peppermint

Like I said, very basic. The "hardest" part is making the brownies ahead of time (and not eating them all before making this).

But nice for sweet tooths like me...

Reba

Robert's Brownies My Way

I honestly don't know who Robert is. I found this recipe on my friend Beth's blog. All I had to see was "dark chocolate" and "brownies" and I knew I must make them. And I am so glad I did (though when I put on clothes the next day, I wish I hadn't...).

Robert's Bro*wnies My Way" is what they are called:

Ingredients:
6 tbs unsalted butter (I try to always use unsalted butter)
8 oz bittersweet chocolate with 70% cacao (I had about 7 ounces of the 70%, so I had to add a little that was less, like 63%...either way, it is quite a bit of chocolate!)
1 "scant" cup ( just less than one cup) sugar (6.5 oz)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional...I don't think you can ever go wrong with vanilla)
2 large eggs (cold)
1/3 cup plus 1 tbs unbleached flour (I just used some regular flour; it worked))
1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Okay, I forgot that part, but it worked anyway.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set directly in a skillet of barely simmering water. (I actually used a double broiler sitting on a saucepan of hot water on the stovetop.) Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth and fairly hot to the touch.

Remove the bowl from the water. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Add one egg stirring until it is mixed in, then the other egg until mixed in. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon or spatula until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the side of the pan; it is critical that the batter pulls itself together, so don't stop mixing until it does. Stir in the nuts, if using. (Because only a couple of us will eat nuts, I just sprinkled nuts over half the batter once in the pan and kept the other half "smooth".) Scrape the batter into the pan.

Spread the batter evenly in a greased 8 x 8 pan (or you can line the pan with aluminum foil) and make some ridges to make it look better and create texture in the top crust. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (30 for gooey and 35 for chewy), until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs but not totally gooey.

Cool on rack.

Cut and enjoy!

Reba

Mint Chocolate Brownies

I apologize for the photo. It was a quick photo taken with my phone at my school before I cut the brownies...

Finally. I am finally going to get this post done. I say that, and I have two more I could do for tonight's dinner. Oh well, all in due time...

One of the second grade teachers brought these to school one year and graciously shared the recipe. It has become a favorite, though I rarely make it for just us at home. I usually take them to a potluck or school event. I am afraid if I made it for home, I would eat the whole pan on my own. I love the combination of mint and chocolate, so this is a heavenly treat for me. :)

You actually need to make these ahead of time to let them chill before serving.

Here we go...

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownies Ingredients:
one package of favorite brownie mix/necessary ingredients (I used a dark chocolate brownie mix last time...yum. Fix as directed for fudgy brownies in a 9 x 13 inch pan)

Filling Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, softened (I use unsalted)
1 package cream cheese (3 ounce)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp peppermint extract or 3 tbsp creme de menthe syrup (I just use the peppermint extract)
green food coloring if desired (it is more fun :)

Frosting Ingredients:
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz.)
1/3 cup butter

Directions:
Heat oven to 350.

Grease bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. (It says bottom only but I usually grease the whole thing)

In a large bowl, combine the brownie ingredients and mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 28 minutes or as directed on the brownie mix box. Do not overbake. Cool completely.

In a medium bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add remaining filling ingredients; beat until smooth with a mixer. Spread evenly over cooled brownies. (The kids love to lick the beaters once I am finished...or if they aren't up, I do it :)

In a small saucepan, melt frosting ingredients over low heat until smooth.

Cool 10 minutes and then pour over the pan of brownies. Spread evenly.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before cutting into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!
Reba

Caramel Pecan Brownies

Not long ago, a friend of mine mentioned caramel brownies on Facebook. That was all I needed to hear. Caramel. Chocolate. How could you go wrong? I asked for the recipe and she told me it was on the back of the caramel balls. I was sitting there thinking, "What on earth is she talking about?"

I dismissed the whole caramel ball thing and decided to google a Caramel Brownie recipe. I found one. It involved the little wrapped caramels. That meant I had to UNWRAP them. Still, I am a big fan of both caramel and chocolate, so I decided to go for it. As I was searching for the caramels, guess what I saw? Caramel Balls! Okay, they are really called Caramel Bits, but they are shaped like balls. They kind of look like little brains in shape. And I am in love. Okay, not really love. But I really really like them. And I could probably eat a whole bag of them on my own...

By the way, I am getting no compensation or kickback from Kraft. I just really like Caramel. Notice. They are unwrapped. That makes it that much quicker to get to them. (Message to Kraft: Feel free to send me free bags of caramels for the free advertising...)

I made these brownies for a fellowship I went to the other night. I got a few bites of them there but then left them for the girls. So tonight when we had our "Cooking Date Night", I thought that might be a good thing to make since the family didn't get any. Then I got grumbles. I had mentioned making Red Velvet Cupcakes. I just didn't think I could do that with all we were making for dinner. Well, the grumbling stopped after the first bites of these brownies. Yum!

Caramel Pecan Brownies

1 package brownie mix
1 package Kraft Caramel Bits
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 cups pecan pieces

Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan generously with cooking spray. The package directions actually say to line the pan with aluminum foil (also sprayed) to lift out later but honestly, I didn't find that necessary this time around. It was less to mess with to just spray the pan directly.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Make the brownie mix according to the package. I used a dark chocolate brownie mix because...well, I just like dark chocolate. Pour half of the brownie mix into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. The package directions say to cover the other half and set aside. Honestly, I covered it and put it in the fridge. Anytime I have used eggs, I get nervous.

After 20 minutes, remove from the oven.

Dump the bag of caramel bits and the 1/3 cup of whipping cream into a microwavable bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. (It only took about a minute and a half tonight) Take the pecans (I like mine pretty fine, so I crushed them with my hand chopper), and pour half of them into the caramel mix. I don't think I truly used as many as the recipe called for. I used a small bag. They are pricey! Pour the caramel mixture over the brownies in the pan.

Next pour the remaining brownie batter over the top of the caramel mix. Since mine was cold from the fridge, I had to help spread it out. I has kind of a marbled look if you use a spatula on the top.

Next sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top and return the pan to the oven for 25 more minutes or until the top is firm.

Let it cool (or it will be really gooey).

I of course ate mine with a little ice cream on the side. :)

Here is a picture though it does not do this dessert justice...the darker part is not burned. That is the dark chocolate. The lighter parts would be the caramel mixture mixed in...Here is a picture of a piece (not cut very straight). Okay, I am not a food photographer. I promise you, it is good stuff. Even my kids who turn up their nose at nuts ate it up.


Tomorrow if I have time, I will share a healthier recipe. Well, kind of. It does involve salad. :)

Happy Cooking,
Reba