Coffee and Chocolate

Deep-Dish Brownies

Made: May 26, 2013

Ingredients
Brownies
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup water or coffee
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
- Heat oven to 350 F
- Coat 8-inch square pan with cooking spray
- Whisk sugar, melted butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla in large bowl; whisk in eggs until blended
- Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl; slowly whisk into egg mixture until well-combined
- Spread in pan
- Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean but with some crumbs attached
- Cool completely on wire rack
- Meanwhile, melt chocolate, 1 tablespoon butter and water in small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally
- Pour into medium bowl; whisk in powdered sugar until smooth
- Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Refrigerate until frosting thickens slightly (about 25 minutes), stirring occasionally
- Spread over brownies; let stand until set

To melt the chocolate, I used a double broiler and I used coffee instead of water. I used a lot of powdered sugar and it seemed like it was still too watery. Even after an hour in the fridge, it still didn't seem like it wanted to set. I used it as a glaze and it's finally starting to set (about 3 hours later).

(recipe used: Cooking Club of America)

Green Brownies

St. Patty’s Day Brownies

Made: March 15, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 box Betty Crocker® fudge brownie mix (plus eggs, water and oil listed on the package, prepared according to box directions) - or your favorite brownie mix
- 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- green food coloring

Direction
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Pour prepared brownie batter into the prepared 9 x 13 inch dish
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well blended
- Beat in the egg, flour, vanilla, and food coloring until well blended and smooth
- Drop cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly on top of batter
- With knife, cut through mixture a few times to marble
- Bake as directed on brownie mix box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean
- Cool completely, about 1 hour and cut into squares
- Store in refrigerator

I wanted to do something else for St Patrick's day this year, but I think the cream cheese mixture was too much for these brownies. I probably would only use 1 tsp of vanilla vs a tbsp and I would omit the flour completely. They still taste scrumptious, but there is just something off about them. I used 5 drops of food coloring for this

(Recipe used: Real Mom Kitchen)

Cheesy brownies

Philly Brownie Cheesecake

Made: October 18, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 package brownie mix (plus whatever you need for this mix)
- 4 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Directions
- Heat oven to 325 F
- Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package
- Pour into greased 13x9in pan
- Bake 25 minutes or until top is shiny and center is almost set
- Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer until well blended
-  Add sour cream, mix well
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low-speed after each just until blended
- Gently pour over brownie layer in pan
- Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set
- Run knife around rim of pan to loosen sides, cool
- Refrigerate 4 hours
- Melt chocolate squares as directed on package, drizzle over cheesecake
- Refrigerate 15 minutes, or until chocolate is firm

I bought Reynold's disposable "Bake and Take" cake pans since Mom needed these for work the next day. I think they were longer than the size needed, so one batch of brownie per pan and then the cream cheese mixture was enough for both pans. I wouldn't have time to have the cake set overnight and then chocolate drizzle (which I need to practice on :x) so I let the cakes cool for 20 minutes and then drizzled the chocolate overtop before sticking them both in the fridge overnight. I didn't get to taste the finished product, but the tastings inbetween were quite yummy :)

(Recipe used: Kraft Foods - Showstopping Desserts)

Special Brownies

Flour-Free Brownies

Made: June 29, 2011

I always feel bad since Jeanie can't have anything containing Gluten. :( Most of the stuff we have at our bowling league parties contains just that. So, for her birthday, I experiment with flour-free things :)

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 6 large eggs; separated (keep both whites & yolks)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter

Directions

- Preheat oven to 275 F
- Place butter & chocolate in a large glass bowl and microwave in 30 minute intervals until completely melted (took me about 6 cycles)
- Cool slightly
- Whisk in egg yolks.
- In another bowl, add eggs whites and mix with a hand mixer until soft peaks form, about 3-5 minutes.
- Gradually add sugar, beat until soft and fluffy
- Mix in 1/4 of egg mixture & stir well
- Fold in the rest of the eggs whites until mixed.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes

I didn't have a hand mixer when I made these the first time, and it turned out slightly better than they did this time around. I guess I'll have to experiment with this some more!

(Recipe used: unknown)

Just the perfect bite

Brownie Bites

Made: June 7, 2011

I wanted to try something new ... so I opted for bite sized brownies instead of squares.

Ingredients

- Your favorite brownie mix or recipe
- Mini cupcake/muffin baking pan
- Cooking spray/grease for the pan

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Prepare your batter as you normally would
- Make sure the pan is nicely sprayed so they won't stick to the bottom of the holes
- Put enough batter in to fill each of the molds 1/2 way
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a knife comes out clean

:D I made these for Ms Marge's birthday this past week and she seemed to enjoy them! 1-2 bites where the outside is flaky and the inside is gooey. :) Perfect!