Congo Bars

Congo bars remind me of school lunch back in the third grade. Do you think they still serve these in schools? Probably not. I don't even want to think about what they serve for school lunch these days. Ick.

I've been hanging on to this recipe for quite a while. I think it was the full box of brown sugar that had me on hold. Man, that full box of brown sugar is amazing though. These are sweet and kind of chewy with chocolately little bites. I will definitely make these again!

Congo Bars

Source: Bakerella

Yield: 12 big or 24 small

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar using a mixer until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time to sugar mixture, mixing on low in between each addition.
Add vanilla and mix.
Add flour and mix until combined.
Stir in chips.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake.

NYT Super Natural Brownies

Oh. Look, another brownie recipe.

At this point I think I have tried so many they are all intermingled in my mind...my mind which is mush because I'm a mother and I don't sleep.

**sigh**

These were good...they didn't jump out of the oven at me saying, "HEY, I'm the best brownie you have ever eaten and you shall never make another kind of brownie ever again."

They were just sort of like, "Hey, what's up. I'm a brownie. I'm chocolatey and delicious and you probably want to eat me and have a glass of milk."

Have I lost my mind?

Probably.

Super Natural Brownies

Source: NYT
Yield: 15 decent sized brownies

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, more for pan and parchment paper

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 3/4 cup whole walnuts, optional.

1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined. If using chopped walnuts, stir them in. Pour batter into prepared pan. If using whole walnuts, arrange on top of batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Mocha Brownies

Another brownie post? Yep. I do love my brownies. Frosted or not.

Now these, with this wonderful mocha frosting, are wonderful. You've got to have a sweet tooth for these. Luckily. I have a sweet tooth. Actually, I have a whole mouth full of them! (my dentist and I don't get along well)

Mocha Frosted Brownies
Source: Blog Chef
Yield: 24ish

½ cup shortening
½ cup butter
1 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
4 teaspoons instant coffee
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt

Frosting
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons instant coffee

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13” baking dish with tin foil and lightly grease It lightly. Melt butter and shortening in the microwave or on the stove top.

Pour melted butter and shortening into a large mixing bowl. Add cocoa and blend in well. Add sugar and mix well. Dissolve instant coffee in tablespoon of hot water and mix into the cocoa mixture. Add eggs one at a time and beat in well by hand. Stir in vanilla, flour and salt. Pour mixture into the baking dish and spread out evenly.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool.

While brownies are cooling make the frosting. In a bowl cream butter and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium speed. Dissolve instant coffee in milk and add to the mixture. Beat until lightly and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

First of all I want to apologize for the photo of these brownies. I could have done better. I should have done better. I was in a hurry. It was raining outside so I couldn't bring them out. I just snapped a quick shot so I could post them. So, Readers, I'm sorry.

I like brownies. We've talked about it. I've made my fair share of brownies.
The Ultimate Brownie (I'm so over this.)
On the Fence Brownies (I still like these a lot)
Brownies with Peppermint Frosting

I expected a little more from these brownies. Joy says they are moist but I found them a wee bit dry. It could have been me. Maybe I over cooked them. Maybe I measured wrong. Maybe it was because I halved the recipe. I did like them. And I did share them with my lovely friends in book club. And I did freeze one and top it with homemade chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream.

I'll have to try again.

Dark Chocolate Brownies
Source: Joy the Baker
Yield: 12 big or 24 small

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with foil and butter the foil. This will make brownie removal much easier.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Place butter and chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, being sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted. Use pot holders to remove the bowl from over the boiling water. Lets mixture sit for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and espresso powder. Whisk until pale and thick. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until completely incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

S'mores Bars

You must make these. If you are a man and you can't bake...tell you wife, your girlfriend, your mother, your aunt. If you are a woman and you can't bake...you can bake these. They are super easy to do and are oh so wonderfully sticky and delicious. Bring them to a party or a picnic and people will fall all over you.

Yeah, they are THAT good.

Of course I have no willpower and I sunk a spoon into them after cooling about ten minutes. They are so wonderful warm but they are really good cooled too. Wait for them to cool so you can cut them without making an absolute mess.

S'mores Bars
Source: Real Mom Kitchen
Yield: 16ish

1 stick of butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
1 large egg
1 jar marshmallow fluff (the small glass jar...I think it is 7.5oz)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (6ish full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed til fine)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan (I line my pan with foil for easy removal and cutting). Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside.

Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. (I had to flour my hands to keep them from sticking to the dough.)

Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side. (I had to trim a little off one bar to get mine to fit.)

Spread chocolate with marshmallow fluff. Place blobs of it on the chocolate and then spread it around.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. You could roll it out if you chose but I just pressed it lightly with my fingers.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares.

Old Fashion Brownies

I love brownies. I love trying different brownie recipes to see how they come out and see how they differ from each other. I've tried recipes from King Arthur, Bakers, Joy the Baker, Dorie Greenspan, and various blogs I've happened upon.

I found this recipe on a sheet of paper tucked into one of my mother's cookbooks. I don't know how old it is, probably about 15 years old. I have no idea where it came from but I'm happy I found it and tried it. I call these "old fashioned" because they are so mild. They aren't super fudgy and chocolate. They aren't overly sweet. Just. Mild. That is the best way I can describe them. I really enjoyed these and I will certainly make these again.

Brownies
Source: My momma!
Yield: 12-24 depending on how big you cut them

4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350*. Grease 9x13 in. pan. Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat or in microwave. In a mixing bowl combine the melted chocolate and butter with the sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour and nuts and stir until well blended. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 35 minutes or until set. Cool and then cut.

Peppermint Frosted Brownies

Need a chocolate fix fast? I mean...CHOCOLATE. Like the kind of fix that will put you in a sugar induced coma for a few hours? Oh, that's what you need? Make these!

These were super duper rich. I added the peppermint buttercream just because I had a craving for it. I made regular buttercream and flavored it with peppermint and added some red food coloring. Easy as can be!

The recipe for the brownies is also really easy. They come together very quick. My main tip for these...make sure you bake them long enough. Mine were too gooey in the middle.

Chocolate Brownies
Source: Food Network
Yield: 1-2 dozen depending on how big you cut them.

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs
1 cup cocoa
1 cup flour

Set oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan.

Combine sugar, butter, salt. Whisk in eggs. Stir in cocoa and flour. Transfer to pan bake 30 min.

Easy peasy.

Dorie's Blondies

You may have noticed that you haven't seen a "Tuesdays with Dorie" post in awhile. I quit. When it comes to my extra curriculars, like blogging, I don't like playing by the rules. I couldn't bake something every Tuesday. My husband doesn't eat sweets, I have no job to bring the sweets to for consumption, and if I eat them I won't fit in my jeans and I have not job so I can't buy new jeans. See? I just couldn't do it.

When my sister was up for her vacation we were craving a sweet and picked these out of Dorie's book. I sent a big plate back to my dad's house with my sister. Apparently they were gone in no time and Cate didn't get to have one!! Of course the next day I took one out of my stash for my most favorite niece.

These were fantastic. Sweet and chewy. I froze a bunch and they were delectable straight from the freezer!

Chewy Chunky Blondies
Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours
Yield: 32ish

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2-1/4 x 1-1/2 inches.

A Studio Opening

I felt very privileged and honored when Tess J. of Tess J Photography asked me to bake some sweet treats for her studio opening. She and her partner in life and professionally, Andrew Houser of Houser Fine Art, opened a new studio in the Dana Warp Mill to do shoots and had some of their fabulous work on display. I've done two boudoir shoots with Tess, an engagement shoot, and she and Houser did our wedding photos. They continue to amaze me with their work. Check out Tess' sites:

http://www.tessjphotography.com/ (mostly boudoir photos)

http://www.weddings.tessjphotography.com/ (yeah that me!!)



And Houser's:

http://www.houserfineart.com/ (artsy nudity warning)

http://www.houserphotography.com/ (landscape photography)



In my opinion these are the two best photographers in the state of Maine.

For the studio opening I made vanilla cupcakes with my "fluffy cupcake frosting" and brownies. I had been using a Magnolia Bakery knock off recipe and decided that it wasn't THE ONE. My birthday is next month and I had been looking for a birthday cake recipe. I found this one on the Williams Sonoma site. THIS IS THE ONE! Moist but it stays together with a lighter crumb. I adore these vanilla cupcakes.



I have also found that this brownie recipe is THE ONE! I'm completely in love with these. Called On the Fence Brownies because they are a little fudgy, a little chewy, a little cakey. They will satisfy every brownie desire. I've received great compliments on these.


Though my week was quite terrible, perhaps the worst of the year, we had a great time at the opening.

And I came home with this print for our redecorated bathroom.



Williams Sonoma Birthday Cake
Yield: 2 9 inch round cakes or 24 cupcakes
Source: Williams Sonoma

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups milk

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Grease 2 round cake pans with butter.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and vanilla on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one is added. Turn off the mixer, add about one-third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Pour in 2/3 cup of the milk and beat just until blended. Repeat, adding about one-third of the flour, the remaining 2/3 cup milk and then the rest of the flour, beating after each addition just until blended.

Pour half of the batter into one prepared pan and the other half into the second pan. Using the rubber spatula, spread the batter evenly and smooth the top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes.


On the Fence Brownies
Yield: 2 dozen brownies
Source: King Arthur Flour


1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla.


Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth; then add the flour, chips, espresso powder, and nuts, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake the brownies in a preheated 350°F oven for 28 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges and in the center (barely). Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Glamorous Brownies

A few years ago I had a subscription to Glamour Magazine. In the back they used to have a little entertaining section with a recipe or cocktail ideas. I found it a bit odd that they included a brownie recipe but I suppose that most of the readers get that chocolate craving just like I do! I was really pleased with these. They are very fudgey and have a cinnamon undertone which I find interesting.

I had been home sick for a few days and hadn't been outside and was so bored. I decided that the brownies deserved a photo shoot in the snow. :) It was super fun.

The Ultimate Brownie

Source: Glamour Magazine

14 T butter

2 T EVOO

8 1oz. squares bittersweet chocolate

4 eggs

1/2 t salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

2 T vanilla (I saw this and my jaw dropped. I was NOT using 2 T of my Madagascar vanilla for brownies!!)

1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 pan. Melt butter, EVOO and chocolate in double boiler. In a separate bowl beat eggs. Whisk in salt, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in chocolate-oil mixture. Fold in flour. Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 minutes.