Sing For Your Supper » Brownies

Oreo-Stuffed Brownies…

amy — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:48:01 +0000

Are you sick of all my Oreo recipes yet? No? Good, me either!! I’m telling you, there isn’t a dessert out there that couldn’t be improved with Oreos! Now, when it comes to brownies, I’d like to think of myself as a purist. I don’t want nuts or any other add-ins (usually); I just prefer a warm brownie with a cold glass of milk (soy, of course…bleh). But I had an unopened package of Oreos staring at me and a serious craving for brownies, so I decided to just throw some in! These were GOOD! The Oreos get a little soft during the baking process so they’re nice and chewy inside the gooey brownies. I used my favorite brownie recipe and couldn’t have been more pleased with how they turned out! A new favorite!

Oreo-Stuffed Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1 package Oreos (Double Stuff is best!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan.
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, but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

While the sugar heats a second time, beat the eggs, cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla until smooth. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth.

Spoon half of the batter into the greased pan. Place the Oreos in even rows across the batter (as many as you can fit). Pour the remaining batter over the Oreos and gently spread to the edges of the pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the brownies for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe source: brownie recipe from King Arthur Flour; the “Oreo-Stuffed” part is my idea (though I’m sure it’s not exactly a new concept)

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Quick and Easy Peppermint Brownies…

amy — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:08:14 +0000

You may remember a different batch of minty brownies I did a while back, but I decided just one recipe wasn’t enough! With Christmas being JUST around the corner, I’ve sure been seeing a good amount of peppermint brownie recipes floating around the blogosphere. Since I just can’t resist the chocolate/peppermint combination, I decided I needed to make a batch. However, I was in a hurry and cheated by starting with a box mix (judge all you want to but personally, I think the boxed kind are some of the best; especially when you’re in a hurry!), then added my beloved candy cane flour to the mix and sprinkled crushed peppermint over the top. Delicious. Christmasy. Just what we needed that night! And quick, to boot!

Peppermint Brownies

1 box brownie mix (or your favorite brownie recipe), prepared according to the box, but not yet baked
**1/3 cup candy cane flour
1/2 cup crushed peppermint, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9 pan. Stir in the candy cane flour. Pour into greased pan and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup crushed peppermint. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Sprinkle with more crushed peppermint, if desired. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

**Basically, when you crush your peppermint, sift out the fine powder (or ‘candy cane flour’, as I call it), and you’ll be left with enough to mix into the batter.

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Gooey Salted Caramel Brownies…

amy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:46:08 +0000

Are you ready for sheer deliciousness? A miracle in brownie form? How about a nice gooey, warm, chewy brownie with a layer of melty, slightly salty, sweet caramel? Sound good? What if I told you it was one the easiest things you could possibly make? Awesome, right?! Well it really is! This weekend we had some opera friends of mine, Christian and John over for lunch; I knew I wanted to make something easy, yet delicious, and Christian told me I had great legs, so I made him these brownies. Compliments get you really far in my house.

When I say these are easy, I’m not kidding around- basically, if you have a brownie mix and a jar of caramel, you’re all set. I almost feel like I’m cheating posting this recipe- but since these were so delicious I just had to share them with you! The recipe comes from Susan of She’s Becoming Doughmesstic; she makes her own homemade caramel, which I’m sure is just delicious, but since I was pressed for time, I opted for the jarred stuff (which is great!). Believe me when I tell you these are insanely delicious! Melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! Give them a try this week!

Salted Caramel Brownies
-She’s Becoming DoughMessTic

Make the Caramel: (*Or just cheat like I did and use the jarred kind- Hershey’s works great!)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the salt. Simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved. set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and corn syrup carefully. They will not combine well until the sugar begins to melt. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes. Without a thermometer, just pull the sugar off the heat when it is a medium goldish brown – it will continue to cook in the heat of the pan. Better to pull it too early than too late. Remove from the heat and let cool for one minute.

Add the cream mixture and the vanilla to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temp, then follow the brownie instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate any leftover caramel. It makes a great ice cream topping or tastes great straight out of the jar.

Now prepare the brownies.

For the brownies:
1 box Fudgy Brownie Mix
2 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Butter, Melted
2 Tablespoons Water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine the box mix with eggs, melted butter, and water.
In a greased 8×8 pan, pour a little over half of the brownie batter and bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour in the caramel. If you’re using jarred caramel, be sure to sprinkle with salt- about a teaspoon. On top of the caramel, add the rest of your brownie batter. If it doesn’t pour smoothly, just plop it in and swirl it around a little bit. Return to the oven and bake for another 18-22 minutes. Brownies will still appear a little shaky, due to the caramel, but they will firm up once cooled. Do not overbake.

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Ooey Gooey S’Mores Stuffed Brownies…

amy — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:13:19 +0000

Guess what?! Today is my birthday! 26 years old…hard to believe! It seems like only a year or so ago I was just getting my driver’s license (and promptly crashing into another car…)! I think I’m going to miss 25; don’t get me wrong, there are a few episodes I’m gladly leaving behind (and good riddance!), but for the most part, 25 was a great year. However, I’ve already made up my mind that 26 is going to be the best year YET! I’ve got a phenomenal husband, the world’s happiest, sweetest doggy, a wonderful home, and a loving family- what more do you need in life (well, besides cookies and Mozart)?!

So in honor of my birthday, I’m posting these brownies- they’re fun, completely over-the-top and possibly just a little too much; just like me! My good friend Andrea and her sweet dog, Mia came over yesterday for a day by the pool and I decided that was the perfect time to give these brownies the test-run. The verdict? Absolute heaven! I mean, how you possibly go wrong with these- brownie batter, graham crackers, whole Hershey bars and marshmallows topped with more brownie batter?!! GENIUS! You’re going to love these!

S’Mores Stuffed Brownies
-Picky Palate

1 box brownie mix (and whatever other ingredients you need to make the brownies according to the box)
graham crackers
Hershey bars (around 5 or so)
mini marshmallows (about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make brownie batter according to box instructions. In a greased 9×9 pan, layer half of the brownie batter, top with whole graham crackers (a single layer), then Hershey bars, then marshmallows; top with remaining brownie batter and spread evenly over the marshmallows. Bake for 40-55 minutes, or until the brownies start to pull away from the edges a bit. Inserting a toothpick won’t be much help, due to the melted Hershey bars. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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Brownie Pudding (AKA: My New Husband)…

amy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:17:05 +0000

You know how when you say something like, “I love this pencil sooo much!”, and then the other kids at the lunch table say, “then why don’t you marry it?!”? Well, I’ve decided to marry this brownie pudding. That’s right. It’s the newest love of my life. Forget hubby (sorry, honey). From now on, I shall make this brownie pudding my one and only. What, you think that’s crazy??? Well, have you tried this brownie pudding?? Have you experienced the delicious, gooey, chocolaty, HEAVEN that is brownie pudding??? Because, until you’ve tried it, you can’t understand how magical it is. For years, I’ve said that “brownie goo” is my favorite food; you know, the warm, undercooked center of the brownies? (Seriously one of life’s greatest pleasures). Well, Ina Garten gives us something better – a whole DISH of brownie goo!!! I’ve had this recipe flagged for a long time – now I’ve finally experienced it. Simply said, this dessert will knock your socks off. I think I may have slightly undercooked mine (you can tell I was soooo upset over that…) – it says to cook it for exactly one hour, which I did, yet it was still slightly under-baked. Gee, too bad, huh?

Brownie Pudding
-Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream. *Obviously, I did not allow mine to cool…that’s brownie blasphemy.

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Tuesdays with Dorie…Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

amy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:30:29 +0000

This week’s recipe was chosen by Melissa of Life In A Peanut Shell. Unfortunately, I actually didn’t have a very memorable experience with these brownies. It’s too bad, too, because they sounded fantastic. Maybe I did something wrong…who knows. They looked pretty, though!

These were supposed to be marbled, but my cheesecake batter was so runny, I thought it best to just leave it be. I sort of liked seeing the two distinct layers, though. The sour cream topping was really nice, too- I’ll probably use that for future cheesecake recipes. I think what I didn’t like about these was the dense fudginess of the brownie layer – it was just too fudgy for me, believe it or not. BUT – as always, I’m still really glad I tried these. They were tasty overall….just not something I’d make again, probably. Better luck next time, though! Head on over to Melissa’s blog and check out the recipe – these just might be your cup of tea!

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Tuesdays With Dorie…Cute As A Brownie Button!

amy — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:11:35 +0000

Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this week’s recipe. I mean, the title sounds great – ‘Brownie Buttons’ – pretty cute, right? But I’m super-duper picky when it comes to brownies and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about mini-mini brownies. A lot of members had said this recipe didn’t quite do it for them, or that they stuck, or the glaze wasn’t good…I didn’t have very high hopes.

But, as it turned out, these were really, really good! I don’t know about everyone else’s, but mine had sort of a chewy, almost crunchy outside, with a really soft, fudgy inside….I wan’t expecting that! I loved the texture of these! Instead of the white chocolate glaze (I can’t stand white chocolate), I used a little dusting of powdered sugar, which really went well with the bitterness of the chocolate. These were just all around good- fun to make, fun to eat and super cute to boot!

Thanks to Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen for picking this week’s recipe – check out her blog and get the recipe. These would be so fun for kids or to take to work – easy and fun to eat! I’ll definitely be keeping this recipe close by!

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Tuesdays with Dorie…A Tribute to Katherine Hepburn

amy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:37:00 +0000

I don’t know what it is that makes shooting decent pictures of brownies darned near impossible for me. You’d think I’d gradually get better at it, but no, these are just as bad, if not worse, as some of my other brownie shots from the past. Alas, I am too lazy to try again, so these ugly-looking brownie pictures are getting posted, like it or not!

I realize it’s been two weeks since I posted a TWD recipe…I know…I’m bad. BUT – here I am again, back on the TWD wagon! This week’s recipe is Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies (love her!), chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz, who was the winner of a little logo contest we held over at TWD. Yay Lisa! I’ve been waiting on someone to pick these brownies for a couple of reasons, A.) I love me some brownies! and B.) I LOVE Katherine Hepburn! My favorite of her movies is The Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart – have you watched this? If you haven’t, you SHOULD!! It’s one of the great classics, in my opinion! Some others of hers that I just love are Bringing Up Baby, Adam’s Rib, and Woman of the Year. This woman didn’t make a bad movie! I was happy to make her special brownies and as I ate them, I imagined good old Kate baking these in her kitchen…”these brownies are just delicious, rally they are…rally..”.

I know the pictures are the epitome of suck, but really, they were some of the best brownies I’ve ever eaten! If you like fudgy brownies, these are for you, my friend!! Visit Lisa’s blog and get the recipe – make Katherine’s brownies and watch her movies…a great night, in my opinion!! Enjoy!!

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The Best Brownies You'll Ever Eat…

amy — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:56:00 +0000

Ok, so you know how once I made that comment about how I have yet to find a brownie recipe as good as the boxed kind? Well, here it is. I’m thrilled. It seems like any “from scratch” brownie recipe I’ve made turns out with a thick, sugary crust on the top (yes, even Dorie’s recipes have turned out that way for me) that I always end up picking off – and it makes for a rather unsightly brownie. This recipe is perfect because you melt the sugar and butter together, thus giving you a paper-thin crust on top – which is what you want with a brownie. Yay!!

Let me just tell you – these brownies blew me away…rocked my socks off…made me wanna slap my mama (as Jess would say). They were GOOD. I took it a step further by adding a drop of peppermint extract and threw in some Andes mint chips along with the chocolate chips. Mmmm MMM! I have an undying love for all things mint/chocolate and these brownies are my new go-to “mint-chocolate-craving” recipe! I’ll probably use this brownie recipe for the rest of my life, too!

Fudgy. Chewy. Chocolatey. Minty. Need I go on? Do yourself a big favor and make these brownies TODAY!

Guaranteed Fudge Brownies
-King Arthur Flour (this is a great website with tons of recipes- check it out!)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa (regular cocoa is fine too)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 cups chocolate chips
*I added about 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, 1/2 cup Andes mint chips and used half of the amount of chocolate chips called for

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan
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.
While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.
Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake the brownies for about 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 the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

* I actually got the idea to make these from a fellow food blogger, but I don’t remember who. If you see this, please let me know who you are so I can give you credit!

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Tuesdays with Dorie…Don’t Judge A Brownie By Its Picture

amy — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:22:00 +0000

This week’s TWD recipe was French Chocolate Brownies chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook. I have to say – these are some pretty unusual brownies. Granted, Dorie originally intended for them to be more of a cake than brownies, so the texture is a bit different from what I’m used to. However, these were pretty darn tasty and we really enjoyed them! I left out the raisins (Of course -blech!) and pulled them out of the oven a little early – because that’s how I like my brownies – GOOEY! I also added a shot (or less) of Godiva Liquor to the batter, just because I felt like it. After baking and slightly cooling, these were still very ooey gooey on the inside (which only added to their appeal as far as I’m concerned!), but at the same time, they were very light and surprisingly fluffy – almost like a “moussey” texture! And that pinch of cinnamon really added something special, in my opinion! Like everyone else, my brownies had a crust on top after baking (as they should), but I personally don’t like the “crust” so I just picked it off and took my pictures “sans brownie crust”.

Speaking of pictures……these aren’t very pretty. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they look like POO. But, I’m very new at this whole photography thing (I’m just a yuppee with a nice camera!), and I haven’t quite mastered the art of making food look pretty yet. I really admire those food bloggers who do such clever things with their food and take such beautiful, unique pictures – but for now, I’m just not that girl. But don’t worry – I’ll get there!!

French Chocolate Brownies

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you’re using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It’s important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you’ve got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it’s better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you’ll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated and that’s fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they’re even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

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