Cocoa Brownies

Cocoa Brownies

This is one of those… I-need-a-good-and-chocolatey-dessert-that-is-totally-quick-and-easy… kind of recipes.  I promise.
My husband’s family was coming over sort-of last-minute recently.  The sort of last minute where your husband says, “Oh yeah, I invited my family over for dinner tonight,” and forgets to tell you until the day-of.  Yeah, that kind of last minute.   The dinner part was easy- just grilled chicken and salad.  And I’m never, ever, ever big on buying already-made dessert from the grocery store, so I pulled a baking cookbook off my shelf that I hadn’t really used yet to see if I could find some easy inspiration in there.  I did!  I spotted brownies:  Cocoa Brownies


These brownies came together and were in the oven in about 15 minutes.  And with the way those brownies look right there… why would you ever want to eat a boxed version?  Seriously.  I mean, I’d eat a boxed brownie for sure- they’re good and all.  But this homemade brownie recipe pretty much rocked the house over a boxed mix.

Here’s the lady we get to thank for this brownie:  Alice Medrich.  If you’re not familiar with her already, Medrich is an 8-time, award-winning cookbook author and pastry chef, and she is considered one of the country’s foremost experts on chocolate and chocolate desserts.  I can’t believe this is the first thing I’ve baked from this Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy cookbook!  Why the heck did I wait so long?  I can’t wait to bake more from this book- all kinds of cookies and bars, and Medrich even includes several wheat-free and dairy-free options.  I’d say it’s a good cookbook to have on the shelf for those who get strong urges to bake often (like me!)

These brownies turn out to be extremely soft and gooey in the center.  The tops crinkle ever-so-slightly, and turn out a slight crunch that the tops of brownies are supposed to have.

Needless to say, they were a big hit as an after-dinner dessert.  My husband’s family is known for enjoying their chocolate, and they gave these a major thumbs up.
I say… they were a lifesaver.  Dear husband, I love you so… but please give me a day or two’s notice next time if you’re going to invite a crowd to dinner
Find out more about Alice Medrich by visiting her website, and you can purchase her Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy cookbook on Amazon. 

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Cocoa Brownies

Yield: Sixteen 2-inch or 25 smaller brownies

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

11 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (8.75 ounces) granulated white sugar
1 scant cup (3 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch process
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (1.75 ounces) Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom and all 4 sides of an 8-inch square pan with foil. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
2. Melt the butter in a medium, heatproof bowl set directly in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Add the sugar, cocoa and salt. Stir until the ingredients are blended and the mixture is hot. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. Mix in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing vigorously with a rubber spatula after each addition. When the mixture looks thick, shiny, and well-blended, add all of the flour at once and stir until you cannot see it any longer. Then mix vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly in the lined pan.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly dirty looking. Cool on a rack. Lift the edges of the foil liner and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares. May be kept in a covered container for 2 to 3 days.

Tips:

**Gluten free folks: I have not tried this recipe as gluten-free yet, but there is not a whole lot of flour in the recipe- just 1/3 cup, so I'm hoping that a gluten-free flour blend can be substituted in this recipe without too much trouble. If you try it, please let me know of your experience with it!

Source: RecipeGirl.com (via the cookbook: Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich)

Whole Wheat- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Whole Wheat- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

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Whole Wheat- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Yield: One loaf

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pure (unsweetened) pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl.
3. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in vanilla and pumpkin. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until evenly moistened. Stir in chocolate chips (reserve a few to sprinkle on top).
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top. Bake about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove bread from the oven and place it on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run a table knife around the edges of the pan to make sure the bread isn't sticking, turn it out of the pan, and place it on the rack to finish cooling completely before slicing

Source: RecipeGirl.com (Adapted from KAF Whole Grain Baking)

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

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Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 50 min

It's like pumpkin pie tucked into the middle of coffee cake!

Ingredients:

CAKE:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
One (16 ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
STREUSEL TOPPING:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened slightly
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare cake: Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl; add eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture half at a time, alternating with half of the sour cream. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and pie spice. Keep separate.
3. Prepare topping: Mix the topping ingredients together with fork or hands until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Spoon half of the batter mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel topping over the batter. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top.
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Source: RecipeGirl.com

Spiced Pear Cake with Browned Butter Icing

Spiced Pear Cake with Browned Butter Icing

Oh yeah, see that icing drizzle?  It’s a must… an absolute must.  And you get more bang for your buck with this recipe since it makes TWO cakes

Speaking of bucks, I was at the market the other day checking out things in the baking aisle.  Gold Medal flour was 2 for $5 in my market.  With the holiday season approaching, and knowing that I’m a total baking FREAK in November and December, I stocked up big time.  Yes, the checker looked at me funny when I bought 8 bags of flour in one order!  Gold Medal has new packaging for its flour- you may have noticed some of the colorful bags on the shelves.  For this recipe, I used their Whole Wheat Flour and their Organic All-Purpose Flour.

I opted to make this recipe in two loaf pans because I like to change things up a bit and make cakes in “tea loaf” fashion now and then.  I think it works best for this recipe.  The cake bakes up much like banana bread, but it’s too sweet to call it bread.  So it’s CAKE, my friends.

Here’s the super yummy part:  BROWNED BUTTER ICING.  Do not leave off the icing.  Seriously, don’t do it.  It’s so so so easy to make, and you will want to eat it by the spoonful before you even drizzle it onto the cake.  Not that I’m advocating that or anything, but it certainly gives you a good idea of how delicious this stuff is.

S.P.O.O.K.Y.

A little slice of this cake… with those spiced pears flecked throughout… and just the right amount of browned butter icing drizzled on top… is a perfectly nice dessert for fall (and for the abundance of fresh pears available right now).

So, if you happen to be in a position where you’re considering where the best place to buy a home is for families… check out the cul-de-sacs.  They’re also a good place to be if you need to pawn off food on neighbors as much as I need to.  My neighbors act as good taste-testers, and there are a plethora of little mouths to feed too.  Remember I mentioned that this recipe makes TWO cakes?  Well, that nice neighbor who gave me the pears ended up getting them back again in one of these cakes.  Yep, I gave her a cake.  That happy-neighbor-thing is just kind of sickening to hear, isn’t it?
Well, don’t get too envious of my neighbor situation… there WAS the time that Neighbor C‘s kid sling-shot a rock into the air and it hit the windshield of my parked car and they never offered to pay for the repair… (fyi- those neighbors don’t get any of my goodies, lol!)

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Spiced Pear Cake with Browned Butter Icing

Yield: 2 loaf cakes (12 to 16 servings)

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 60 min

Ingredients:

CAKE:
3 medium to large firm pears, peeled-cored- and chopped
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Gold Medal® Whole Wheat Flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
BROWNED BUTTER ICING:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar (more or less)
4 to 5 teaspoons boiling hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Arrange your oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 5x8-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the pears with the white and brown sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, milk, oil and applesauce. Whisk in the dry ingredients until they are just mixed in (don't over-mix). Stir in the pears and all of their sweet and spicy juices too. Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, or until the loaves are baked through and test done (toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean). Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.
5. When cake is cool, prepare the icing. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the butter is lightly browned (you will see little flecks of brown throughout the melted butter when it is properly browned). Remove it from the stove and pour it into a bowl. Whisk in 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Add 3 teaspoons of the water and the vanilla. Whisk in more powdered sugar a little at a time until it thick but still pourable (add a teaspoon or two of additional water, if needed). Place paper towels under the rack and drizzle the icing onto the cakes. Serve immediately, or store in a covered container until ready to serve.

Source: RecipeGirl.com

Old Fashion Apple Pie

Filling Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 pounds of 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices of peeled and cored good cooking apples such as Granny Smith, Pippin, Golden Delicious
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brandy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe from simplyrecipies.com

Zucchini Casserole

Zucchini Casserole

1 medium zucchini chopped up and one onion chopped saute in 1 cube of butter. 

Grate 2 cups of carrots
add 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of sour cream mix all together. 
Add the cooked zucchini.

Melt 1 cube of butter and mix with 6 oz of stuffing.

Spray pan and sprinkle 1/2 of the stuffing then add all of mixture and sprinkle the rest of the stuffing on top.

Bake 350 for 20 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread                                                      Recipe from Sue Adams

Beat together:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar

Add and mix:
2 cups grated Zucchini

Add and mix:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon

Add and mix:
1 tsp vanilla

Pour into greased bread pan bake at 325 for 1 hour.  Cool and then wrap in foil.