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Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes With Tangy Orange Vanilla Buttercream

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Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes With Tangy Orange Vanilla Buttercream 1

Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes With Tangy Orange Vanilla Buttercream



I want Autumn! I want Autumn! I want Autumn!! *Falls on the floor in a raging temper tantrum, kicking and screaming*

Sorry. I’m fine now. But I really am about done with Summer. I’m tired of trying to keep up with the weeds in the yard. Ok, I got tired of it a few weeks ago and my flower area now looks like a mini forest. I’m pretty sure there are fairies and elves hiding down in there, having nightly parties with my now lost in the weeds ceramic froggie. I heard him ribbiting for help a few days ago, but I was afraid to venture in and look for him. Russ would have had to send in the national guard to find ME.

What does any of this have to do with brownie cupcakes? Not a thing. I just felt like whining and making all of you have to listen. It works for my six year old; why not for me, too?

These are quite tasty. They are yet one more incarnation of the brown butter brownies I first made back in early 2013 (please forgive the completely atrocious photo in that post!) and have used in various ways since then. They really are some of the best brownies around. They are very chocolatey (which I was skeptical of with just cocoa, but they are), rich, with a mild nutty back flavor from the brown butter. In THIS incarnation, they are made into little cupcakes and then covered with a creamy, tangy orange buttercream that perfectly complements the brownie. So simple to make these, yet they are good enough for more than just the kids school lunches. Though they are great for that, too.

You know the drill…. 🙂

Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes With Tangy Orange Vanilla Buttercream

  • Brownie Cupcakes-
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened powder (NOT drink mix)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon orange oil or orange extract (don’t use more here. The frosting is the orangey part. The little bit in here is just to tie it all together.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
  • Orange Vanilla Buttercream-
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 – 2/12 cups powdered sugar
  1. Position oven rack in the bottom third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
  2. Place foil cupcake liners (you can use the paper ones, but the foil comes off the brownies so much easier) into the cups of a muffin tin. I got ten brownie cupcakes from this.
  3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter isn’t foaming anymore and there are browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir often and keep an eye on this. It can go from lovely browned butter to a smelly burned mess in no time flat.
  4. Remove from the heat and immediately add in the cocoa, sugar, water, vanilla, orange oil and salt. Stir until well mixed.
  5. Let cool five minutes. Add the cold eggs to the hot mixture, one at a time, beating well (by hand) after each addition. When the mixture is thick and glossy, add in the flour. Beat for 60 or so strokes.
  6.  Divide the batter evenly between the lined cupcake wells. Use about 1/4 cup for each. Bake at 325 until they a skewer inserted in the middle of one comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it; no loose batter and not completely clean, either. This will take from 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 3 minutes, then gently take each cupcake out and let it finish cooling on a rack.
  7. As they cool, make your buttercream, which is easy peasy. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time (I always start by hand so that I and my whole house don’t end up covered in the powdery sugar). Beat until fluffy, smooth and creamy. You want a nice thick pipeable/spreadable frosting. After adding two cups of the sugar, beat well at high speed for about a full five minutes. If it’s a bit too thick, just drizzle in a touch more orange juice; a bit too thin, just add that last 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
  8. Spread or pipe onto the cooled brownies and garnish as desired (I grated more zest over the tops)

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Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes With Tangy Orange Vanilla Buttercream

Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes With Tangy Orange Vanilla Buttercream

 

 

 

Blackberry Cheesecake Bars

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Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies 1

Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies



I am an avid reader of magazines that involve cooking. Be it straight out cooking mags like Bon Appetit, Saveur, Food Network and Food & Wine, or others like Family Circle and Womans Day, I am subscribed to them all. I search until I find them for wonderful prices like $5.99 a year (honest Injun… you can get some great deals on magazines if you look around; and not just the “womens” mags either!!) and then and only then will I get them. Then, when I’m done with them, which includes tearing out recipes I want to try, they go to the residents at the long term care facility my husband works at. The residents there never lack for magazines to look at, I’ll tell you that much!

Sadly though, even when I tear out recipes from the ones like Woman Day or Family Circle, I never have a whole lot of success with the recipes themselves. I’m not sure if it is a lack of proper testing at the test kitchens or what, but there ALWAYS seems to be an issue or two that needs fixed. I got this recipe from Womans Day and it was, unfortunately, no exception. I lost the paper version, so had to look it up online and found it on their site, but the recipe itself was so fraught with errors in direction and ingredients that I had to pick through it and work with it. I’m an experienced cook, so it turned out delicious, but I shudder to think what would have happened with a novice cook. The pan size was wrong, the sugar measurements were off, etc etc.

BUT!!! Like I said, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck yesterday when it comes to cooking (yet another saying about which I ask, “wth does that even mean!?”), so I fixed the “boo-boos”. Once done, this is a delicious cheesecake bar. It uses up some of the last of the season fresh blackberries quite nicely. You have a VERY rich brownie base layered with a creamy cheesecake filling and finally that part is swirled with fresh blackberries. So your mouth gets a nice mix of “ooo, chocolate. No, creamy. No, berries!” to keep you guessing.

So, you know the drill. Get to cooking!

Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies

  • Brownie base-
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, divided
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Cheesecake filling-
  • 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, room temp
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 6 ounces blackberries, mashed (one small container)
  1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch square pan with foil, leaving enough to overhand the edges of the pan. You’ll use that as a handle later to lift the brownies out of the pan. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a small pot, over low heat, melt together the butter and 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate chips, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when melted and set aside.
  3. Whisk together the 3/4 cup flour, the cocoa powder and the salt. In a large bowl, on low speed with a hand held mixer,  combine the sugars and the 3 eggs. beat JUST until combined. Stir in the flour mixture and the last 1/2 cup of semi sweet chips. Gently fold the chocolate/butter mixture into this. Set aside to make the cheesecake batter.
  4. Wash your beaters and in a large bowl, on low speed, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. beat just until smooth and creamy. Add in the 2 eggs and the vanilla extract; beat just until combined.
  5. Scoop about half the brownie batter (about 1 1/2 cups) of the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth. Top that with half of the cheesecake batter, then the last half of the brownie batter. Carefully pour the other half of the cheesecake batter on top and gently smooth it out.
  6. Put dollops of the smashed blackberries on top of the cheesecake batter and use a butter knife to swirl it through the batter, being careful not to reach down into the brownie part (though the world won’t end if you do)
  7. Bake at 350 degrees just until the top is set, about an hour. The edges will be set, but the center should still have the tiniest bit of a jiggle to it. It will finish setting up as it cools.
  8. Let cool in the pan for an hour, then refrigerate for at least two hours to overnight to finish firming up.
  9. Use the foil “handles” to lift the brownies out onto a cutting board and then use a large serrated knife to cut into bars, dipped in hot water and wiped dry in between each cut.

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Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies

Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

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Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies



I’ve come to the realization that I am always going to be a year or so behind everyone else when it comes to trying new things, be it watching a TV show, shopping certain places or trying new foods. When everyone else was watching Glee, I refused. I started watching it on netflix after season two. I then stopped mid season 4 because it sucked, but that is neither here nor there. Greys Anatomy? End of season six is when I started watching. Stopped watching that also, because they got into subject matter I disliked. I have a hard time finding a modern show I can stick with :-p I’m also that person who didn’t realize what a wonderful place Target was until about a year and a half ago. Now, like most women over 12 and under 95, it’s one of my favorite stores.

When it comes to foods, same thing. I didn’t try a Macaron until about a year ago and now I love them. I still haven’t tried making them myself though. Easier just to buy them frozen at Trader Joes. 😀 I didn’t try salted caramel until MAYBE two years ago, a full couple of years after you could find salted caramel everything (salted caramel shoe leather anyone? Maybe a nice salted caramel beef tongue?) on every food page on the internet. That’s one I regret not trying sooner, but live and learn. Stubbornness has its drawbacks and I doubt I’ll be changing anytime soon. The plus though is that, when everyone else has moved past it, yet it’s still a loved flavor, like salted caramel, you don’t have to compete with 5000000 posts each day to get seen. The rest of the foodie world has moved onto marinated llama feet in a balsamic reduction, so the salted caramel treats stand out more 😀

One thing I only recently tried was the whole sweet/salty idea. Sure, I’d had chocolate covered pretzels, which I don’t care for to be honest, but the idea of purposely sprinkling salt on top of a sweet food bewildered me. Until I tried it. Just trust me on this if you’re still as hesitant as I was. Will I be sprinkling salt on a Twinkie anytime soon? No. But on chocolate? It adds an indefinable something to the flavor.

I’ve made browned butter brownies more than once in here and they are still a favorite, but these are totally over the top. Moist, chewy browned butter brownies and creamy chocolate chunks, covered with gooey salted caramel, then MORE salted caramel and some coarse salt for crunch and contrast. Totally delicious!

You know the drill….

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1  teaspoon instant coffee (optional; my addition. You can’t taste it, it just rounds out the chocolate flavor)
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks or chips
  • 1/2 cup good quality salted caramel sauce plus more for drizzling
  • coarse salt for sprinkling on top

 

  • Position oven rack in the bottom third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
  • Line an 8 inch square pan with foil, letting it hang over the edges to use as a handle later. Lightly butter or spray the foil with cooking spray.
  • Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter isn’t foaming anymore and there are browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir often and keep an eye on this. It can go from lovely browned butter to a smelly burned mess in no time flat. This will probably take about 5 minutes or so.
  • Remove from the heat and immediately add in the cocoa, sugar, water, vanilla and salt. Stir well.
  • Let cool five minutes. Add the cold eggs to the hot mixture, one at a time, beating well (by hand) after each addition. When the mixture is thick and glossy, add in the flour. Beat well by hand for one minute.
  • Stir in chocolate chips or chunks. Spread batter into the prepared pan. Drizzle the salted caramel sauce over the top of the batter. You could swirl it in if preferred, but I just let it lay on top, where it gets all bubbly and more or less melts into the batter.
  • Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out almost, but not quite, clean. Cool the pan on a rack then lift out by the edges of the paper. Cut into 16 squares. Drizzle more salted caramel  over the top of the brownies and sprinkle with coarse salt. Enjoy!

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Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze

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Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze

Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze

 

When I first moved to this side of Kentucky, I missed all the big malls that were in the Louisville area. We pay for the beauty of this side of the state with a bit of isolation. Now, I’ve never been a Mall Rat by any stretch of the imagination, but I did sorely miss things like Cinnabon, The Hallmark Store and Godiva. So I was tickled when I finally got into the “big” city of Lexington (where I lived then was about 3000 people and where I am now about 17,000 for the whole town, but only a few hundred in the area I live in, with NO civilization at all) and found a mall. One of the places I absolutely loved to go to in there was a coffee shop. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name now, but I loved it. Sadly, they closed a few years after I found it. Things like that happen near me. I’m that person who gets into the check out lane and the computer breaks JUST after I set all my groceries down; that person who discovers an amazing new product only to have it discontinued a month after I find it, with no chance to even stock up.

Without fail, every time I went to this shop, I got the same thing, something that I have seen nowhere since (though I make my own version now). It was half coffee, half hot chocolate, with a shot of orange syrup and copious amounts of cinnamon sprinkled on top.. So, so delicious. The flavors of the chocolate, the cinnamon and the orange all combined together into pretty much the perfect coffee drink. When I make it for myself now, it is usually during the Winter and nine times out of ten, I will add a shot of my favorite brandy . What!? It makes it extra delicious and toe warming. 😀

So, when I was deciding what to make here, brownies popped into my head, at which point I smacked myself upside the head and said, “Janet, you just want brownies and you already have 72 different ones here.” So, after telling myself to shut up, I realized myself…erhmmm, I, was correct. I needed to DO something with said brownies. So I turned them into a brownie version of my favorite coffee drink. And oh my, these are decadently delicious. The brownies are soft and fudgy with hints of cinnamon and orange. The glaze is glossy perfection with a chocolate orange taste that is amazing (if I do say so myself). In case you can’t tell, I rather like these. Which is why most are going to work with Russell tomorrow, so I don’t have to be put into a piano case when I die.

You know the drill…

Mrs. Cupcake… who wants to be cremated, not buried in a piano case, thankyouverymuch.

Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze 

  • Brownies-
  • 5 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cup up
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons orange oil , preferably Boyajian
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • Glaze-
  • 3 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange oil
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • chocolate covered coffee beans and orange zest for garnish
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 inch baking pan with foil and butter the bottom of the foil.
  2. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.Microwave at 60% power for 60 seconds, then stir. If not fully melted, microwave at full power for ten seconds; stir. Let cool for five minutes.
  3. Add the sugar to the chocolate mixture; beat well with a wooden spoon or whisk. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Add in the corn syrup, vanilla extract and the orange oil. beat just until combined.
  4. Stir in the flour, salt, instant coffee and cinnamon. Beat just until combined.
  5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees until the top is matte looking and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs on it.
  6. Let cool in the pan, on a rack, for about 2 hours or until completely cool.
  7. Make the glaze- In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Microwave at 60% power for about 30 seconds. Stir to help the chocolate finish melting. Add in the rest of the glaze ingredients and beat gently until it is a shiny cohesive glaze. Spread over the cooled brownies. For easier cutting, place the pan of brownies in the fridge for at least an hour to let the glaze set up.
  8. Cut into small squares; these are rich. Garnish each square with a chocolate covered coffee bean and some orange zest.

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Fudgy Almond Praline Brownies

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Fudgy Almond Praline Brownies

Fudgy Almond Praline Brownies



I…am…soooo…tired. I’m sure many of you have heard of what my husband and I call “Wikipedia Syndrome”. It’s where you go to wiki for one article and from that one, see another to look at and then another 4 from that one and then you find yourself with 33 tabs open, all with articles you want to read, most of which have gone so far off topic from the original article that you couldn’t remember it if you tried. Well, I did something similar last night. I was laying awake, Russ snoring to wake the dead next to me and I decided to listen to a certain video. Next thing I knew, three hours had passed and I had Wikipedia syndromed myself into watching about 40,000 videos. I now know every crevice of John Legends face, have watched videos by Christina Perri that SHE has probably forgotten she made and have fallen in voice love with Christina Aguilera (she is far better than I ever gave her credit for). I also now need toothpicks to prop my eyelids open, but hey… John Legend. Music. It was worth it.

I think.

What is definitely worth it though is these brownies. (Didya see my neat little segue there? Did ya, did ya, did ya? Look ma, no hands! Watch me, mom!! Ok, I’ll stop now. Sorry.) These are some intense brownies. They are dense enough to be almost candy like and the topping, which I was afraid would be overly sweet, really isn’t. That’s not to say it isn’t sweet, it is, but it’s actually a nice foil for the brownies. The topping sets up to a firm candy like praline that crackles when you cut through it and the brownies will take of any chocolate craving you have; for the next year. Plus the toffee bits in the brownies themselves add their own nice textural contrast. Cut these babies small. I promise; you don’t need a large piece to be satisfied.

The brownie recipe is lightly adapted from one from King Arthur Flour and the topping also lightly adapted from good old Betty Crocker.

You know the drill….

Mrs. Cupcake… who needs more toothpicks for eye props.

Fudgy Almond Praline Brownies

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder or espresso powder (using this much DOES lend a slight mocha flavor to the brownies, which I wanted- decrease the amount if you don’t)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 8 ounce package Heath Toffee Bits
  • Topping-
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup sliced almond, lightly toasted and cooled
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 inch pan with foil and lightly butter or spray the foil.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the 4 eggs with the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, instant coffee and vanilla extract until smooth. it will be very thick.
  3. In a small pot, combine the butter and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted.  let cool for about 5 minutes, then stir it into the chocolate mixture.
  4. Add in the flour, stirring until smooth, then fold in the toffee bits.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out with just a few moist crumbs on it and the edges of the brownies should look set, with the middle still looking moist, but not uncooked. Let cool in the pan on a rack while you make the topping.
  6. For the topping, combine the butter and brown sugar in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, then immediately remove from the heat. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla and stir well. Gently fold in the sliced almonds. Let the topping sit for five minutes, stirring every minute or so to distribute the almonds, then pour the mixture evenly over the brownies, smoothing it as needed.
  7. Let sit for an hour or two to set the topping. Your best bet is to set it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to make sure the topping is completely set and doesn’t ooze when you slice the brownies.
  8. Slice into small squares and serve with plenty of hot black coffee…or tea..or, heck with it, a beer. I won’t judge.

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Easy Caramel Pecan Brownies

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Easy Caramel Brownies

Easy Caramel Brownies



I first saw this recipe back in like 1984 or 1985 or so, just after I got married to my ex. I was deep into the newlywed “cut out recipes and save them” phase. I got it from, of all places, TV Guide. This was back when TV guide was interesting. It was about the size of a Readers Digest magazine, had a fair amount of articles in it and a nice synopsis of practically every show that came on. They also had a piece at times highlighting celebrity recipes. This one came from John Davidson (yes, I realize fully half of you have no idea who he is, lol while the rest of you are googling his name as you think, “Wow. Is he even still alive? He’s like 200 years old, right?”)) and was aptly titled “John Davidsons Brownies”. The TV Guide people were somewhat lacking in imagination. I guess they used all their creativity describing episodes of M*A*S*H or The Waltons and had none left for recipe titles.

Since then, it has, as most recipes do anymore, swept the web under many different guises with some people (who obviously forget that the rest of us can google) going so far as to say they made these up. You can find it under “Turtle Brownies”, “Cake Mix Brownies” and 900 other names. But it’s still always the same basic recipe. This is one of those times when you don’t want to try to be fancy. No homemade caramel sauce here… no from scratch cake. Normally, I would balk at wrapped cheap caramels, but know what? They totally work here. I hadn’t made these in forever and I had forgotten how good they are. They are intensely chocolatey (in part because I use a chocolate fudge cake mix, not the German chocolate one originally called for), gooey from the caramel and they have a nice crunch from the nuts. I’m not usually a nut person (just nutty personally) but they also help cut the sweetness in the brownies. That way you can eat more of them! 😀

About all I do differently from the original is the cake mix flavor, plus I use half and half rather than the evaporated milk it used and I add about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter.

So what do we have here? Intensely chocolatey brownies, gooey caramel and crunchy nuts. And they’re so easy you can let the kids make them and you can sit and watch old M*A*S*H reruns.  Yeah, you want these.

You know the drill…

Easy Caramel Brownies

  • 1 box dark chocolate fudge cake mix (or whatever chocolate flavor trips your trigger)
  • 1/4 cup half and half
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 14 ounce bag caramels (I use Kraft)
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted in a 350 oven (the toasting is optional, but it’s a really good idea)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 inch pan with foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon (or whatever, just do this by hand) combine the cake mix, 1/4 cup half and half, vanilla extract and the melted butter.. It will be a fairly stiff batter; you didn’t do anything incorrectly. Press about half of this (may take a touch more) into the bottom of the prepared pan. It will be a thin layer.
  3. Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes while you prepare the caramels.
  4. Unwrap the caramels and put them, along with the 1/2 cup of half and half, in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave for one minute, stir, then microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each one, until they are melted and smooth. Mine take about  two and a half minutes.
  5. Take the brownies out, sprinkle the pecans on top of them, then the chocolate chips. Pour the caramel sauce in an even layer over this. Then, use your hands to break up small pieces of the remaining brownie batter and place it all over the caramel. It will NOT cover the whole thing. You’ll end up with a rather cobblestone look.
  6. Place the pan back in the oven and continue baking until the top is firm and set and the caramel is bubbly, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  7. Let cool for at least an hour, then pull them out using the foil and cut into pieces. They are fairly rich, so it doesn’t take much to satisfy anyone but the most addicted chocoholic. In other words, me. Heck, just cut big squares. Who am I kidding?

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Cookies And Cream Brownies

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Cookies And Cream Brownies 2


My youngest son started Kindergarten this year. It’s strange being the mother of a five year old at my age of fifty. I see most of the other parents and they are the approximate age of my own older kids. Talk about weird. One expects the parents of your childs peers to be YOUR peers, but here I am, happily looking like granny (ok, in my own defense, I’m fifty but guessed at early 40’s. Thank you, Loreal and fat padding in chubby cheeks :-D.) and the other parents have nose piercings and tattoos with modern sentiments that leave me saying “huh?”, waiting in the pick up line with their e-cigs hanging out the window, listening to rap on their radios, drinking an energy drink while they browse the net on their smartphones. And me? I’m the one wearing a baggy t shirt and stretch pants, listening to Contemporary Christian while I read Saveur magazine and drink a decaf latte and look at basic texts form my husband on my 25 dollar wal-mart phone. Yeah, I fit in well. Russ and I thought about sneaking into the school for the Grandparents day lunch. Then I looked at pics of some from another local school and realized that half of the grandparents are younger than us also. Welcome to the South, huh?

One of the things that drives me nuts waiting in the pick up line (beyond the rap music) is how, even now, when school has been going for a month here, the people helping students in and out of the car act like we are total idiots. Yes, we know by now to keep driving and not slow down the line. You standing there, waving your hand frantically in the air as if you’re warding off a horde of hungry wasps, is simply annoying me to the point where I want to stop dead, pretend my car died and see how fast your hands really CAN move. Yes, yes, I am ornery. Why do you ask? But seriously, we know the routine. Why, oh why, must they act as if we are six? Mind you, some of the parents look that way to my aging eyes, but I’m assuming they really aren’t. 😛

Make these brownies.  Oreos, fudgy brownie,  chocolate, did I mention Oreos? And chocolate?

These are typical brownies as far as cooking goes. They go together quickly and really, homemade isn’t much more difficult than boxed and while I’ll admit to liking boxed every once in a while for the chewy factor, fudgy and homemade trumps that every time.

You know the drill…. 🙂

Have I told you lately how much I adore you? No? Consider yourself adored.

Cookies And Cream Brownies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
  • 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs, room temp
  • 1 2/3 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 20 coarsely chopped Oreo cookies of your choice, plus 3 more for the top of the brownies (I used the Mint Oreos; use your favorite)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 baking pan with foil and grease the foil.
  2. In a large saucepot, combine the butter and the chocolate. melt over medium heat, stirring frequently, until smooth.
  3. Beat in the sugar, salt and vanilla, then set aside off the heat to cool for five minutes
  4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. Stir in the flour and cocoa, stirring just until combined.
  6. Fold in the crushed Oreo’s (not the three for the top) and then pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing down the top. Sprinkle the reserved three crushed oreo’s over the top of the batter, pressing them down lightly.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with moist, but not liquidy crumbs on it. Let cool in the pan on a rack, then use the foil as a handle to pull the whole slab out of the pan for slicing.

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Chewy Salted Caramel Hazelnut Cheesecake Brownies

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Chewy Salted Caramel Hazelnut Brownies

Chewy Salted Caramel Hazelnut Brownies




I’ve come to the realization that, during the Summer, I am NOT a prolific blogger. I bake like the dickens (what IS a dickens anyway and do they even bake?) during the fall, Winter and early Spring, but I live in Kentucky in a house with an A/C system that barely works when it’s hot out and I have asthma; not a good combination when trying to bake lol.

Weeks ago I said I was going to make some Nutella Brownies. Today the temp wasn’t bad so FINALLY I got around to it. Erhmmm, kind of. You see, I have the great honor of being mom to six kids, three of whom still live at home, with two of those being teenage walking stomachs boys. So what did I find when I went into the cabinet to grab the Nutella? An almost empty jar with incriminating spoon marks in it. Gee, wonder how THAT happened? So I went to the back up jar of Nutella wanna be imported from Italy that I got at Big Lots. And know what? That crap is Nasty with a capital nas! I wouldn’t feed that to my worst enemy. Welllll, I know of one woman I used to be friends with that I might feed it to as well as one ultra controlling ex boyfriend. 😀

So, being the inventive soul that I am (be nice and work with me here…) what did I do? I got out the jar of Jif Salted Caramel Hazelnut Spread that I keep on hand for emergencies. Those emergencies being when I am craving something sweet and delude myself into thinking that since this is made with nuts, it’s good for me. Point being, this is some yummy stuff! Not Nutella, I admit that, but it has a unique flavor of its own; sweet, salty, with an undertone of caramel to go with the hazelnuts.

Then when I was in the fridge getting eggs, I saw the cream cheese and I immediately thought of cheesecake brownies! So that’s what we have here- deep dark and chewy chocolate brownies swirled with a salted caramel hazelnut cheesecake, then topped with some salted caramel sauce. Can we spell decadence, class?? And OMG? Wait, that one is rather self explanatory. My bad. And maybe even “please don’t share these with anyone that you don’t want to have following you around the house whimpering like a puppy to get more from you”. Just sayin’. And you don’t really have to spell that last part. I understand.

You know the drill….

Salted Caramel Hazelnut Cheesecake Brownies

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup Jif Salted Caramel Hazelnut Spread
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (not a typo; you need some for the swirl and the brownie batter)
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • salted caramel sauce for drizzling n top (I used Trader Joes brand)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a greased 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the hazelnut spread, 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla extract. Beat well to combine. Set aside while you make the brownie batter.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and the 2 1/4 cups sugar. Beat well for 3 to 4 minutes. Add in the eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Beat well.
  4. Add in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix the batter just until it is combined.
  5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth down.
  6. Drop spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter on top of the brownie batter and swirl it into the brownie batter using a butter knife.
  7. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with no liquid batter on it, though a few moist crumbs are fine.
  8. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about an hour.
  9. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the brownies out of the pan. Let them cool completely on the rack. Wrap loosely and refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight. Take them out about an hour before you’re ready to serve them so that they will be easier to cut. Cut into squares of whatever size makes you happy; no 1/2 inch tidbits mentioned in THIS blog 😛
  10. Drizzle each square (chunk, half pan…whatever, I don’t judge) with some salted caramel sauce. Serve these with ice cold milk or some hot coffee. Thank me later.

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Fudgy Brownies With Mini Peanut Butter Cups

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Fudgy Brownies With Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Fudgy Brownies With Mini Peanut Butter Cups




We all know I am NOT a fan of peanut butter. Well, to qualify again, not “normal” peanut butter. I do have a soft spot for Peanut Butter & Company’s Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter and Jifs new Salted Caramel Hazelnut is pretty amazing as peanut butter type spreads go. You’ll notice I did NOT say it was “to die for”. I believe I’ve mentioned before that that is one of those phrases that makes me want to gouge my eardrums out with a spoon. That one along with “EVOO” and “Sammy”. Damn you for your evil influence, Rachael Ray, damn you. But back on tangent, as much as it possible for me, no “to die for”…. I will only die for medium rare ribeyes and roasted brussel sprouts. I have my standards.

But every once in a while, cause I love you all so much (“I just cain’t quit you” 😛 ), I have to make something peanut buttery for all of you. I realize how peculiar I am with my dislike of PB.  I realize how peculiar I am for many reasons and that that is but one of many, but lets not go there.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with these. Yes, they have a strong peanut buttery taste so those of you into that will love that aspect, but they are also fudgy/chewy enough and of course, chocolatey enough, that even I enjoyed them. They have a perfect, shiny crackly top crust, which I personally love. I found myself, after cutting off the edges, picking up stray bites here and there. Sooo chewy and yummy. 😀 Oh yeah, just for good measure, I threw in a bag of Heath Chips, so that added yet another level of crunchy, salty/sweet goodness. You can thank me later. 😀

You know the drill… 🙂

Fudgy Brownies With Mini Peanut Butter Cups

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten (use a large bowl)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 8 ounces mini peanut butter cups (I used Trader Joes Brand)
  • 1 bag (12 ounces) Heath Bar chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11×7 glass pan (I used a standard Pyrex) or a 13×9 inch pan. If you use the 13×9, be more aware of your cooking time as these will cook quicker.
  2. Melt your butter in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add the chocolate, stir once, then remove the pot form the heat. Let it sit for five minutes then stir for about 2 minutes to finish melting the chips.
  3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend.
  4. Slowly pour the chocolate mixture over the beaten eggs, whisking the whole time. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat well.
  5. Pour in the flour and beat JUST until combined. Fold in the peanut butter cups and heath chips.
  6. Spoon into the prepared pan. bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes or until the top is shiny, firm and crackly looking and inserting a skewer in the center shows only a few moist crumbs, not a loose or liquidy batter.
  7. Let cool in the pan on a rack until thoroughly cool before cutting. You cut them before this and you will get goop. Tasty goop, but goop nonetheless. If you have these room temp, they are creamier and silkier in texture. If you chill them, they take on more of a candylike fudge texture. try it both ways to see which you prefer. 🙂

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Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

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Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

 


Out of my six kids, three are already grown and married and I have 7 grandkids. Yes… seven. Four from my oldest son and 3 from my only daughter. My son Cameron and his wife Tiffany haven’t decided if I am getting any from them, the boogerheads. But that’s ok… I mean, here I am, at the age of 29 with 7 grandkids! That should keep me going, right? At my young age? (You’re falling for this, aren’t you? Humor me here.)

My daughter in law Tiffany has a strange addiction to anything Red Velvet. Until I met her years back, I had never even tasted anything red velvet-ish. Not even once. Truthfully, I still prefer my chocolate cakes, cupcakes and brownies to be a deeper chocolate flavor but I can see the allure that red velvet has for others, so I make it. Don’t get me wrong… I also eat it when I make it lol.

Tiffy unfortunately wouldn’t like this version. Why? Because it has mint and as much as she loves red velvet, she has an aversion to mint. We keep her around even in light of these fatal flaws of heres.

These however are a chocolate/mint/red velvet/ cheesecake/  lovers dream. You get all of these things all mixed up in these brownies. They are a peppermint red velvet brownie swirled with a creamy vanilla cheesecake topping.. Ummm, I think I will manage to eat one or two or eight of these even without being a major fan hehehe.  These are a slightly cakey brownie when they first cool, but if you refrigerate them, they get fudgier and firmer, which is more to my liking. They are also easier to cut that way. These brownies don’t take but a few minutes to throiw together and get into the oven, then they have an approximately half hour bake time. So these are perfect for those “oh crap, I need something for that church Christmas dinner” or just as an easy treat for your family or best yet, as a pretty brownie to put out on your Christmas cookie tray.

These originally came from Southern Living. I made very little in the way of changes, just the type of chocolate used and the amount of cream cheese in the topping and I quadrupled the amount of peppermint extract. The original called for 1/4 teaspoon and first time I made these, I couldn’t taste even a hint of peppermint. Not a bit.

You know the drill….

Red Velvet Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

  • 2 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/3 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 small (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • pinch salt
  • 6 ounces cream cheese, room temp
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • crushed peppermint candies to sprinkle on top (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 inch pan with foil, making sure to have enough to overhang the pan somewhat and then grease the foil.
  2. Microwave the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl at about 60% power for 1 minute. Stir, then do again in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted.
  3. Stir in 2 cups of the sugar, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until well blended after each one. Add the food coloring, the peppermint extract and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla; mix well. Add in the 1 1/2 cups flour and mix just until the flour is blended in.
  4. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
  5. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, the remaining vanilla, egg whites and 2 tablespoons flour. Beat well.
  6. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the top of the brownie batter and swirl in with a butter knife.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 30 to 34 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool on a rack in the pan for about an hour, then use the foil to lift the brownies out onto a cutting board. Carefully remove the foil and cut the brownies into bars. Store these tightly wrapped in the fridge.

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