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Crazy Simple yet Crazy Delicious Cocoa Brownies



Hello hello! I was thinking of throwing another blueberry recipe at you but how does chocolate sound instead?

Good? Keep reading. No good? Well then go find something else to do, although I do not recommend that but the choice is yours :).

This recipe is coming to you from my roommate who is not only my partner in crime but my ever ready taste tester. She is always ready to try any and everything I come up with. So it goes with out saying that I taste whatever she makes as well.

Well I came home pretty late from babysitting and saw these brownies sitting on the stove and dove right in. MMM MMM MMM!

I was honestly surprised how great they tasted. Now, that's not because I don't trust her baking and cooking. It was mainly because they were not as dark as your typical brownie. They had a lighter brown color to them, so I was expecting a light chocolate flavor and a cake like texture.

Well don't judge a book by its cover and don't judge a brownie by its color. These were dense and fudge like with out being too heavy. And they chocolate flavor was stronger than it looked which was balanced nice by adding a little extra vanilla. Again MMM MMM MMM!

So the next morning I asked her what recipe she used. She basically looked up brownies online and took the first recipe she thought was easy enough. Literally only needs, butter, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla and flour. You can go ahead and chocolate chips or walnuts or whatever you like in your brownies, but these cannot be easier. No melting chocolate or anything just mixing and baking.

If you are looking for a quick fix, of chocolate, get to baking and enjoy!

Easy Cocoa Brownies

Ingredients

4 large eggs

1 cup sugar, sifted

1 cup brown sugar, sifted

8 ounces melted butter

11/4 cups cocoa, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 or 9x13 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow.
3. Add both sugars.
4. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
5. Pour the batter into prepared dish and bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Let cool, or try to, before cutting into squares.

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

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Look at me, back in action and keeping up with my blog posting! Well now that I have somewhat of a schedule and a working computer be prepared for some OUT OF THIS WORLD recipes. Haha not really, but still quite tasty and down right Pinterest worthy right?!

This recipe is one I came up with yesterday morning. I had bought some blueberries and they were extremely plain and almost flavorless. I get it, its a tad too early for blueberries, but I could eat buckets of blueberries so whenever they are sold I can't resist and buy them knowing they are not going to be nearly as delicious and ripe as they should be. If I just wait a few more weeks I can have an endless selection of blueberries at my finger tips, being that I literally live in the blueberry capital of the world.

However, I bought the pint of blueberries. Since I did not want to eat them plain I figured I'd bake something with them. I decided to go with a good old blueberry bar. Its nice and sweet thanks to making a sauce with the blueberries and honey, but also toasty and crunch because of the oatmeal and walnuts.

Mmm mmm. I could eat the whole batch, but I won't. At least I hope I won't.

If you went out and bought blueberries a bit too early don't eat them its not worth it. Make these bars, they are well worth it!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Makes 12-16 bars

Ingredients

For the bars

• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, dark or light
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 a teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

For the Filling

• 1 2/3 cups blueberries
• 3 tablespoons honey, or sugar but I prefer honey
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• A pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line an 8 in square baking dish with parchment paper, or foil with non stick spray.
3. In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
4. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork until combined and a light crumb forms.
5. Press half of the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 12 minutes.
6. While baking the crust; Prepare filling by adding the blueberries, honey, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon juice to a medium sauce pan.
7. Stir ingredients and continue to cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, about 7 minutes.
8. Pour over crust and top with remaining mixture.
9. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of nuts over the top, and bake for about 30 minutes.
10. Let cook in pan on a wire cooling rack.
11. Once cool cut into bars and enjoy!

Cheese makes everything better....even dessert

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cream Cheese Bars

How amazing do they sound?! Who doesn't love cookie dough? And cheesecake, who can resist? Well the blend of these two amazing flavors is beyond delicious! I recommend sharing them as soon as possible because you will not be able to resist eating the whole thing. They are that good people!

I know we are all supposed to be kick starting our healthy new years resolutions but just do as I do and either pretend they are healthy or just stay on the treadmill just a big longer because you won't want to miss out on a taste of these.

They are pretty easy just three set of steps but nothing involving too much work. If  you want you can lighten it up a bit by using low fat graham crackers and low far (not fat free) cream cheese. I'm pretty sure you won't even notice the difference.

Enjoy <3!

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the cookie dough:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips

For the cheesecake filling:

• 10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper and let hang over edges slightly.
2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs together and press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 6 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until combined and smooth.
4. Add the flour and beat until just combined. 
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
6. For the cream cheese layer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
7. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until just combined.
8. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the prepared crust.
9. With your hands, form the cookie dough into clumps and drop it on top of the cream cheese mixture, covering the entire dish.
10. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cookie dough mixture is firm and the bars are set when giving the dish a slight shake.
11. Move the bars to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
12. Lift the bars out of the pan using the foil or parchment overhang. Slice into squares.
13. Try, just try, to only have one :)!

Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars

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Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars

with brown sugar butterscotch glaze

Hello hello! Here I am way behind on posting again. But it was because I have been busy getting ready to move! I signed a year lease to rent a house at the beach. So lots have been going on with that. And don't worry the house has a brand new gas stove! That was literally one of the first things I checked. So lots of great dinners and cupcakes will be coming out of that oven :). So excited!

Since I will be needing some necessities once I move out I set out to my second home, Target, planning on getting a few more pots and pans, some kitchen towels, a vacuum, and things of that matter. However, I ended up leaving with only a wine rack, wine glasses, and cupcake liners. Obviously my priorities were right in order :).

Anyways I have been doing quite a bit of cooking lately and just a bit of baking here and there. These are a little creation I came up with the other day. I really wanted to make some blondies and realized I had a bag of butterscotch chips and thought, HMMM how about butterscotch blondies. But then I kept thinking of the giant case of oatmeal I bought assuming I'd be using it all the time to bake, but have yet to do so.

Feeling bad for the un-used oatmeal, I thought of adding oatmeal to the blondies and make oatmeal bars with butterscotch.

Well it was a success! They are super sweet but nice and hearty because of the oatmeal and brown sugar. I also added a glaze to the top just to add a little extra umph of flavor. I may have added it a little too soon and the bars were not quite cooled all the way. The glaze ended up mostly soaking into the bar rather than being a layer on top. Still, they were delicious!

Enjoy <3!

Ingredients

Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour                                                                
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Glaze
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon salt

**I recommend browning the butter however melted butter will be fine. I also toasted the oatmeal in the oven for a bit while it was preheating.**

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, letting the foil hang over the edges slightly. Lightly grease the foil with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.
3. Place the 3/4 cup butterscotch chips in a large bowl.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and let the butter cook until golden brown in color.
5. Pour the butter over butterscotch chips and stir until melted and smooth.
6. Whisk in the brown sugar until combined followed by the egg and vanilla.
7. Stir in the flour mixture, just until incorporated.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top, making sure it is distributed evenly.
9. Bake the bars until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 16-18 minutes.
10. While the bars are cooling, place the 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, brown sugar, water and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl.
11. Microwave the mixture until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes on 50% power, stirring every so often.
12. Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Let the bars cool completely in the pan. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhang and cut into squares. Serve.

OHHH Snap!.....crackle & pop!

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Sophisticated, Pinky up Rice Krispie Treats

&

Not So Sophisticated Krispie Treats

Who can resist a rice krispie treat?! I know I can't. In fact, it gets pretty ugly when they are around. I cannot, literally, just have one. I mean, they are just that delicious to me what can i say lol :). Well, if you thought rice krispie treats were scrumptious in their good old fashion form, wait until you dig into these new takes on the classic treat!

I first saw a recipe from Smitten Kitchen for salted browned butter rice krispie treats back in the beginning of summer and made them pretty much 2 seconds later. I was sold by the idea of using browned butter in the recipe but was surprised by how amazing the use of the sea salt just upped the goodness! The browned butter becomes rich, nutty, almost like a deep caramel flavor that just outdoes regular melted butter. And the touch of sea salt is the perfect mixture of salty to the super sweet krispie treat. MMMMMMM I wish I had more adjectives to describe how amazing these few tweaks make these simple already delicious treats but just trust me, ok?

I like to call them my pinky up krispie treats because they are like a grown up, fancy version of a kid favorite. The fancy addition of the browned butter makes it feel as if you should be eating it on a fancy desert plate with a knife and fork, but screw that just go ahead and throw that pink up!

Now onto a more fun recipe. These remind me of the cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone creamery but it rice krispie form. MMMM cake batter :)! This is super simple and adds a depth of flavor that is familiar and easy to recognize due to adding yellow cake mix to the melted marshmallows. These are fun and flavorful and great for parties! I sprinkled rainbow jimmies into the batter before shaping them. Don't let my lack of a description not sell on these babies. They are AMAZING! They are simple, sweet, crunchy, and sticky but its the cake batter flavor that takes over and wins here. It was such a good idea and whoever thought of this, well they are amazing as and that makes me amazing too for sharing them with you!

 





Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, & extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus more to sprinkle on top
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal ( we all know we never use the full amount so that we have the extra gooey marshmallow texture)

Coat with non-stick spray an 8-inch square baking dish with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Let it melt until it begins to foam. Now keep an eye on this pot as the butter with now continue to foam and turn clear, then a golden color. Soon (DO NOT WALK AWAY) it will turn brown and will smell nutty and deep.

Stir with a silicon spatula, and keep stirring because you do not want burnt butter.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color and smell, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows.

The melted butter should melt the marshmallows. However if not put over low heat until melted and remove from heat.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. You might need to use a little muscle to make sure it is all incorporated.

Quickly spread into prepared dish with silicon spatula. Sometimes a little nonstick spray on spatula helps but, I don't mind when some sticks because that's more for me to eat while cleaning up :).

      *Easy tip*- Instead of pushing down with spatula I kind of smack the top of the krispie treats so that my spatula has less of a chance of sticking* 

If you don't want to dig right in....once they've cooled cut into large squares and ENJOY!

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

3 tablespoons butter

1 10-ounce bag of marshmallows

1/4 cup yellow cake mix

6 cups rice krispies cereal (as mentioned before, as much or as little of the 6cups you prefer)

1 1.75-ounce container of jimmies(sprinkles)

Spray baking dish (perferably 8inch) with non stick spray, just a light coat.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows.

Stir to melt, adding in cake mix a little at a time until combined.

Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture (again a little muscle needed).

Sprinkle in half of the jimmies and mix.

Press into a baking dish and top with remaining jimmies.

Let cool before cutting into squares.



So Good! So Good!

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Butter Cocoa Bars
with chocolate sauce and salted caramel topping

So I woke up this morning determined to work out and kick start my daily running routine but I got distracted and side tracked.....by food of course!

 I don't how or why, but I was thinking of this amazing fudge I had while traveling around California last fall. I really have no idea  where this thought came from but I'm not complaining. It was this dark chocolate salted caramel fudge from Sonomoa Cheese Factory. They have AMAZING goodies in their downtown Sonoma store. Check them out here.

  First off, let me warn you. I was wine tasting all morning when I arrived here. I'm guessing this was the reason behind why I thought it was ok to buy a massive hunk of this fudge and not share it, or even save some for later. But regardless I will never forget how HEAVENLY this fudge was. It was the only fudge I sampled (and they had quite the variety). I didn't even consider trying another. This one called out to my wine drunk stomach  and we made a pact that I would be devoted to only that fudge.

HAHA anyways. This is what I came up with based on the ingredients I had. I wish I made the bottom less buttery and more chocolatey but still yummy. And I think next time I'm going to skip adding powder sugar into the topping and leave it more of just plain old brown sugar caramel. sauce rather than a frosting. But regardless it was still yummy!

Butter Cocoa Bars

Ingreidents

•  2/3 C butter
• 4 squares semisweet chocolate ( 1 oz ea.)
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 C sugar
• 1 1/2 C flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt butter and chocolate together, cool for 10 min. Double boiler system or microwave safe dish at 30 second intervals.
3. In bowl beat eggs and salt until foamy.
4. Gradually add sugar and mix well. 
5. Stir in chocolate mixture.
6. Combine flour and baking powder and gradually add into chocolate mixture.
7. Pour into greased 13x9 pan. 
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Salted Caramel Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
• 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Whole Milk.
• 2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
• Sea Salt, for topping

Directions 

1.  In a sauce pot, combine butter and brown sugar and turn heat to medium heat until comes to a slow boil.
2. Add milk and bring back to boil.
3. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Use a wooden spoon to stir until powdered sugar is fully combined and mixture is creamy. If the mixture has some clumps, then strain before using.
4. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before pouring (all) of the mixture on top of the brownies. Sprinkle immediately with sea salt or kosher salt. Let set up, around 10 minutes, before cutting into squares

GIMMIE S'MORE!

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HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

Hope everyone was enjoying the lovely holiday and celebrating the right way by eating lots of good ol' American BBQ food!!!!!

Well in the spirit of the holiday I thought I would make a suitable desert. I really wanted to make a cupcake but honestly it was just too nice outside so I wanted to do something that did not require scooping and measuring and decorating.

I have been craving s'mores and waiting for a great night, and time, to have a good bon fire and eat way too many of them. So since I had stuff for s'mores i thought hmmm how perfect. I mean s'mores are just as american as you can get. Now what to make instead of just pre-assembled s'mores. Who wants that. The whole point of eating a s'more is the enjoyment in making it.

 I came up with a gooey, buttery, chocolate and sticky bar just perfect for the 4th of july. It's like a fancy, pinky up when you eat it, s'more. Although they are just way to sticky and yummy to even worry about putting those pinky up! I have to pre-warn you that they are seriously addictive and the perfect end to a BBQ.

NOTE: taste enhanced when enjoyed under fireworks, lol.

Just look at that deliciousness!

BTW: we literally had to move these inside because we couldn't stop eating them and we would have none left for  the fireworks :)

Ok so these are actually super easy to make just take a few simple steps. They are made in layers basically, starting with the graham cracker crust. I just mashed a bunch of whole crackers and tossed them with some melted butter. You can but a box of  graham cracker crumbs ready to go but thats just no fun! Then i melted semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can use dark chocolate just as a bit more sugar when mixing, but i wouldnt recomend milk chocolate. It jus wont taste as devine!) Those two steps are the hardest so if you can handle this you are good to go.

Oh side note-if melting chips in microwaves do it in 20-30 second intervals n stir to help melt because you dont want to burn the chocolate. If doing it the double boiler style just watch from getting any steam or water into the chocolate. The mico works fine just take time n stir as to not burn the chocolate.

OK here is the recipe :

S’more’s Bars

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter; melted

For the brownie layer:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the topping:
20 large marshmallows; cut in half

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square metal baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, 6 tablespoons of melted butter in a bowl and mix until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Allow crust to cool on wire rack.
Turn the oven temperature up to 400 degrees and prepare the brownie layer.
In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir often, and remove from heat when a few lumps remain. Stir until smooth.
Add in sugar, vanilla and salt. Followed by the eggs(one at a time) and finally the flour. Stir until very smooth, about 1 minute, until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 18 minutes.
 Let cool completely, then lift out using the foil and place brownies onto a broiler safe pan. Move your oven rack about 6 inches from your broiler and preheat your broiler to low.
Layer marshmallows (sticky side down) across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, about 2 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they burn easy and quickly.
Cool and cut into squares....if you can wait for them to cool!