Brownies with white chocolate and raspberries

I think that whenever inspiration fails me when I want to bake something I bake brownies: I can’t think of any other baked good that is a hit with pretty much everyone I know. Not to mention that I absolutely love brownie batter: when I could still eat dairy I would always leave some batter left in the bowl for my own moment of happiness while the brownies were in the oven. :)

The brownies I bring you today combine the tart flavor of raspberries with the sweetness of white chocolate: nothing like sour or citrus kick to make white chocolate even more special. However, raspberries go well with all kinds of chocolates, so I have made this exact same recipe using both milk and dark chocolate chips to replace the white chocolate and it worked like a charm.

Brownies with white chocolate and raspberries
own recipe

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, chopped
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (46g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
¾ cup (75g) frozen raspberries, unthawed
100g white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugars, cocoa and vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Fold in the flour and salt. Fold in raspberries and white chocolate.

Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Brownies with white chocolate chips and cocoa nibs

One can tell that I am crazy for brownies by the amount of brownie recipes on this blog, however in my defense I have to say that I do not bake them for my own pleasure only: every time I want to make someone’s day better I give brownies as gifts (some of my friends already know that very well). :)

I had a small package of cocoa nibs at home and wanted to use them in a nice recipe – since they are on the bitter side, I thought that pairing them with the sweetness of white chocolate would work well - the creamy, gooey brownies are the perfectly vessel for that flavor encounter, and I added a touch of dark cocoa powder to the batter for extra richness.

Brownies with white chocolate chips and cocoa nibs
own recipe

¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened and chopped
170g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
100g white chocolate chips
1/3 cup (40g) cocoa nibs

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water) combine butter and chocolate and stir occasionally until both are melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Whisk in sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the white chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.

Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Chocolate cashew brownies for another budget-friendly Easter

Close to paying bills and getting up early in the morning to go to work nothing makes me feel more like an adult than realizing that time really flies – saying it out loud every so often basically turns me into my grandmother. :D

Days ago I thought about what I would make to celebrate Easter this year and I remembered these chocolate cookies – when I searched them on the blog I was surprised to find out that the post is from two years ago!
I read the post and well, I continue refusing to buy expensive chocolate Easter eggs – so on top of getting old I am still cheap. :D

Brownies are a hit with everyone I know, not to mention how easy to make they are: out of a 20cm square pan you get 16 brownies and wrapped nicely you easily have 3-4 gifts covered – I have used cashew nuts for I wanted the brownies to have a Brazilian touch, but feel free to replace them with any other nut you fancy.

Chocolate cashew brownies
own creation

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and chopped
100g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
¾ cup (130g) light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (105g) unsalted cashew nuts, toasted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, and butter the foil as well.

In a large saucepan, combine butter and chocolate and cook over low heat, stirring, until both are melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Whisk in both sugars. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Stir in the vanilla, flour and salt, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts.
Spread batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Really simple brownies - easy, delicious recipe that yields a lot

I had been meaning to make brownies for weeks, but I wanted to try a new recipe instead of going to my usual suspects, Alice Medrich’s cocoa brownies. As I flipped through books and magazine pages and browsed around the Internet I found beautiful looking brownies – and you know I am a sucker for beautiful food photos – but as I started reading the recipes I did not feel like making them: I was not in the mood of using 350g of chocolate and 500g of sugar to make a 20cm square brownie pan.

I gave up on the brownies and baked a lemon cake instead. :)

But the brownies got stuck in the back of my brain and I went back to my search, and ended up finding these: easy to make, calling for just a bit of chocolate, yielding a big 20x30cm full of brownies with that crackly, shiny top. I tweaked the recipe just a tiny bit, since I did not have unsweetened chocolate home (I used one with 53% cocoa solids), and the brownies turned out fabulous. I have packaged some for my friends at work and I hope they like them as much as I did.

Really simple brownies
slightly adapted from here

150g dark chocolate, finely chopped or in chips – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1 ¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.

In a large heatproof bowl place chocolate and butter. Melt them over a saucepan of barely simmering water – do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Once the ingredients are melted, remove from the heat and cool. Whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in vanilla.
Stir in the flour, cocoa and salt until a smooth batter forms. Spread onto prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 24

Nigel Slater’s brownies

Remember that I told you that some recipes get stuck in my head forever? One of them was this brownie recipe by Nigel Slater – I saw it on many, many blogs, people seemed to go crazy over them. However, I kept postponing making the recipe since it required creaming butter and sugar together, something I just do not associate with making brownies (the fact that it called for 250g of butter and 300g of sugar for a 23cm pan made me cringe, too).

The day came when I finally made them, and accordingly to my husband, who doesn’t like sweets but tastes all the brownies I make, these are the best brownies I made in quite a while. I must confess I did not go crazy for them (sorry, Nigel): too much work for this result. I like brownies recipes that are practical and fast and require no thinking ahead – melting the butter is always a plus when you forgot to take it out of the fridge.

These brownies are good, but nothing I would make again – but since my husband praised them so much I decided to share the recipe with you. I have cut down the sugar slightly (for I did not have 70% chocolate around), doubled the amount of chopped chocolate folded in the batter and also used a 20x30cm pan – when I looked at the amount of batter in the bowl I was sure it would never fit a 23cm square pan.

Nigel Slater’s brownies
Slightly adapted rom the one and only Nigel Slater, recipe found here

200g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
60g all purpose flour
60g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g granulated sugar
100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
3 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, all lightly whisked with a fork
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) metal baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

Place the 200g finely chopped chocolate in a bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water, without letting the bowl touch the water. Remove from the heat and cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs gradually, and scrape the sides of the bowl between additions. Beat in the vanilla. On slow speed, mix in the melted chocolate. Fold in the dry ingredients and the coarsely chopped chocolate – mixture will be thick. Spread it evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top will have risen slightly but the middle is still soft – a toothpick inserted in the center should come out sticky, but not with raw mixture. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Serves 24

Simple, delicious brownies

I once subscribed to a DVD delivery service and at first it sounded like a very good idea: it would be a matter of logging in to the website, choosing a movie to watch and the DVD would be sent to your house. Easy peasy.

That was before Netflix, for the young ones reading me right now. :D

After a while, however, I realized that the service was not all that: the movie I actually wanted to watch at that moment was hardly ever available, so they would send me the following movies on my list, which was not always OK since there were days I wanted to watch a drama and a comedy got delivered to my doorstep (and the other way around). Or like the day I was feeling miserable and wanted something to cheer me up and they sent me Heavenly Creatures. :S

All that to tell you that although I am someone who will choose a lemon or fruit dessert over a chocolate one any day, there are occasions I want something specifically chocolatey, to the point of being almost sinful. These brownies, despite being super easy to make, are really tasty and have a wonderful texture to boot. They are every bit what I wanted on the day I made them, and I can guarantee they go well with either drama or comedies. :)

Simple, delicious brownies
slightly adapted from the beautiful Treats

150g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 70% cocoa solids
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a large bowl, melt the butter and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the heat and cool slightly.

Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the vanilla. Sift flour and salt over mixture and fold in with a spatula. Do not overmix. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sides and top are set and the center still moist.

Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 16

Cinnamon Cointreau brownies

My days have been very busy – a lot busier than I would like them to be, honestly – and I haven’t baked anything in weeks – I don’t even remember when I last turned on the oven for something sweet. Many weekends have gone by without cakes cooling down on racks around here. :(

I’m glad that I made a few baked goods before going back to work and I can share them with you here, like these absolutely wonderful brownies – the original recipe called for ancho chile powder, but I guess I am a bit conservative when it comes to chocolate desserts and don’t like the idea of adding chili to my brownies (sorry, Matt and Renato).

I omitted the chile powder, amped up the cinnamon and switched the fresh ginger for a healthy dose of Cointreau and the brownies turned out delicious – not only in flavor, but also in texture, very moist and fudgy (that is how I like brownies). You can use your imagination and use different spices or go for whisky or Marsala instead of Cointreau, for example, or if you have kids around use just the vanilla – I guarantee the brownies will be equally great.

Cinnamon Cointreau brownies
slightly adapted from the delicious Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and Baked Elements: The Importance of Being Baked in 10 Favorite Ingredients

¾ cup (105g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
140g (5oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (44g) packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons Cointreau

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
Place chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until melted. Turn off heat, but keep bowl over water and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove bowl from pan. Let stand until room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, to chocolate-butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add vanilla and Cointreau and whisk to combine. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or the brownies will be cakey.
Sprinkle flour-cocoa mixture over chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour-cocoa mix visible.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake brownies for 20-25 minutes; brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool brownies completely before cutting and serving.

Makes 16

Peanut and white chocolate brownies and the amazing Viola

Back in January I watched the Golden Globes and many of my favorites took awards home – among them was Ruth Wilson, who is absolutely amazing in The Affair, but she was competing head to head with another actress I deeply admire, the über talented Viola Davis. Back then I hadn’t watched How to Get Away with Murder yet but got immediately interested in it.

The show is really that good and each episode ends with a bang that would make my husband and I crazy to know what would happen next – we saw the season finale last night and were like “OMG!!”. Viola is, indeed, superb: the woman can pull anything off, she can play any part. I am still Team Ruth because I think that her character in The Affair is more difficult to play – it is like she portrayed two different characters – but if Viola had taken the GG home I wouldn’t have minded at all.

Gladly a second season has been confirmed for How to Get Away with Murder – enough with the cancellation of my favorite TV shows, really. :)

From a woman that can do no wrong in acting to another who does wonders in the kitchen: Alice Medrich – these peanut and white chocolate brownies are a riff on one of her great recipes and are super delicious!

Peanut and white chocolate brownies
slightly adapted from the amazing Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

10 tablespoons (140g/1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and chopped
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (75g) unsalted roasted peanuts
½ cup (80g) white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

In a medium heatproof bowl, add the butter and set on top of a large sauce pan with barely simmering water. Melt the butter, then add sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. Next add the cocoa powder and stir until mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the water and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the peanuts and white chocolate. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Makes 16

Amaranth brownies and a hideous movie

I was stuck in the mall days ago and there was nothing left for me to do but to watch a movie in the theater, but the problem is that there wasn’t much to choose from so I ended up watching Furious 7 – it was the first movie of the franchise I ever saw and my goodness, how can something be so awful, I’m still trying to understand.

I know I’m not the target audience, but I could not believe that something so poorly written – James Cameron’s school of embarrassing dialogues and bad jokes – and with such bad acting is this big of a hit and makes so much money at the box office, and don’t even get me started at the impossible stunts and naked ladies.

To each their own, I guess – there will probably be more of those hideous movies in the future, but I prefer my share of repetition in brownie form: there are about thirty brownie recipes on this blog and I bring you another one today, this time with amaranth flour: the ingredient leaves a bit of a gritty texture in the brownies and I don’t think that is a big deal, but if you don’t want that or don’t have any amaranth flour around use 150g all purpose flour instead and get yourself a really good traditional brownie.

Amaranth brownies
slightly adapted from trEATs: Delicious Food Gifts to Make at Home

150g unsalted butter, cubed
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (45g) amaranth flour
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Cool slightly.

Meanwhile, using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whisk the sugars, eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and foamy. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the all purpose flour, amaranth flour and salt.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes: the sides and top should be set and the centre still moist.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes 16

Cherry and white chocolate brownies

As a person who loves to feed other people, I offer to bring dessert whenever I’m invited to someone’s house for a meal. Brownies are always a good idea for everyone loves them, and if there are many mouths to feed I make a big batch using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan, that way everyone can have seconds if they want to.

I have a big appetite for sweets and tend to believe that everyone else does, too. :D

I made these for a barbecue ages ago and they were a hit: very fudgy – I don’t think that calling them “creamy” would be wrong – with a nice balance between the sweet from the white chocolate and the sour from the cherries.

Cherry and white chocolate brownies
slightly adapted from the delicious Better Homes and Gardens Baking: More than 350 Recipes Plus Tips and Techniques

200g unsalted butter
170g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups (185g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup (170g) white chocolate chips
1 cup (145g) dried cherries, chopped if too large

Preheat the oven at 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan and line with foil, leaving an overhand in two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate together over low heat. Cool slightly.
Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in white chocolate and cherries. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the brownies comes out with a moist crumb, 25-30 minutes.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 24

Olive oil brownies and feeling nostalgic

You’ve probably noticed by now that I’ve been using olive oil in my baking quite regularly and with great results – it makes the cakes flavorsome and oh, so moist. That is why I couldn’t wait to try using olive oil in brownies – I was curious to find out if the ingredient paired beautifully with chocolate as it does with apples, coconut and citrus.

I found this simple, yet wonderful recipe online and it comes from one of the first food blogs I ever read, the beautiful The Traveler’s Lunchbox – it made me feel very nostalgic, but in a very good way. It reminded me of my discovery of food blogs, how eager I was to read them and how amazing it was to see so many people passionate about cooking and baking as I was. It was a first for me to see people actually enjoying making dinner or baking a cake, for up until that day I had never met anyone who felt what I did towards food – I knew tons of people who loved eating, but I knew no one who took pleasure at the act of making it as I did.

All of a sudden all those strangers felt a lot closer to my heart than many people I knew in “real life” – I guess that is what happens when you finally find people with something in common, for my friends did not like the kind of movies I watched back then and for sure did not feel that making dinner for a family of five was fun at all (we became six when my sister was born). They were so lazy that if their moms didn’t make any food on a given day they would feed on bread and butter, and some of them wouldn’t even eat on a plate to avoid washing up. I got older, my love for the kitchen became bigger, and my friends continued to believe that cooking was a stupid thing to learn.

Now you can imagine how I felt when I bumped into the first food blog. :)

It’s been a while since Melissa last updated the blog, but I recommend reading the archive – there are plenty of great recipes there, such as the one for these brownies; she calls for dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, but since I did not have any I used the one I had and added one tablespoon of cocoa to boost the chocolate flavor.

Olive oil brownies
slightly adapted from the beautiful The Traveller’s Lunchbox

115g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids*
1/3 cup (80ml) fruity extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (70g) all-purpose
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Brush a 20cm (8in) square baking pan lightly with canola oil, line it with a piece of foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sides, and lightly oil the foil as well.
Place the chocolate in a small bowl and melt it over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisk in the oil, then cool.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. Fold in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour, cocoa and salt. Stir to combine. Pour into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is dry and crackly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out a little wet. Cool completely, then cut into squares.

*the original recipe called for 70% cocoa solids, I didn’t have any, so I used the one I had (53% cocoa solids) and added cocoa for a deeper chocolate flavor

Makes 16

Cookies and cream fudge brownies, easy and difficult decisions

Ladies, let’s talk about hair, shall we? ;)

For months now I’ve been thinking of getting a pixie cut, while at the same time I keep in mind the idea of growing my hair long (currently it’s chin length). I haven’t had long hair in several years because a) I like short hair a lot and b) I’m not patient enough to grow it long. And that’s how it goes: one day I decide I’ll go at least past the shoulders with my hair, only to remember Elisabeth Moss’ beautiful hair in the Emmys last year and fall in love with short hair all over again.

I am a nutcase, I know. :D

If only things were easy to decide in life as they are in the kitchen – when my sister called me to ask for thoughts on what to do with a bag of Oreos I immediately said: “brownies!” – it took me no time at all to decide. :) These are Lorraine Pascale’s and they’re really delicious: I ended up underbaking them slightly and the texture got similar to the Guinness brownies I made a while ago – not a bad thing if you’ll ask me. :)

Cookies and cream fudge brownies
from Baking Made Easy

165g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, finely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
165g soft light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
pinch of salt
180g Oreos, cut into quarters

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes, then stir until melted.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla together in a large bowl until the eggs begin to get light and fluffy. Add the sugar in two additions, whisking between each. Pour it around the side of the egg mix so as not to knock out the air that has been whisked in. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes stiffer. Once the egg mixture is ready, pour the chocolate into it - again around the sides so as not to knock the air out.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt over the mixture, add a third of the cookies and stir until fully combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Scatter the remaining cookies over the top, pressing them in slightly. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25–30 minutes. The middle should be very so slightly gooey. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Gingerbread brownies and a movie I should have seen in 2006

While there are movies I keep watching over and over again, I can’t find a way to watch others, no matter how much I want to: if it’s on TV, I’ll probably have to be somewhere else at the same time (or it will be aired at 3 in the morning), or the weekend I brought the DVD home I didn’t have the time to sit and watch it – you name it. One of those movies was Children of Men, and a couple of days ago I could finally watch it, and what a magnificent movie it is. Alfonso Cuarón had already won me over with the excellent Gravity, and in Children of Men his work is pure perfection – what he does as a director in this movie is beyond words and it’s just ridiculous that he wasn’t nominated for Best Achievement in Directing; actually, the movie had only three Oscar nominations (while The Help, for instance, had four, for crying out loud), and Clive Owen was ignored while Forest Whitaker took the award home – I can’t even.

So here I am, seven years later, hating myself for having waited so long to watch such a masterpiece. Since I don’t want that kind of thing to happen when it comes to food, I present you some delicious and super easy to make gingerbread brownies – I wasn’t sure I was going to bake these, after all my Christmas series this year is pretty chocolaty already, but why wait? Not seven years, not even seven days. :D

Gingerbread brownies
slightly adapted from the wonderful Delicious Australia

185g unsalted butter, chopped
150g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
200g brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, sifted
100g dark chocolate, chopped or in chips, extra

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan, line it with foil, leaving a 5cm (2in) overhang on 2 opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.
In a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water), melt butter and 150g chopped chocolate. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Add the sugar and stir to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, spices and cocoa and stir until incorporated. Fold in the remaining 100g chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until brownies are set around the edges and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let brownies cool in the pan over a wire rack.
Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Salty-nougat fudge brownies and the end of the best TV show ever made

Many, many years ago I watched the series finale of my favorite TV comedy and that left a bitter taste in my mouth: to simply put it, I did not like it at all. To this day I cannot believe how something so brilliant could end up so poorly – it seemed like everyone creatively involved in Seinfeld suddenly got lazy about the whole thing (or fed up, I don’t know).

Up until weeks ago that was the only series finale I remembered watching (maybe Friends? I’m not sure), and, a bit traumatized, I hoped with all my heart for Breaking Bad to have a fantastic finale, something worth all the greatness and genius that had permeated each and every episode since the very beginning. As I expected, Vince Gilligan did not disappoint: it was the best series finale for the best TV show ever made. No loose ends, nothing thrown carelessly at the audience, and some superb acting – Jeff Daniels and Bobby Cannavale should mail their Emmys to Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, respectively. :)

As I go on watching other TV series – currently Hannibal and The Blacklist – I have the feeling that nothing on TV will ever be as amazing as Breaking Bad. As for baking, for a long time I had the feeling that no brownie recipe would ever match Alice Medrich’s cocoa brownies, but it has finally found some solid competition: these super fudgy brownies, with bits of peanuts and Snickers bars, are one of the most delicious creations ever made in my kitchen.

Salty-nougat fudge brownies
slightly adapted from the delicious The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook: 100 Delicious Heritage Recipes from the Farm and Garden

225g (8oz) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (116g) light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (160g) all-purpose flour
1 cup salted roasted peanuts
2 (52g/1.86-ounce each) Snickers bars, chopped – make sure the pieces are separated from one another before adding to the batter

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, line it with foil, leaving a 5cm (2in) overhang on 2 opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.
In a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, over medium heat, add chocolate and butter. Stir to melt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugars, vanilla, and salt to combine. Stir reserved chocolate, then flour and mix to combine. Fold in the nuts and candy bar. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until brownies are set around the edges and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let brownies cool in the pan over a wire rack.
Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 24

Nib praliné brownies + a new band (at least new to me)

Days ago, while looking for good haircuts for fine hair (something that would make me look like I have tons of hair, which unfortunately is not true) I ended up on this lovely website and watching one of the videos I was introduced to “Foster the People” – I got hooked and can’t stop listening to their songs, especially “Helena Beat” and “I Would Do Anything For You”. Such a nice discovery.

I’m not usually that good to remember where and when I first found things, but I am quite sure that cocoa nibs were introduced to me by Alice Medrich; here the nibs are turned into a delicious praliné and then folded into brownie batter, and that alone made me drool when I read the recipe. The praliné recipe, however, yielded twice as much as the amount called for to be used in the brownies, but I went on and used the whole batch anyway – some of the caramel melted and formed a layer on the bottom of the brownies and that made slicing a little bit harder. Now it’s up to you: you can either follow the recipe below and use only ½ cup total of praliné in your brownies or you can go crazy like I did and caramelize the heck out of your bars – just make sure you have a sharp knife around. :D

Nib praliné brownies
slightly adapted from the adorable Luscious Chocolate Desserts

Nib praliné:
1/3 cup (40g) cocoa nibs
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) water
¼ cup light corn syrup
pinch of salt

Brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter
112g (4oz) dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (33g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt

Start with the praliné: line a large baking sheet with foil and butter the foil. Spread the cocoa nibs over the buttered foil.
Heat the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and do not stir any longer. Cook the mixture until a dark golden brown caramel forms, washing the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals – it should read 160-165°C (320-330°F) on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the caramel over the cocoa nibs. Set aside to cool completely, then break into pieces- for a finer texture, process in a food processor.

Makes about 1 cup (you’ll use half this amount in the brownies)

Brownies: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on the two longest sides and butter the foil as well.
Melt the butter and chocolate together in a medium heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.
Beat sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate mixture just until blended. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt over the mixture and fold gently. Fold in ¼ cup of the praliné.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan, then top with the remaining ¼ cup praliné. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out sticky with just a few crumbs. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 20

Milk chocolate brownies and a change of plans

There has been a change of plans around here: Somerset Maugham will have to wait a while, since I decided to buy "Gone Girl" after reading that turning the book into a movie is David Fincher’s next project. :)
Two friends of mine have told me that book is great and that it will probably cost me hours of sleeping – like the Millennium trilogy, years ago – and I cannot wait to start reading it. I’ll keep you posted.

And speaking of change of plans, I usually go for brownie recipes that call for cocoa – like Alice Medrich’s out of this world brownies – and/or dark chocolate, but decided to give Kathleen King’s milk chocolate brownies a chance. They turned out delicious, like everything I have made from that book - I hope Gillian Flynn surprises me in the same way. :D

Milk chocolate brownies
from the delicious Tate's Bake Shop: Baking For Friends

½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter
250g (9oz) milk chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven at 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square baking pan and line with foil, leaving an overhand in two opposite sides. Butter the foil as well.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let it stand for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the vanilla. Stir in the flour, cocoa and salt. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the brownies comes out with a moist crumb, about 20 minutes.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Lemon and coconut brownies

Watching a Brazilian cooking show the other day I thought it was really disgusting to see the presenter transfer the cake batter to the pan using his hands: as much as one uses their hands for cooking and baking – and I certainly do that a lot – there are tools for determined actions. Jamie Oliver practically kneading his guacamole on this video almost made me lose my lunch – there are certain cooking habits I really can’t stand. I don’t like to think of myself as a conservative person but I guess I am.
I do, however, have a more liberal side when it comes to cooking and unusual recipes always get my attention – how could I resist baking brownies that contain no chocolate at all? These delicious bars taste like baked curd and are irresistible.

Lemon and coconut brownies
slightly adapted from here

250g unsalted butter
350g granulated sugar
4 eggs
225g all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 cup (100g) sweetened flaked coconut
finely grated zest of 2 large lemons
¼ cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving two overhands on opposite sides and butter the paper as well.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and stir until mixture is thick and glossy.
Sift the flour and salt over the egg mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in coconut, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar then cut into bars.

Makes 20

Guinness brownies

One of the great things of having a blog for so long is that after all these years you and I have bonded in such a nice way that I no longer feel ashamed to tell you things like my caipirinha fiasco (no judgmental comments so far). :D I like me some booze occasionally, either for drinking or for baking.

Just like the cake I posted the other day these brownies are a great way of enjoying a beer without having to deal with a headache the morning after: they are chocolatey, very fudgy – to the point of being creamy – and delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Guinness brownies
slightly adapted from the delicious and foolproof Tate's Bake Shop: Baking For Friends

5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, chopped
250g milk chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa powder – I used Dutch-processed
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (40g) brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225ml Guinness or other stout beer
¾ cup (125g) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 20cm (8in) square baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 5cm (2in) overhang. Butter the foil.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth, cool slightly.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt. In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar on high speed until well combined. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, mix in the chocolate mixture and scrape the sides of the bowl. Still on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients, then the stout. Finish mixing with a spatula, then transfer to prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs, about 50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Lift up the brownies using the foil and cut into squares.

Makes 16

Chocolate brownies with dried cranberries

I have been making brownies quite frequently lately - they are easy and quick to put together, delicious, everyone loves them, and I don't need to wait for the butter to soften to prepare a batch, which makes them perfect for immediate baking urges. I'd had an eye on Paul Hollywood's brownies for a while, but I was out of dried cranberries and kept thinking that they would be the first thing I would bake when I finally bought the cranberries. Well, they were actually the second thing, but turned out really tasty - not that I had any doubts they would: I would never doubt the man responsible for the best brioche I have ever tasted. :)

Chocolate brownies with dried cranberries
slightly adapted from the stunning and foolproof How to Bake (I bought mine here)

100g unsalted butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
4 eggs*
¾ cup (250g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (105g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup (110g) dried cranberries, dusted with 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line a 20cm (8in) square baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang in two opposite sides. Butter the foil.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Stir, then leave to cool slightly. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is pale and thick enough to hold a trail when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the vanilla. Carefully fold the chocolate mixture. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together over the mixture and gently fold these in too. Finally, fold in the dried cranberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until nicely crusted but still soft in the middle. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into squares.

* the recipe called for medium eggs – I only buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest ones in the carton

Makes 16

Toblerone brownies for Easter

One of the things I remember the most from going to the supermarket with my mom as a kid are Toblerone bars: they were not easy to find and were really expensive back in the early 80s, and for that reason they were a treat we never ate. Things have changed and now I find them everywhere for a couple of R$ only – maybe that is why nowadays I seldom remember they exist. :D However, I did buy a couple of bars last week and they were transformed into really delicious brownies: these are fudgy and moist – as every brownie should be – and the nougat pieces spread throughout the batter make them very special; in my humble opinion these brownies would make a much more interesting Easter gift then regular chocolate eggs.

Toblerone brownies
slightly adapted from the gorgeous and delicious Nigella Kitchen

¾ cup (68g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks/140g) unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups (306g) packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Toblerone bars, 100g each, chopped – I used one Toblerone milk chocolate and one Toblerone dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F; lightly butter a 32.5x22.5cm (13x9in) baking pan, line with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sites then butter the foil as well*. Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and pinch of salt in a bowl; set aside.
Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon (still over a low heat) to help it blend with the melted butter. Stir in the flour mixture - when mixed (this will be a very dry mixture, and not wholly blended at this stage), remove from the heat. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and top with the Toblerone pieces. Bake for about 20 minutes –it will look set, dark and dry on top, but when you feel the surface, you will sense it is still wibbly underneath and a cake tester will come out gungy. This is desirable.
Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely before cutting.

The brownies can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in airtight container (will keep for total of 5 days).

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan

Makes 20