Sebastian's remarkably wonderful brownies

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161108/entlife/161109058/

Photo & recipe credit: Dorie's Cookies cookbook

Peanut butter cup brownie bark

I made this peanut butter cup brownie bark from Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice for a party recently and it was immediately declared a favorite by everyone who tried it.  It's a triple threat-- brownie bottom, covered in chocolate frosting, topped with peanut butter cups.  So duh- you'll love it.

Peanut butter cup caramelitas

I made these peanut butter cup caramelitas from Domestic Rebel for our Bachelorette watch party this week, and they were a HUGE hit.  Peanut butter, chocolate and caramel is a pretty good trio if you ask me!! Sweet tooth = satisfied.

Salted caramel brownies

Whoever first paired caramel and salt together is genius- and then you add chocolate to the mix, and WOW!!  These salted caramel brownies from Ina Garten are super-fudgy and delicious!  (Side note- I think the espresso powder is optional.  It enhances the chocolate flavor, but I'm sure these would be just fine without it, if you prefer).

SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIES

Yield: 12 large bars

Ingredients:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
14 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules or espresso powder
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces caramel sauce (I used Smuckers)
2 to 3 teaspoons flaked sea salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan.

Melt the butter, 8 ounces of the chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate together in a medium bowl set over simmering water. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. NOTE: It is very important to allow the batter to cool before adding the next chocolate chips, or they will melt.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1/2 cup of the flour, the baking powder, and salt and add to the chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate chips and the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour in a medium bowl and add them to the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake. (Mine only took 28 minutes on convection bake).

As soon as the brownies are out of the oven, place the jar of caramel sauce without the lid in a microwave and heat just until it's pourable. Stir until smooth. Drizzle the caramel evenly over the hot brownies and sprinkle with the flaked sea salt. Cool completely and cut into 12 bars.

Peanut butter blondies

As soon as I saw this recipe from Bakerella I bookmarked it for the premiere of our Bachelor watch party.  They were a HUGE hit, and I know I'll be making them again!  

PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIES

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chips (I used 1/2 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips; lots of combinations would be great in these!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9 x 9 pan

In a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking powder and salt together with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugars and mix until combined.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.  Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.  Stir in the chips.

Spread in the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes* or until done.

* I baked mine for 32 minutes in a convection oven.  They were quickly browning on the top, so I covered them with foil for the last 10 minutes.  Adjust your time according to size of pan you use, and whether you're using convection or conventional oven.  These blondies are thick, so a 9x13 pan should work as well if you decrease the baking time accordingly.

Symphony brownies

I've tried a few new recipes lately and I've noticed a trend- they're all SUPER simple.  So I'm going to do a series of blog posts called Easy Street.  Let's start with something chocolate...

These brownies are so simple I wouldn't even call it a "recipe", but they are so delicious I'm going to post them anyway.  I made these for the big Bachelorette finale this week, and everyone loved them.  And had seconds.  So here it is...

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix (18.3 oz mix, or it may say family size)*

2 large Symphony candy bars with toffee and almonds

* You prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box, so I also needed 2 eggs, 2/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1/4 cup water.  These ingredients may vary depending on your brownie mix.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8x8 pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.

Prepare brownie mix as directed on box. Spoon half of the brownie batter in the pan, then layer the Symphony bars on top.  (You may need to break some pieces to arrange it in the pan).  Pour remaining batter over the candy bars, and bake for 35-45 minutes.  Do not overbake- test the center with a toothpick to determine when they are ready.  Cool completely, then serve.

Spicy cinnamon-chocolate brownies

I made these spicy cinnamon-chocolate brownies from Giada de Laurentiis for our Bachelor watch party, and they were a big hit.  Who wouldn't love a brownie smothered with a thick layer of chocolate buttercream??  (If the word "spicy" scares you, then omit the cayenne pepper- but personally, I think spicy chocolate is a match made in heaven).

Ingredients

Brownies:

• Vegetable oil cooking spray, for greasing pan
• One 21-ounce box brownie mix, such as Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Chocolate Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Instructions

For the brownies: Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch ceramic or glass baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line the dish with a 15-inch-square piece of parchment paper, allowing the excess paper to overhang the sides. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Blend together the brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil, 1/4 cup water, cinnamon and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Beat the mixture for 1 minute using an electric hand mixer on medium speed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted about 1-inch from the edge of the baking dish comes out clean, 25 to 27 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

For the buttercream: Place the cream and chocolate chips in a medium bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and refrigerate until thick, 20 minutes. Add the butter and cocoa powder and beat the mixture on high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Spread the buttercream over the cooled brownie layer. Dust with the cinnamon and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Lift the brownie layer from the pan, using the excess paper for handles. Run a thin spatula underneath the brownie layer to loosen it from the parchment paper. Cut into 24 brownies and serve.

Note: The buttercream can be made ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow the buttercream to come to room temperature for 30 minutes then beat until smooth enough to spread.

Chocolate chip cookie and Oreo fudge brownie bars

These chocolate chip cookie and Oreo fudge brownie bars should probably be called 'bars of ridiculousness' because oh my goodness, who wouldn't love this combination of chocolate chip cookies, Double Stuffed Oreos, and brownies? But wait, there's more- you top them with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge!! Good grief that's a lot of chocolate! As you can imagine, they are very rich and VERY delicious.

(I'm borrowing the photo from Amanda's blog because she stacked hers up so pretty and got the fudge to drizzle just right).

Toffee blondies

This week was the premiere of the new Bachelor, and our group was chomping at the bit for another season of treats and trivia on Monday nights. I made these toffee blondies served with vanilla ice cream, and they were a big hit! I disregarded the fact that the recipe is from Cooking Light, and used an egg instead of egg substitute and doubled the amount of toffee bits on top. The batter was thick and sticky, and I wasn't sure they would turn out right, but surprise- they were perfect!

Snickerdoodle blondies

This week's sweet treat for our Bachelor watch party was snickerdoodle blondies. They are sweet, cinnamon-y, and just delicious. I added the optional cinnamon chips, which apparently are hard to find. I called several stores - Kroger, Wal-mart, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, etc - before I found them at Terry's Finer Foods (on Kavanaugh). Also, I omitted the glaze because I didn't think these needed the extra sugar. We've been eating the leftovers with vanilla ice cream - fantastic!!

Pumpkin-swirl brownies

Last night's treat for our Bachelor watch party was pumpkin-swirl brownies from Everyday Food. The recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, which doesn't make the brownies spicy, so I guess it just enhances the chocolate flavor. These take more time and effort than your basic brownie - you split the base batter to make one the chocolate layer and the other the pumpkin layer - but the result is pretty special. They are almost too pretty to eat! But don't worry, we ate them - with a side of vanilla ice cream.