Cherry Brownie Bites

I bought a few new pans several months ago, and I'm really loving them. Especially my little mini square pan - there's something extra adorable about tiny square baked goods. And when those baked goods are rich chocolate brownies studded with flecks of dried cherry - all the better.

Cookie Dough-Filled Brownie Cups

Special occasions call for special desserts. So when my cousin Esther got engaged a couple weeks ago, I set out to create something special.... and certainly indulgent. And what is more indulgent than a giant brownie stuffed with cookie dough? Nothing, that's what.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie-Topped Brownies

So I've moved halfway around the world, started pastry school...and baked nothing. We are supposed to begin the actual baking portion of the course today, with bread, so that should be interesting. And even though I haven't baked anything in the past week, as promised I am here to deliver on what I stand behind as the most delicious dessert of 2011 (still in competition with this key lime tart, but as they are so different I shall allow them to remain on a pedestal together). I present to you: Peanut Butter Rice Krispie-Topped Brownies. OK, so I'm not good at naming. 

Pillow Cookies

MONTHS ago my friend Naomi and I got together to embark on a baking adventure. (And then I got delayed with fruit pies and birthdays - sorry!) And as with most adventures, there was laughter, tears, drama and heartbreak. OK, mostly just laughter. Naomi always makes me laugh. Sometimes unintentionally. There were also cookies! Specifically 'Pillow Cookies.' What are pillow cookies, you may ask? Well take a look.

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

Oh, friends. If heaven is a dessert, I have found it. These dense, fudgy brownies are spectacular themselves, but when paired with a peanut butter swirl? I've achieved nirvana.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

Last week was the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Celebrating the receiving of the Torah and marked by the consumption of dairy products, it's a great holiday all around. Cheesecake!
Since I don't make cheesecake all that often (with the exception of a Thanksgiving adventure and last Shavuot) - I like to plan an elaborate one. This brownie mosaic cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen definitely fit the bill.
There are four components - the crust, the cream cheese filling, the brownies and the ganache topping. Each component simple, and coming together in the most delicious manner.
I made the brownies the day before, and was pleasantly surprised that my cheesecake was in the oven within an hour of starting. And boy was it delicious. Somehow it didn't look as neat and perfect as Smitten Kitchen's, but really that isn't much of a surprise. Also, you'll have way to much brownie left over - but, that didn't seem to be too much of a problem in my house.

It was still really rich and heavy in the way that only cheesecakes can be, studded with brownies that somehow blended in in texture but kept the rich brownie flavor, and a delicious cookie crust.
About that crust - as per Smitten Kitchen instructions, I used smiling, precious teddy bear shaped graham crackers - much more satisfying to crush and kill.
Though the instructions were given for a doubled crust I was a reluctant to do so, but then found that the crust only really covered the bottom of the pan, not the sides. If you want it to come up higher on the sides of the pan, double the amounts I give.
Oh the carnage!
A survivor surveys the wreckage.
I wasn't actually originally planning on making the ganache to top the cheesecake, but when it came out of the oven I thought it was a little ugly looking, so I figured I should cover it up. I ignored her recipe and just melted some chocolate chips and butter together, which is fine for eating within a day or two but may temper otherwise.

Tip of the Day: Though I often bake brownies and other bar cookies in foil, this time I wanted the crisp edge that a metal baking pan gives for making the cubes.

Recipe: (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Brownies:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Crust:
1 1/2 cups or 5 ounces finely ground chocolate cookies or wafers
5 tbsps melted butter or margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Filling:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups brownie cubes

Ganache:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp confectioners sugar

Brownies:
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, then the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt.
Line a 9x13" pan with foil and grease. Pour in the batter and bake for 30 to 35 minutes on 350 F. Let cool and refrigerate until needed (makes it easier to cube).

Crust:
Stir the cookie crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt together.
Press into the bottom of a greased 10 inch springform pan.

Filling:
Beat the cream cheese on medium until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
Beat in sugar and vanilla.
Gently fold in 2 to 3 cups of 1-inch brownie cubes. Pour into the prepared crust, and bake on 350 for about 40 minutes, or until it is set on the outside ring.

Ganache:
When cake is cooled completely, grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor.
Scald the butter and cream in a saucepan, the pour it into the feed tube of the food processor while the machine is running. Blend until smooth, then add the vanilla and sugar. Spread over cheesecake.

Chipster Topped Brownies

A couple months ago I purchased by very first Dorie Greenspan cookbook. "Baking: From My Home to Yours" is an enormous tome, too heavy to cart around but too exciting to leave behind. Since I received it I've been busy trying out several things, but I haven't shared any with you yet. Allow these Chipster Topped Brownies to be the first of many.

I've actually made a similar recipe to these, but they were judged on the dry side, and never repeated. But these? Nobody could ever call these dry. These and rich, decadent, soft and chewy. One bite is enough for a chocolate coma, but still, you persist.

The amount of chocolate in both of the batters is truly incredible. Never again do you have to choose between brownie and blondie.

Tip of the Day: You can play around with the chocolate you use in this recipe - I stuck to semisweet, but you can use unsweetened, bittersweet, even milk chocolate chips in the top layer if you desire.

Recipe: (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: from My Home to Yours)

For the brownie layer:
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) butter or margarine
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup flour

For the cookie layer:
1 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter or magarine, softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

Brownie layer: Melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring until melted and combined.

Beat the sugar and eggs together until pale and creamy. Add in the salt and vanilla.

On low speed, pour in the chocolate mixture, mixing until combined.

Add the flour, mix until no white streaks remain. Pour batter in to a greased and lined 9x13" pan and set aside.

Cookie dough: Beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy.

Add in the egg, and then the egg yolk, beating between additions. Beat in the vanilla.

Pour in the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop the dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter, and gently spread evenly.

Bake on 350 F for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in the pan.

Oreo Brownies

After I made the Oreo Cookie Cookies a couple months ago, and they were fabulous, I started thinking about what else I could put cookies in. Because - let's face it, what recipe can't be improved by the addition of cookies. So after much googling, when I found this Ina Garten recipe for "Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Oreo Crunch Brownies," I knew these were in my future.
It starts off with a lot of chocolate, and butter. This is a rich recipe. We're talking 1/2 cup of flour, to a whole cup of butter.

This is rich, people.
Of course, as if that couldn't get any better, you then add the cookies. Mmmmmmm, cookies.
The recipe dictates that you toss the crumbled cookies with a little flour, to help them suspend in the batter, but of course I forgot. I think they suspended pretty well anyway.

Anywho, once I got these in the pan, and baked them, I was already salivating from the smells in my kitchen.

But once I pulled them out and let them cool, they started to crack and collapse!
Just look at that crater. I think I could crawl right in. I guess I don't really mind about the collapsing. It gives it that "authentic" look, right? Right?
Collapsed or not, these brownies were sinful. Really, really rich chocolate, crunchy cookies, delicious taste - you might need a glass of milk to get these down.

Tip of the Day: Even when a recipe calls to melt over a double boiler, lazy me can generally accomplish it in the microwave - you just have to be sure to microwave in short spurts - at most 30 seconds - and stir well between sessions.

Recipe:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
3 eggs
1 1/2 tbsps instant coffee granules
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup flour plus 2 tbsp flour, divided
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chopped Oreo cookies (about 25)

Melt the butter and the chocolate together and mix. Cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, coffee, vanilla and sugar.
Blend the chocolate mixture in to the egg mixture.
Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder and salt.
Coat the crushed cookies in the remaining 2 tbsp of flour and stir in to the batter.
Bake in a well greased 9x13" pan for 35 minutes.

Double Decker Brownies

One of my co-workers keeps asking me to bring brownies in to work, but I've resisted thus far. Because...brownies? Not much of a challenge there - you can get some pretty good ones with 30 minutes and a box mix. So when I stumbled across these double decker brownies, I knew I had to make them for the office.
The recipe starts out with two pretty simple batters: one brownie-like and one blondie-like. Lucky for me, the recipe called for three egg whites - the exact amount I had left from making the lemon drop cookies before! Things are just working out this week.
The top, blondie layer, calls for M&Ms to be mixed in, but I went with chocolate chips instead. This is another one of those recipes where a multitude of mix-ins could be used.

First I spread the brownies bottom in the greased pan, and then the blondie on top. I suppose you could switch them around if you wanted as well. The top layer was a little harder to spread without disturbing the brownie underneath, but it was doable.
See? I managed.
If you didn't know better, you'd never even know about that secret layer of brownies underneath.
Until you cut into them of course. On of my coworkers renamed these interracial brownies. I'm all for diversity, so make these now!
Truth is, while these were good, they were not great. And it's all my fault. See I left these in the oven a wee bit too long, and they ended up more like cake than brownie. But cake is good too. I didn't take them for about 34 minutes, but I would recommend not going over 30.

Tip of the Day: While you can buy many different tools to separate eggs, I still think the best one out there is the shell itself. Just crack it open, and catch the yolk in one half, and pour it back and forth until fully separated. You might not get it the first time, but practice makes perfect!

Recipe: (via the M&Ms website)

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 egg whites and 1 whole egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour, divided
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup M&M'S or chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together. Beat in vanilla, egg whites and whole egg.

Gradually add 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt.

Divide batter in half. To half of dough add mixed melted butter and cocoa, spread evenly into a 9x13" baking pan.

To the other half, stir in 1/4 cup flour and 3/4 cup M&M’S or chocolate chips. Spread over chocolate mixture.

Bake on 375F for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges start to pull away from sides of pan.