Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia TWD

So last night, as I was making these, (three cheers for me for getting them done before Tuesday) I was talking to S. and when I told him I was baking brownies, he attempted to get me to drive to Oakville to bring him some. A taxi service, I am not, but these were very tasty so I can’t fault him for trying. We have a party on Sunday so I used an 8 x 8 pan for the majority of the batter and made some brownie tarts for him. I had to try a little so I made a mini bundt for me. Thank goodness for a multitude of baking pans.

Thanks to Tanya of Chocolatechic for selecting today’s recipe. Dorie suggested that they should be a little gooey in the middle. I think I may have overbaked mine a little but regardless they were very tasty. I also cheated as I only had bittersweet chocolate on hand. Otherwise, I followed the directions and resisted the temptation to add white chocolate chips.  In my world, you can’t ever have too much chocolate so maybe next time I will add them.

Espresso Cheesecake brownies TWD

So those of you who follow our little blog regularly would know that Claire usually always makes the brownies. This has never been done purposely but that’s the way it has worked out. I decided it was high time that I take on a Dorie brownie and seriously, chocolate, cream cheese and coffee, what’s not to love about this?

I made some September resolutions. (I work in a college so to me the beginning of the year is actually September, plus it seems like maybe it’s easier to keep September resolutions as compared to New Year’s ones).  These include making my coffee at home (cheaper and tastier), making more dinners (cheaper and tastier) and baking my TWD any day other than Tuesday night (perhaps cheaper and tastier, certainly less rushed). So this weekend I was in Waterloo, hanging with the girls and (and Chris) and I figured it was the perfect chance to start my resolutions.

 

Espresso Cheesecake Brownie in Pam's backyard

These brownies were a resounding success. We had a “no-coffee” drinker and a “not a big sweets” guy and they both dug these brownies.  I loved them, I think cream cheese brownies are my favorite and the mocha flavor rocked. We decided not to put the sour cream glaze on because a) Kristin does not like sour cream and b) we just wanted to eat them ASAP. Thanks so much to Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell for picking this recipe. Head on over to her blog to get the recipe and to drool over her amazing looking treats. To see how other TWD bakers rocked out the brownies go Tuesdays With Dorie, no doubt you will find a new blog to follow.

Chocolate Banana Brownies

This recipe originally comes from Metro newspaper. I believe one of Caroline’s co-workers made this recipe and Caroline recommended it to me. So the other week I was heading over to a friend’s house for dinner and I brought these along. The recipe is originally called “Heart Healthier Fudgy Brownies” and it was featured in February , which is heart month. However I thought the name might scare people away so I re-named it! I have tried various lower fat and lower calorie recipes and generally tend to be disappointed so when Caroline recommended these I was a little wary. However, these were quite yummy and the left-overs didn’t last long in my house!

Chocolate Banana Brownies (adapted from Metro)

• 1 oz  good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp  butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (1 large banana)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease sides of an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom and two sides with parchment paper .

Combine chocolate and butter in medium glass bowl. Microwave at Medium for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar, then mashed banana until blended. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.

In a smaller bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; stir into chocolate mixture until dry ingredients are completely moistened. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Cool pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Run spatula around edges, carefully lift parchment paper sling of brownies to wire rack to cool completely.  Cut into 16 squares.

Nutritional information per square: Calories: 106; Fat: 2.8 g; Carbohydrate: 20 g; Protein: 1.25 g; Fibre: 1 g.

Midnight Mint Brownies

I had a request to try and make these brownies by both my mum and Neil. They are a variation on Company’s Coming midnight mint squares. Instead of a coconut/nut base I used a brownie like at Starbucks. Next time I would use a thicker layer of chocolate on top so for now they are a work in progress.

midnight mint brownies

Midnight Mint Brownies (adapted from Company’s Coming)

Brownie Layer

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 pinch salt

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup butter or margarine

Beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar, flour, salt. Melt while stirring, butter and cocoa. Stir well. Spread into a greased 8×8 inch pan. (I used about 2/3rds of the batter since this recipe is adapted from one that had two layers.) Bake at 350 for around 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Mint Layer

1/4 cup butter or margarine

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon peppermint flavouring

2 cups of icing sugar

green food colouring

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well adding a few drops more liquid if needed for easy spreading. Tint a pretty green. Spread over cooled brownie layer. Allow to set.

Chocolate layer

1 cup of milk chocolate chips

Melt chips in a saucepan over low heat. Spread over second layer. Chill and store in refrigerator.