Fudge Brownies #Choctoberfest

#Choctoberfest continues with these fudge brownies. I am a cookie girl at heart but sometimes a girl needs a brownie.  As I was thinking about what kind of chocolate recipes I wanted to share with you, brownies kept coming to mind. 

These brownies are super dense and fudge like.  If I am going to have a brownie it better be fudgy and decadent.  

Trying to be a bit health conscience I swapped out the butter with coconut oil.  This oil from Barlean's is flavored like butter so you cannot tell that these brownies were made with anything different.  You get all of the benefits of using coconut oil and the great taste of butter.

Barlean's has all sorts of healthful products to amp up your nutrients by incorporating them in your everyday eats. Even Mr. J was using some to "butter" his toast. 

Now I am just dreaming about taking one of these brownies and adding some of that hot fudge sauce from yesterday. 

Fudge Brownies

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate brownies

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Ingredients (24 brownies)

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup Barlean's Butter Flavored Coconut Oil
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

Crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them at medium speed with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla for about 4 minutes.

As the egg mixture is mixing melt the coconut oil. In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl melt the coconut oil until it becomes liquid, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Continue to heat (or microwave) briefly, just until the mixture is hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not boiling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. (Heating the mixture to this point will dissolve more of the sugar, which will help produce a shiny top crust on your brownies.)

Add the hot coconut oil/sugar mixture to the egg/cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth.

Add the flour and chips, stirring until smooth. Again, adding the chips helps produce a shiny top crust.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked.

Remove them from the oven and cool thoroughly on a rack before cutting and serving.

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Oatmeal Apple Muffins #secretrecipeclub

It's September. Can you tell I am excited? Not only are we one step closer to Fall but my birthday is only 5 days away.  We are going to have some big celebrations next weekend.  Heck we may even start early if I have any say.  

It being the beginning of the month and all means it is time for another rendition of the Secret Recipe club. This month for the Secret Recipe Club I had BCMom's Kitchen.  I think we were made to paired together.  She looks for good recipes that are EASY. Making meals that can be done ahead of time and then quick to throw together before dinner.  I love after most recipes that she has a little note about what worked, what didn't and how to modify for next time. 

Since it was September I was all about the apples.  I did a quick hunt for apples recipes. There were a ton.  I was all about this Apple Crunch recipe because it looks delicious and it was from her favorite cookbook. And then there was this cinnamon apple dutch baby.  I finally ended up with these oatmeal apple muffins.  We needed something to have on hand for a quick snack and breakfast.  The muffins were perfect, with not too much sugar and made with whole wheat flour, I didn't hold back in giving them to Miss O.  They were delicious and moist. Now I am all excited for the many more apple recipes I am going to make this Fall. 

Oatmeal Apple Muffins

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast apple cinnamon oatmeal

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Ingredients (12 muffins)

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with liners. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together egg, milk, oil and sugar.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients.

Fold egg mixture into dry mixture, just to moisten.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350°

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Banana Oat Snack Cake

Can you believe it is already August? Summer has been flying by. That being said, I am so ready for Fall. The heat and humidity is slowly melting me away.  We aren't breaking records here in Connecticut but it has been consistently hot and humid for way too many days in a row.  It wouldn't be so bad but we don't have A/C.  Most nights are cooling down either.  

Thus far we have escaped to the beach, played in the baby pool and ate in too many restaurants.  I am now ready for Fall and sweater weather.  Anyone else with me?

The heat has made using the oven almost unthinkable.  We went almost a whole week without using it or the stove top really. Thank goodness for a toaster oven.  You can do so much in a little toaster oven.  

I broke our no oven streak one morning during a bit of relief through a rain storm.  I had this banana oat snack cake recipe saved for forever.  We just never had enough bananas ready to use until today.  I put a little "no eat" note on the few we had left and Mr. J minded the message.

It was perfect timing as we had guests to help share in this sweet treat.

Although a cake this recipe is packed full of oats.  It is kind of like a glorified banana bread.  A bit more dense with just a hint of cinnamon. We have supplemented our breakfasts this week with a piece of this fun snack cake and enjoyed a bite or two each afternoon.  

Banana Oat Snack Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert banana oatmeal

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Ingredients (serves 12)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces, melted, plus more for baking dish
• 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1¼ cups (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly coat an 8x8” baking dish with butter and line with parchment paper.

Whisk oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.

Whisk brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in another large bowl until mixture is smooth.

Slowly stream butter into brown sugar mixture, whisking constantly until well blended.

Add bananas to dry ingredients; toss to coat. Stir into brown sugar mixture.

Spread batter in prepared dish. Bake until cake is golden brown and the edges start to pull away from sides of dish, 35–40 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in dish. Cut into 12 servings.

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Tres Leche Cake

Since Cinco de Mayo I have seen a flourish of internet activity on Tres Leche Cake.  It seems like all of the blogs I follow have posted a Tres Leche Cake.  With each additional posting I wanted to try it for myself even more. During Memorial Day weekend we had guests and I couldn't think of a better time to whip up this cake. Although not traditionally American I thought topping it each pieces with berries would be a delightful summer hit. 

The cake whipped up easily and just needed time to cool and soak up all of the three milk glaze.  This is definitely not a last minute cake. You need at least 4 hours from when the cake comes out of the oven till serving time. 

Mr. J is not really a cake guy at all but he got all excited as I made up the whipped cream frosting. If there is any cake for him this milk soaked whipped cream frosted cake is it. 

The cake is incredibly light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day. Tres Leche cake it is also quite sweet and indulgent. Just look at the three milk glaze if you don't believe me. I know we will be making this cake again but most definitely when we have others to help us enjoy each slice.

Tres Leche Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert Cinco de Mayo cake

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Ingredients (serves 24)

For the Cake:

• 1½ cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Three-Milk Glaze:

• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup half-and-half

For the Whipped Cream Frosting:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. Remove the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

Make the Three-Milk Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half. Once combined, slowly pour the glaze evenly over the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least four hours, or overnight.

Make the Whipped Cream:

Using an electric mixer, whisk together the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla on low speed until stiff peaks form. Increase to medium speed and whip until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftover cake should be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.

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Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Cookies with Sea Salt

Today was one of those days I woke up at 5 am.  This is actually a bit later than a previous 4 am wake up time.  It was raining and stormy outside. I wanted to roll back over and shut my eyes.  

Miss O must have also heard the rain because she woke up too. I am on my own for a few days and for fear of her really getting up I jumped out of bed to quickly shower and get ready for the day.  Lucky for me Miss O fell back to sleep. 

Now it is 5:30 am and I am ready to go to work. So here I am with 2 hours to kill.

My early morning wake up calls can be really productive.  Two uninterrupted hours lead to bills being paid, emails written, dishes emptied and toys put away.  Today is not one of those days.  Rain makes me lazy.

I am resting up from our busy weekend of guests, typical chores and outdoor activities.  Along with the honey roasted snack mix from yesterday's post we also had cookies. Fancy cookies with hazelnuts and sea salt. I had hazelnuts in the pantry and thought why not.  We threw them in the food processor briefly to chop them up a bit.  There were big and small pieces mixed in with all of the mini chocolate chips. The cookies were finished off with a sprinkle of sea salt.

They were so good I forgot to get mad that five people were enjoying these cookies on the couch.  I am still finding little cookie crumbs. My advice is make the cookies but don't eat them on the couch.

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies with Sea Salt

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate hazelnuts cookie

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Ingredients (18 cookies)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, half coarsely chopped and half finely chopped
• sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl, beat the softened butter and sugars together with an electric handheld mixer or stand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate for about 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the mixture all at once into the butter/sugar mixture and mix until everything is thoroughly combined.

Add the chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.

Scoop a heaping tablespoon full of dough onto the baking sheet. Repeat until the sheet is full. Make sure the dough is rounded so it bakes nicely and leaving space between each ball of dough. Then sprinkle each ball of dough with a little bit of sea salt.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are ready when they start to get golden brown on the edges.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

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Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

I am leaving my little one for a whole week. Excuse me while my heart breaks into a million pieces.  Not only am I gone but Mr. J is too.  Clearly I know that this will happen more and more as she gets older but really? I am dying just a bit right now. 

And although I know this is completely unhealthy I am drowning my sorrows in these blondies.  Browned butter, a little extra salt, dark chocolate chips. 

Sweets = Squashed emotions

#temporary

Enjoy the blondies as I miss my little one and come to realize that she is OK without us.  

Browned Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Blondies

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate bar

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Ingredients (serves 9)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), browned
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 scant cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 cup dark chocolate chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.

Make the browned butter. In a large skillet add the butter and heat over medium heat to melt, stirring nearly continuously or swirling the pan. Butter will melt, foam, turn clear, golden, and then turn brown, with a nutty smell. As soon at the butter begins to turn brown and there are a few brown specks, take the pan off the heat, and pour butter into a large bowl. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes before adding the next ingredients.

Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.

Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined. Don't over mix.

Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until top is set in center and done; don't over bake.

Place pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.

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Cinnamon Chocolate Pudding

Its Monday again. And I am not really looking forward to it.  I had a really good weekend. And I have a very busy Monday and week.  I always enjoyed my weekends but now with Miss O I pretty much live for them.  It is so much fun being with her. Each day her personality comes out more and more.  I find her little mannerisms so funny.  Her facial expressions are priceless.

I thought I might need a little extra help this week to get through everything that needs to get done.  For me that help best comes in the form of chocolate.  I am not a huge pudding fan but for whatever reason I got the hankering for chocolate pudding.  I couldn't get it out of my mind. When I mentioned the idea to Mr. J he was in immediately.

This pudding is fairly simple and quick. Of course I don't always wait for the cooling process to happen. I like my pudding warm. Is that weird?  I had a bowl full right after the cooking was complete.  And although the recipe serves six, our cooled portion was about three servings.  To each their own I guess. 

Cinnamon Chocolate Pudding

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: dessert chocolate cinnamon

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2/3 C sugar
• 3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 3 1/2 C whole milk
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a large sauce pan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt until well blended.

Add about 3/4 cup of the milk and stir until smooth and incorporated. Gradually stir in the remaining milk and butter.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Be sure to scrape the the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching. Continue cooking until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

Add the coarsely chopped chocolate and stir until melted and the mixture is smooth. Then add the vanilla and stir.

Strain the pudding through a medium fine sieve into your serving container. Lay plastic wrap over the tom to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon if desired.

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Every Day Chocolate Chip Cookies

The year is almost done. I cannot believe it, a statement that has been pretty consistent since Olivia has been born. This year has flown by.  Things have happened. So many things and yet here we are as if I blinked and the year flew by my eyes. 

Most people nowadays are planning the future. Thinking of what things they hope to accomplish in the year ahead. I am here thinking about cherishing today.  Maybe tomorrow. 

Most people are also probably looking to make their lives a bit more healthy. I could be posting salad recipes for you all but instead I have cookies. #sorryiamnotsorry

These are chocolate chip cookies. But they are really good chocolate chip cookies. AND they are really easy. Super easy. Easy enough to make every day. Not that you should. But you could.

All of the ingredients for these cookies you should have in your pantry. They don't take any refrigerating of the dough. Heck you don't even have to soften the butter. Just pop it in the microwave to melt and you are good to go. 

Too be honest they are almost too simple and easy and QUICK. You could go from a cookie craving to a whole batch of baked cookies in under 30 minutes.  Talk about self indulgence. 

So think about today and these cookies. Bake some up and enjoy!

Everyday Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: bake cookie

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Ingredients (12 cookies)

• 8 tablespoons of salted butter
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter until just liquid, around 30 seconds. You can take the butter out when there is still a few solid chucks. Gently swish the bowl until it is completely melted.

Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with the sugars until creamy. Add the vanilla and the egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a ball of dough forms.

Add the chocolate chips and incorporate with your hands.

Roll the dough into 12 large dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden. Take them out even if they look like they're not done yet. Let them cool on the pan, as they will continue to cook.

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