Pretzel and Peanut Chocolate Brownies

This Peanut and Pretzel Brownie was inspired by one of the new limited edition Dairy Milk chocolate blocks that have been released by Cadbury.
The brownie itself is deliciously fudgy, then the pretzels and peanuts add a little bit of crunch along with a hint of salt (which is such a great compliment to the chocolate).  Top that all off with chunks of creamy chocolate and we have a winner.
The recipe is super easy to make too!

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
125g butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ cup pretzels (roughly broken into pieces)
½ cup peanuts
120g chocolate, roughly chopped (I used the Pretzel and Peanut Chocolate by Cadbury – I think their plain or Picnic varieties would work well too)

Method:
Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square pan with baking paper.
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, sugars, and cocoa together in a large bowl.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix well to combine.  Stir through the pretzels, peanuts and chocolate chunks.
Press the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until firm. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Sandwiched Salted Caramel Brownie Cookies

I saw a delicious looking picture (similar to mine) pop up in my Facebook newsfeed recently so I followed the link to the Donna Hay website and had to get into the kitchen to give them a go, making a few tweaks along the way. They were better than I imagined, actually I think they are one of the best things I have ever baked!

Ingredients:
350g dark chocolate, chopped
40g unsalted butter
2 eggs
⅓ cup caster sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup plain flour, sifted
¼ teaspoon baking powder, sifted

Salted caramel frosting
¾ cup caster sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup cream
150g unsalted butter, chopped
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Place 200g of the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.
Set aside. Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer and whisk for 12-15 minutes or until pale and creamy.
Stir through the flour, baking powder, chocolate mixture and remaining chocolate and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room to spread.
Bake for 8–10 minutes or until puffed and cracked. Allow to cool completely on trays.

To make the salted caramel icing, place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir with a metal spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring, for 8–9 minutes or until golden.
Remove from the heat and carefully add the cream and butter. Return the saucepan to the heat and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Refrigerate until completely cool.
Using a hand-held electric whisk, whisk mixture until soft peaks form.
Spread half the cookies with the icing, sprinkle with the salt and sandwich with the remaining cookies.

I do urge you to give them a go! They are simply amazing. Although before I sign off, a couple of tips - make sure you do let the mixture stand, it will thicken and reduce spreading. If your brownie cookies do spread unevenly use a circular cutter to cut down/shape the biscuits while they are still hot out of the oven, you do need them to be a uniform size to sandwich. Also, I made my caramel frosting first as by the time I had made my cookies and let them cool completely I was ready to sandwich.

Pret Chocolate Brownie

 
This brownie makes me happy.  Here’s the deal – about this time last year, Simon and I went on an amazing five week adventure around Europe.  While there, I fell in love with the Chocolate Brownie at Pret A Manger, a chain of food stores in London that we used to stop at for food and to use the free Wi-Fi.  Their brownie is my favourite.  We tried lots of new foods while on our trip (French Macarons, Frog’s legs, Gyros, Fresh Italian pasta and traditional pizza, copious amounts of Gelato, Milka Chocolate…) but Pret Brownie was the one thing that I knew I was going to miss once back in New Zealand.  I used to sit there and try work out how they had made it.

Now we are back home and having to save for a wedding and then we will be doing a lot more saving for a house, so I was getting pretty upset the other day while looking through our travel photos, knowing that we wouldn’t be going on any exciting overseas adventures anytime soon.  Then I came across my instagram pic of my last Pret Brownie.  Oh the Memories.  (And yes I instagram food pics.  So what.)  I decided to Google and see if I could find if anyone had tried recreating their brownie.  What I didn’t expect to find was that Pret themselves had posted the recipe up on their facebook page! Their packaging says the recipe has been developed and tweaked over the years so I thought it would be a closely kept secret, like sauce at KFC.  This was a very EXCITING discovery.

 
I’ve given the recipe a go and it is perfect – simple ingredients and very quick to make.  The brownie is an indulgent, fudgy, chocolate treat.  It has a flaky top, but the rest of the brownie is thick and gooey.  I tweaked the recipe a smidge to suit the chocolate that I like to bake with and thought would make the brownie close to what I remember it being like, but you can find the original recipe here.  This will be my go to brownie recipe from now on.  I may not be going on any international travel soon, but as I said, this brownie makes me happy.

 
Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate (I used Whittakers 50% Dark Choc)
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
275g caster sugar
135g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
100g dark chocolate chips (I used Nestle Choc Drops)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C.  Grease and line a 23cm square baking tin. 
Melt the butter and the 200g of dark chocolate in a double boiler.  Once all the butter and chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and sugar together.  If the chocolate mix is cool enough (if you can dip your finger into it without gasping at all it should be okay) add it to the eggs and sugar and mix well.
Add the flour and salt into the mixture and until combined.  Mix through the chocolate chips.
Pour the mixture into the prepared.  Bake for 20 minutes - the mixture should be set and firm on top but not completely cooked.  They will continue to cook when out of the oven because of the stored heat in the mixture (err on the side of too little cooking rather than the opposite; if they are completely soggy you might just have to serve them with cream or ice cream in a bowl with a spoon).
Allow the brownie to cool a little before cutting into shapes with a sharp knife and don’t remove them from the tray until completely cold. 

 
The last Pret brownie I had in London and the Instagram pic which led me to making this recipe.  The Pret Pomegranate juice is pretty good too!

White Chocolate Brownie

Doesn’t that White Chocolate Brownie in the picture look divine?  It’s just one of the recipes in the new Sweet: Treats to Share cookbook published by Penguin.  The cookbook shares recipes from many of New Zealand’s best celebrity bakers, and this yummy recipe comes courtesy of Allyson Gofton.  We love Chocolate Brownie, and this white chocolate version with pistachios looks like an awesome twist on a baking classic.  I have to say, I’m loving the props from The Vintage Table which have been used in the styling of the food too.

To celebrate the release of Sweet: Treats to Share, Penguin are also running a giveaway where you can win a baking pack, copy of the book and some gorgeous postcards, so make sure you get yourself in the draw for that! 

Makes about 24–30 pieces

Ingredients:
250g good-quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
250g butter, diced
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 cup pistachio nuts or pecans, chopped

White Chocolate Icing
100g good-quality white chocolate, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
about 2 tablespoons milk
extra pistachio nuts, finely chopped, to decorate

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Grease and line the base and sides of a 25cm square cake tin.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler and heat over boiling water until just melted.  Alternatively, microwave on high power (100 per cent) for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to over-cook the chocolate as it will burn easily. Stir until smooth and leave to cool.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla together until the mixture is thick and fluffy.
4. Sift the flour over the beaten egg mixture and fold in alternately with the cooled chocolate mixture. This is easiest done with a slotted spoon. Fold in the pistachio nuts or pecans. Turn out the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
5. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the top is lightly golden but the centre is still a little soft.
6. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Chill for 3–4 hours. Remove from the tin.
7. To make the icing, melt the white chocolate and butter together. Stir in the icing sugar and sufficient milk to make a smooth, thick icing. Ice, decorate with pistachio nuts and cut into pieces.

Reproduced with permission from Sweet: Treats to Share. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $45.00. Copyright recipe © Allyson Gofton, 2014. Copyright photography © Manja Wachsmith, 2014. Available nationwide.

Peanut Butter Billionaire Brownie

I had been planning this Peanut Butter Billionaire Brownie bad boy for a while.  At first I wanted to make something like Millionaire Shortbread (caramel slice), then I thought ‘why not make it a brownie?’  And then I thought ‘why not change the caramel to peanut butter?’  That’s where I got stuck.  I couldn’t figure out how I was going to make the peanut butter layer, until one day on my drive home from work (where most of my best baking inspiration strikes) it hit me – use the same mixture that I make my Peanut Butter Marshmallow Tart out of.  Genius!  It was on. 

Now, I’ve made this slice three times.  The first time I mucked up and kept forgetting ingredients, the second time I didn’t wait long enough for the middle layer to set before pouring on the chocolate ganache (causing it to mix with the peanut butter).  The third time was perfect.  This slice is also nicknamed ‘fat girl slice’ by Courtenay and I because it is made form such delicious ingredients and I was too impatient to get eating it, causing the stuff up on the second attempt.  Trust me though, this slice is amazing.  Both mine and Simon’s co-workers loved taste testing this one for me!  Follow the instructions (do as I say, not as I do) and you will be rewarded with one rich, moreish treat.  Fudgy brownie, a silky peanut butter marshmallow layer, topped with a smooth band of dark chocolate. Mmmm.

I’ve broken the ingredients and method into the three layers to make it easier to work out what ingredient is being used where.

BROWNIE BASE
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
125g butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ cup milk chocolate bits

Method:
Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square pan with baking paper. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, sugars, and cocoa together in a large bowl.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix well to combine.  Stir through the chocolate bits. 
Press the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until firm. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before pouring the peanut butter topping over (make this while the brownie is baking).

PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOW FILLING
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons milk
36 white vanilla marshmallows (normal sized – about half a pack of pascall ones)
¾ cup smooth peanut butter
300ml thickened cream (the stuff that comes in the tub)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Place the milk, marshmallows and peanut butter into a saucepan over a medium / low heat and stir until the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth (take off the heat and mix briskly if it starts to caramelize / or forming toffee-like threads – this means it is burning, so you need to mix the heat out and turn the element down).  Cook, stirring, for a further 5 - 10 minutes until the mixture becomes a thicker, toffee-like texture.  Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.
Beat the thickened cream and vanilla extract using an electric beater until soft peaks form.  Add a quarter of the cream mixture to the peanut butter mixture, stirring to combine.  Fold through the remaining cream until combined.  Spread the peanut butter mixture over the top of the prepared biscuit base.  Place the brownie / peanut butter slice in the refrigerator for 4 hours, or until the peanut butter layer has set before moving on to making the chocolate ganache layer.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING
Ingredients:
300ml cream
300g dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
¼ cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped

Method:
Pour the cream into a saucepan and place over a medium heat.  When the cream is close to boiling (tiny bubbles will be visible around the edges of the pot) remove from the heat and add in the chocolate.  Stir constantly until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.  Leave aside to cool down.
When the chocolate mixture is luke-warm, pour it over the top of the peanut butter marshmallow layer.  Sprinkle the top of the chocolate ganache with the chopped peanuts.
Refrigerate until the chocolate layer is set (I left mine over night) before cutting into squares and serving.

5 Minute Microwave Fudge Brownie by Kenrick Rhys Photography

Hi, I’m Kenrick Rhys and I am pretty stoked to be able to share my love for food with you all!  I’ve been good friends with Melissa and Simon for a few years now and was lucky enough to meet Courtenay (and Lydia) at the Picnic High Tea that they held.  I’m going to be sharing a couple of recipes while Melissa is on holiday.

I love good food, I guess I always have.  When I left school at 18, I trained as a chef and worked for a few years in various kitchens. I was usually in the entree and dessert section but another passion was baking, mostly breads and pastries.  When my wife and I sold everything and travelled around the world, I ended up working in a big international kitchen in central Amsterdam.  While there I also spent time developing my other passion, photography.  I carried my camera and took photos whenever I could.  We are now settled back in New Zealand and I am the name behind Kenrick Rhys Photography.  Check my wedding and portrait work out, and if you love it, I’d love to buy you a coffee and have a chat.

 

Today I am sharing a recipe that my Mum used to make, for a quick and easy, moist, American-style brownie.  It’s so easy I’d bet I could make it in 10 minutes from start to finish!

 

Ingredients:
100g butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
¾ cup flour
¼ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder

 

Method:
Melt the butter in the microwave.
In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Sieve flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl.  Mix gently until just combined.
Pour the mixture into a microwave safe dish and place in the middle of the microwave.  Cook on high for 4 - 7 minutes depending on your microwave.
Let cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Kenrick’s Tips:

• The brownie should have risen and be not overly wet on top, although slightly moist on the sides.
• It may take a few attempts to get the cooking time perfect for your microwave power/wattage, but you will soon see how you like it.  I like my brownie soft and sticky so go for a lesser cooking time.
• I have successfully cooked this brownie in glass Pyrex dishes, silicon flan dishes, and plastic bunt pans.
• You can add chocolate chunks or buttons to this recipe, they will sink to the bottom during cooking.

Check out the Kenrick Rhys Photography website and like them on facebook.

Banana Chocolate Brownies

These Banana Chocolate Brownies are amazing – trust me I know.  I’ve made them a few times now as I lost the recipe I scribbled down while I was making them the first time, so I had to make them again to make sure I had remembered it correctly.  Simon took the second batch to work where they were a huge hit, and I received some very complimentary feedback.  The recipe is pretty easy to make and the banana adds a delicious flavour twist to your traditional brownie.  I think making this recipe is my most best baking discovery so far this year.

Ingredients:
175g dark chocolate
175g butter
150g brown sugar
2 medium sized bananas
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
100g self raising flour
2 teaspoons cocoa
¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180°C.  Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
In a large saucepan over a medium heat, melt the chocolate, butter and sugar together, stirring until smooth.  Once melted and mixed together, remove from the heat.
In a bowl, mash up the bananas roughly with a fork (I like to have chunks of banana in the brownie).  Add the eggs, bananas and vanilla into the chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed.
Sift in the flour, cocoa and chocolate chips (if using) and mix well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 – 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares and serving.

*I used Whittakers 50% Cocoa Dark Block chocolate to melt in with the butter and sugar, and when I have added chocolate chips I have used Nestle Chocolate Bits as they hold their shape and do not melt into the mixture.

Pillow Cookies

After being in the new house for a few days Shane asked that I bake for him as he missed it while living in Auckland while I wound things up in New Plymouth. Pillow cookies have been on my list for a while so I decided to give them a go and try out the oven (for baking purposes anyways, all dinners thus far have come out of the oven just as good or better than usual – YAY!), they were a success and are sure to become a household favourite – you can’t go wrong with delish chocolate chip cookies, add brownie pieces and hello heaven!


Ingredients:
12 pieces of brownie (cut into roughly 1.5-2cm squares)
225 grams butter, room temperature
1¼ cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2¼ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
250 grams dark chocolate chips

Method:
Make your brownie and cut into 12 1.5-2cm squares, if you are one step ahead of the game use brownie you have already made and want to use the rest of… I suggest Natalie’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie, you will need less than half of it to use inside the cookies so bonus you get to enjoy that as well!
To make your cookie dough, beat your butter until it is nice and creamy (2-3 minutes)
Add brown sugar and beat until smooth.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat again ensuring everything is well combined, you may need to scrape the sides of your bowl.
Sift in flour, baking powder, soda and salt fold with your spatula before mixing on a medium to low speed.
Once your dough is starting to come together add your chocolate chips and mix well to make sure they are distributed evenly.
Cover your bowl and place it in the fridge for 45-90 minutes to chill.
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C.
Scoop 1/4 cup of dough at a time and place it on a baking tray lined with wax baking paper, only bake 6 cookies per tray to ensure there is plenty of space as these are large cookies.
Make an indentation in the middle of each cookie with your thumb and insert the brownie into this, work the surrounding dough so that it covers the top of the brownie.
Bake in your pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes (until they are a lovely golden-golden/brown) before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy with a glass of cold milk!


If you want to make cookie pops like the one above all you need to do is slide a lollipop stick into middle of your cookies before baking.So simple and so cute!

Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Brownies

I got to catch up with Kim (a friend Mel and I made while we completed our teaching diplomas) last week as she now resides in New Plymouth too.  She also has the most gorgeous baby boy!  Kim’s gluten free so I got to try my hand at making a “GF” treat.  These were delicious, probably the best brownies I’ve ever made!

Ingredients:
120g butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup caster sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract)
3 large eggs
¾ cup gluten free flour
½ cup gluten free cocoa powder
½ teaspoon gluten free baking powder
⅓ cup pecans, chopped
½ cup dark chocolate drops

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C, line a square 20x20cm baking tin with baking paper.
Mix butter (I used the delicious butter sent to us from Lewis Road Creamery), sugars and vanilla until combined.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Sift in cocoa, flour, baking powder and mix until just combined.
Stir through pecans and chocolate drops.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until just cooked. Remove from oven and cool for a further 10 minutes in the baking time before removing the brownie to cool completely on a wire rack.
Cut into pieces and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Sand Art Brownies

Psst… I’m already getting excited for Christmas.  It’s my first time that I have my own home to decorate and I really want to do it right now – except it is only November and Simon looks at me at any mention of Christmas and just shakes his head (which is why my excitement for Christmas is a secret because I’m sure most people would agree with him).  However, I didn’t think he would say ‘no’ to baking.  I think I am going to channel my eagerness into some Christmas-ey baking which might seem way to early for most of you, but it does mean that when Christmas does arrive you should have a few cute recipes on here to choose from when you are feeling festive (Courtenay also goes crazy for Christmas so you will probably see recipes from her too).

This jar of brownie ingredients looks really beautiful and would make an awesome Christmas gift.  I’ve tried baking as gifts for people in the past and it is actually stressful – late nights baking enough stuff and repeating batches of biscuits as one always gets burnt!  This idea takes the fuss out of it all; simply put the ingredients in a jar, tie it with a pretty ribbon and write up a recipe card.  It also means the recipient can bake the brownies when they feel like it instead of worrying about the baking you’ve given them going to waste because they already have heaps of food about for Christmas.

Now, if you aren’t in a Christmas mood at all you should still give these brownies a go as they are darn delicious!

Makes 16 pieces

1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
½ cup white sugar
½ cup dark chocolate bits
½ cup white chocolate bits
¾ cup walnut pieces
125g butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

In a 1 – 1.25 litre glass jar, place a layer of ingredients in this order: flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, cocoa, white sugar, dark chocolate, (then milk chocolate if you’re a chocolate fiend like me), white chocolate and finish with the walnut pieces.

Seal the lid and decorate with a ribbon and card that has the following instructions:

To Make:
Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square pan with baking paper. Pour the contents of the jar into a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in 125g melted butter, 2 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 30 minutes until firm. Cool in the pan and cut into 16 pieces.

You can download a printable version of the recipe card instructions and view a quick ‘How To’ guide on how to make a card like the one included in this post here.

Mere Bear’s Black Forest Brownie

I got this recipe from my sister Meredith, aka ‘Mere Bear’ – I thought with it’s dark colour and ‘Black Forest’ as the special ingredient it would be the perfect treat to enjoy while we watch the ALL BLACKS who are playing in the World Cup final, kicking off in about an hours time!

Ingredients:
200 grams butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
1 cup cocoa (sifted to remove lumps)
3 eggs
½ cup standard white flour
200 gram block of ‘Black Forest’ chocolate cut thinly – almost grated looking

Method:
Preheat your oven to 150°C and grease and line a 20x20cm square baking tin.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar then add the cocoa and continue to beat for 3-5 minutes until creamy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in flour and fold gently before adding the finely cut chocolate.
Transfer mixture to a greased and lined 20cm square baking tin.
Bake at 150°C for 1 hour or until the surface of the brownie appears cracked. The centre should appear almost uncooked.
Cool in the tin.
Cut into squares. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar.

The brownie is decadently rich and delicious! You can taste the jelly bits from the chocolate throughout the brownie giving it a unique taste. Fingers crossed that the AB’s win the cup tonight and you can all give these a go as celebratory baking.

GO THE ALL BLACKS!

Cookie Dough Brownies

A few weeks ago I saw a cookie dough inspired post on ‘Love From The Oven’, a blog I follow – it reminded me of these amazing but incredibly easy brownies my idol ‘Bakerella’ made a couple of years ago,  I hadn’t attempted them as yet as we didn’t have some of her “cheat” ingredients here in New Zealand.  Sure enough Bakerella’s brownies were featured further down the post so I went back and looked at the original and decided that I could definitely make them (by swapping out the ‘Hershey’s Brownie Mix’ with another Betty Crocker mix – I used ‘Triple Chocolate Fudge’) and so can you!  They are super easy but sure to impress, all you need is:

 
Follow the instructions on the boxes, making the brownies first, pouring the mix into your tin or dish then placing blobs of the made up cookie mixture on top.  If the cookie dough doesn’t sink into the mix just give it a gentle push down.

 Pre cooking

Then place in the oven and bake according to the boxes instructions for temperature and about 30-35 minutes.

Baked Brownie (sorry about the photo quality – it was night time).

Now at this point you could allow your brownie to cool, cut it into slices and eat by itself or dusted with icing sugar.  Me, I took a lead out of Bakerella’s book and covered mine with a chocolate ganache – the hardest part about doing this is waiting for the ganache to set!

Chocolate Ganache:
1 Cup Cream
50 grams Butter
120 grams Dark Cooking Chocolate (cut up roughly)

In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter until just before the boiling stage.  Pour over the chocolate.
Let stand about 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
Pour over brownies and let set before cutting (to help mine along I put the dish in the fridge to set).

Next time I make these I think I will try using ‘Natalie’s Brownie’ recipe, which I’m sure will only make them better!  Give them a go and if you get around to making them using Natalie’s brownie recipe before me, let me know how they turned out by leaving a comment.

Thank you Bakerella and thank you Betty Crocker!
(You will all be thanking me too – once you give them a go)

Mere’s Chocolate Chip Blondies

These are delicious! I had attempted Blondies once before (a couple of years ago) but they were nowhere near as scrummy as these and I had gone back to the dark side (brownies) – however, these have converted me!  I got the recipe from Meredith – one of the many lovely Mum’s I have met through an online forum set up during my pregnancy with Max.  Not only has it been a fantastic place to ask questions about things little Max is doing/not doing, but it has been awesome for recipe sharing as well.  The Milo Biscuits and Cheesecake Brownie Swirls came from ladies in the same forum.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips (I used ½ a cup of milk chocolate drops and ½ a cup white chocolate drops).

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 20x20cm tin with baking paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light.
Beat in salt, egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
Add in flour, baking powder and choc chips and stir until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Pour dough – it will be thick – into prepared baking dish and smooth it into an even layer.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until set and the edges are just very lightly browned.
Cool in the pan before slicing.

For Snickerdoodle Blondies, leave out choc chips and mix together 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, then sprinkle over dough before baking.

I can vouch for the ‘Snickerdoodle Blondies’ deliciousness as I had morning tea at Meredith’s house today and they were fantastic, as were the lemon cupcakes with meringue frosting she made! She has also shared her recipe for tequila cupcakes with me – so look out for that as we head into the warmer months.

One of  Mere’s gorgeous cupcakes! I am definitely going to be giving meringue frosting a go soon.

Thank you Meredith!

White Chocolate Chip Brownies

This recipe is from the back of the ‘Nestle’ dark cooking chocolate packet (I stocked up on their products to get a free apron) and it is very good!

Ingredients:
200g dark cooking chocolate, melted
200gs butter, melted
1 ½ cups soft brown sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
1 cup white choc bits

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 23 x 23cm tin with baking paper.
Combine the melted dark chocolate and butter in a large bowl.
Allow it to cool slightly and beat in eggs.  Fold in flour and baking powder, sugar and the choc bits.
Pour into your prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes.
Cool in the tin and cut into squares to serve.
*Tip: If you prefer your brownies a little fudgy you can reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

There you have it, simple and delicious.  Enjoy!

Coffee Group Treats: Cheesecake Brownie Swirls and Savoury Scone Scrolls

It was my turn to host coffee group for the Mum’s and Bub’s Max and I hang out with every week so I had to whip up some treats.  I got this amazing ‘Cheesecake Brownie Swirl’ recipe from one of the Mum’s on a baby forum that I chat on – the bonus of living in this age I guess is that when you are at home with bubs you don’t have to be ‘alone’.  So thank you for sharing Caroline (or maybe not, as these are SO good that they have to be absolutely no good for me or my waistline!).  Baked cheesecake on a rich brownie base, truly irresistible!


Ingredients:
Cheesecake mix
1 egg
250g full fat cream cheese
50g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownie mix
115g plain chocolate
115g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
50g plain flour

Preheat oven to 160°C, grease and line a 20cm square shallow cake pan.
To make the cheesecake mixture, put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat well together.
To make the brownie mixture melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water, or in the microwave.  When melted, remove from the heat, stir well then stir in the sugar.  Add the eggs a little at a time and beat well.  Gently fold in the flour.
Spread ⅔ of the brownie mixture into the base of the prepared tin.  Spread the cheesecake mixture on top.  Spoon the remaining brownie mixture on top in heaps.  Using a skewer, swirl the mixtures together.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until just set in the centre (there will still be a wobble to your cheesecake), Leave it in the oven with the door ajar for 30-60 minutes then remove to further cool on the bench.
Remove it from the baking tin when completely cool and cut in to squares to serve – I cut mine into 16 but you could go bigger for a dessert.
* Note, if you leave your cheesecake to cook for too long it will crack, don’t be afraid to turn the oven off as long as your center has set, this was my first go at making a baked cheesecake and I probably left it 5 minutes too long and as you can see below, some small cracks in formed on the surface of cheesecake.


I also whipped up some savoury scone scrolls using this recipe Melissa posted earlier in the year, except I filled mine with shaved ham and a sprinkling of the new ‘Egmont’ cheese that Mainland have released (they are right – it is great in baking!).


And just because I can’t resist – here is a pic of Max with his ‘birthday buddy’ Sophia at coffee group this week :-)

Cakey Brownie Chocolatey Goodness

So this crazy mess in the picture is delicious.  Yesterday I tried out doubling the brownie mixture from the Marshmallow Brownie cupcakes.  It is really yum, but much more of a cake consistency than brownie base it makes using the original quantities.  I then tried out this heart cutter that Karyn got me from America but when I moved the hearts to get them in the picture I broke ‘em.  Fail.  I reckon multiplying the brownie mixture by four would make the most awesome cake, so that is the next thing I am going to try with this recipe.

Also, yesterday in the mail I received a cute little package that I had ordered from Cloth Kits in the UK.  They make up and send out sewing kits; everything is already printed on the fabric and they give you the thread needed too.  So, this is another project to work on when I get some spare time (or when I am not exhausted from being back at work).  I love receiving stuff in the mail – just like presents on Christmas.  Oh, and look at the ruler ribbon – sew cute!  And, they stock some stuff designed for them by Rob Ryan.  LOVE!  (I’m quite in love with paper cutting and he is one of the leaders in this artistic field).

 

Marshmallow Brownie Slice

Want something a little fancy to serve at your New Years eve party?  Or, for afternoon tea while chillin’ on holiday?  Really you don’t need a reason to indulge in Marshmallow Brownie slice; just make it.  It’s delicious.

So, all this Marshmallow Brownie slice is, is the Marshmallow Brownie Cupcakes but baked in a 20 x 20cm tin.  Easy peasy.  Mine has pink water droplets on it because I made the slice, put this pinkilicious (or however it’s spelt) sprinkle stuff on it and then put it in the fridge.  The sprinkles went weird.  Oh well.

Courtenay has made Brownie by just doubling or tripling the Brownie mixture used as the base before.  I will have to try it one day as it is the most deliciously fudgy chocolatey brownie.

Happy New Year!

Caramel Brownie

 
I decided to take part in Magazine Mondays again, a little weekly event run by Cream Puffs in Venice.  This time I made Caramel Brownie.  The recipe comes from the October 2010 issue of the New Zealand recipes+ magazine.  It was really simple to make :)

Makes: 20 pieces          Preparation: 10 minutes          Cooking: 30 minutes

125g butter, at room temperature
200g dark chocolate melts
¾ cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain flour
380g can caramel condensed milk
50g white chocolate, chopped coarsely

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.  Grease and line a a 28 x 18cm slice pan with baking paper.

Place butter and dark chocolate in a small saucepan over a moderately low heat.  Stir until just melted.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar.  Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the flour and eggs.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.  Marble spoonfuls of caramel through the brownie mixture.  Sprinkle the white chocolate over the top.  Bake for 25 minutes or until just set (mixture should still be a little moist in the centre).  Remove from oven and cool in the pan.  Cut into pieces.