Root Beer Brownies

I tried this recipe from Nicole Weston over at Baking Bites last Saturday after another lame shopping trip (will they ever make cute pants for short people??). Somehow brownies always soothe. And, with the addition of root beer, I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Once I sampled the brownies I realized I couldn’t taste much of the root beer (except when I was washing them down with leftover root beer from the Mug bottle), but it definitely added a certain something. These brownies are moist and dense and seem to get better the longer they sit around. Unfortunately, they're all gone now but I get a feeling I haven't seen the last of this recipe.

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
6-oz chopped bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate (1 cup)
3.5-oz chopped white chocolate (1/2 cup)
4 tbsp butter
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
8-oz root beer (no foam!)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 9-in square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside. (I don't use a sifter because I hate them. I put the ingredients in the food processor instead.)

In a small bowl, melt together chocolates and butter, stirring frequently until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until well combined. Blend in cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by half of the root beer. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture, the remaining root beer and the vanilla. Scrap down the sides of the bowl well and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 26-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with only a few moist crumbs stuck to it. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

When brownies have cooled, wrap them up well and store them overnight before serving.

Chocolate Chip Macaroons

This recipe is tricky because it’s so simple. You ever have one of those cooking/baking moments? You know, when you look at a recipe and it looks so easy to make? And then you’re in the middle of making whatever it is and something you never even thought of happens that complicates the entire dish? Yeah, that happened to me with this recipe from Favorite Brand Name Cookies (Publications International, Ltd.).

The recipe is only four ingredients—flaked coconut, mini semisweet chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. You mix everything, slap little dough balls on a cookie sheet and bake them. Easy enough, right? Well, almost. I had two problems. The first was that these cookies break apart easily when they’re not cooked. Getting them out of the spoon and on the cookie sheet was a bit more difficult than I would have liked. Then you have to flatten them with the back of a spoon which sometimes causes them to separate. But even though both issues were nuisances, the major issue I had was with greasing the cookie pans. Or, in my case, not greasing them. I usually ignore greasing pans because most types of cookies I make don’t really need to be baked that way. It turns out macaroons really need to be made on greased cookie pans (or greased aluminum foil—that’s what I usually line my pans with). You could also use parchment paper as my friend and co-worker Ashley suggested. If you don’t use any of these techniques, you will spend quite a bit of time peeling macaroons off your cookie sheets or aluminum foil and breaking some of them in the process. Which you don’t want to do because they taste like Mounds bars and that rules.

Consider yourselves warned. Now, on to the recipe!

2 ½ cups flaked coconut (I used generic sweetened coconut)
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Combine ingredients and mix until well blended. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonful 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets. Press dough gently with back of spoon to flatten slightly. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thank my friend Erin for this recipe she got off the back of a Gold Medal flour bag! I halved the recipe and still ended up with 36 delicious cookies.

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag (24 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips.

On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls or #40 cookie/ice cream scoop 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.

Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

A few notes from Erin:

*I used two sticks of salted and one of unsalted for the butter.
*I used dark brown sugar.
*I used Trader Joe's milk chocolate chips instead of semisweet.

A few notes from me:

*As I mentioned, I halved the recipe. A great idea if you don't have ravenous neighbors like Erin does. :)
*I used unsalted butter and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

As always, ovens vary. The oven in my new house seems to need about one to two extra minutes to cook things (possibly because it's larger than my old apartment oven, but who knows). Fifteen minutes seemed about right for a perfectly baked cookie.

Blackberry Crumb Bars

I made this last night for a small dinner party. It was my first try and the dessert was a hit. Once again, all praise for the lovely Ms. Martha Stewart.

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, and 1/2 cup (1 stick), room temperature, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 containers (5 oz each) blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter and flour paper, tapping out excess.

Make topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and teaspoon salt; add 1 cup flour, and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. Refrigerate topping until ready to use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining teaspoon salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in pan; sprinkle with blackberries, then chilled topping.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Martha Stewart makes my mouth water.

Ahem. I mean, her recipe makes my mouth water. Hee.

I received this recipe in the mail as a housewarming gift when I notified several of her magazines I was moving. I managed to pawn off two dozen on the neighbors or I would have eaten all of them myself. I think next time I'll add a little more banana--it's very subtle in the recipe and I'd like to be able to taste it a bit more.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned oats
8 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (the recipe calls for them to be toasted, but they taste just fine untoasted)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put butter and sugars into bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Using 1-1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to complete cooling.

Can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days if not all eaten immediately.

Cranberry-Maple Pudding Cake

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit and, while I haven't tried it yet, YUM--it sounds fantastic! Can't wait to give it a whirl.

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup pure maple syrup (grade B or grade A dark amber)
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 tsp finely grated orange peel
Pinch plus 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Creme fraiche, softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Combine first 4 ingredients and pinch of salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk egg and sugar in another medium bowl. Whisk milk, melted butter and vanilla into egg mixture. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; whisk to blend. Pour warm cranberry mixture into 11x7x2-inch or 8x8x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Pour batter over.

Bake cake until golden and cranberry mixture bubbles at edges, about 28 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve cake warm topped with creme fraiche, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Mom's Kickass Banana Bread

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jam

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add in eggs. Mix in bananas and lemon juice. Add remaining dry ingredients. Add jam. Grease and flour tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Notes:

*I use Crisco as my vegetable shortening
*I always use a regular loaf pan instead of a tube pan. The bread turns out just as well.
*Use raspberry jam! You'll be glad you did.