Chocolate peanut butter brownies

Just a few days ago, I saw a post over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe for something that I had to make...chocolate peanut butter brownies!  You might look at the brownies and wonder, "where's the peanut butter?", since there's no indication of it, no swirls to look at.  Like Nutella brownies, the peanut butter has been incorporated into the batter and while you do not see it, you will taste it.

There were a couple of reasons why this recipe called out to me.  Firstly, I always welcome an excuse to bake a batch of brownies!  Who's with me on that?  Secondly, I'm on the lookout for simple, fun, tasty things to bake with my son.  He had a break in summer camps this past week and when I saw the brownie post, I thought it would be a great thing for us to whip up together.  So once again, my little helper and I present another baking experiment from our summer kitchen!

We're really happy we made these chocolate-peanut butter brownies.  They are incredibly moist and fudgy in texture, yet surprisingly light at the same time.  You smell the heady aroma of the peanut butter and taste the creaminess and flavor it adds to the brownies.  They are a wonderful treat for those who love chocolate and peanut butter.  As someone who craves peanut butter a lot, they hit the spot for me and frankly, it was hard to stop eating them.

My son thought these would turn out to be like peanut butter cups (i.e., very good) and they didn't disappoint.  So not only did I get to have another fun baking session with my young fella but we got a great brownie recipe we'll surely be making and enjoying again in the bargain.

My happy place...(involves hot fudge sauce)

If you think about it, we all have a happy place...someplace that makes us smile and where we feel relaxed and comfortable.  You probably have more than one happy place.  I know I do, and funny enough, one of my happy places is an ice cream shop...Ghirardelli's, to be exact (it might seem that way but this is not an advertisement), though I generally feel pretty contented in most ice cream parlors.

My homemade version of Ghirardelli's Treasure Island sundae: ice cream, hot fudge, and a brownie

I love the warm feel of Ghirardelli's ice cream shops when I step in the door - the aroma of hot fudge mingled with warm waffle cones in the air, not to mention brightly wrapped chocolates everywhere I turn.  It's my idea of heaven!  Maybe another part of the appeal is I associate them with vacation.  I tend to seek them out beforehand and if there's a Ghirardelli ice cream parlor somewhere we're vacationing (from San Francisco to Hawaii, Chicago to Florida, or Boston), I make a point to visit.

My favorite thing to get at Ghirardelli's is their Treasure Island sundae, a classic brownie sundae with ice cream and hot fudge sauce.  Ice cream and hot fudge sauce are my kryptonite...it's probably more about the hot fudge than even the ice cream but the two need each other, and what a perfect couple they make!  If I take one bite, I will not be able to stop.  Before I know it, I've eaten way more than I intended to, but I'm so happy.    

Homemade vanilla bean ice cream; Ghirardelli's hot fudge sauce recipe

So I thought it would be fun to re-create my favorite sundae at home (especially since there isn't a Ghirardelli ice cream shop near where I live).  I started with homemade vanilla bean ice cream, then I made Ghirardelli's hot fudge sauce (with my son), and finished it off with a batch of our favorite homemade cocoa brownies.

I was excited to try the Ghirardelli hot fudge sauce, wondering how it would compare with the miraculous concoction we get at the ice cream shop.  It isn't exactly the same as what you get fresh on site but I really like the discernible taste of the Ghirardelli 60% chocolate used in the sauce (it's one of my favorite chocolates to use for baking). I think it's much better than the jarred sauce you can buy from Ghirardelli.  In comparison, I think the homemade sauce is thicker, somewhat grittier, sweeter than the free-flowing sauce you get from the shop.  At a guess, I think that one involves cream whereas this recipe doesn't.

Though the hot fudge sauce may not the stuff of dreams on its own per se, the combination of the ice cream, the hot fudge, and the brownie made for a swoon-worthy combination.  My homespun version tasted so much like what we get at the Ghirardelli shop!  I did feel transported to one of those tables at Ghirardelli and I was definitely in a happy place...my husband and son, eating with me, were in the same happy place right alongside me!

A squirt of whipped cream, a sprinkle of nuts, and a cherry on top makes a brownie sundae all that much more appealing!

As we all know, so many of our memories involve food in some way.  One of mine goes back a couple of years ago, when we were in San Francisco during my birthday. I wanted to go to the Ghirardelli ice cream shop for a birthday treat.  We had visited the Ferry building and then walked...and walked...to the ice cream shop.  By the time we got there, we were exhausted and ravenous.  We ordered our treats and when they arrived at our table, my son and I threw ourselves on top of our Treasure Island sundae (not to mention the ice cream floats) with such ridiculous abandon and speed that I think we scared my husband.  My hubby took pictures of us chowing down on our sundae and it makes me laugh just thinking about it.  A small thing, a little moment, but something I think I'll remember years and years from now, with a smile on my face...

Halloween peppermint brownies

Time flies and it's already Halloween in two short days!  

I may not be very big on Halloween but it's good to get into the spirit a little bit with some pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and a few fun treats.  I find that as the kids get older, the fervor behind Halloween is quieting down so maybe I should try to enjoy it as much as possible while my son is still dressing up and excited to "boo" his friends and neighbors.  

The kids at school are having a Halloween bake sale today and I made these simple peppermint brownies for the sale.  I considered making a batch of owl cupcakes but when I saw this simple idea for making Halloween "faces" using peppermint patties on brownies from Martha, it seemed like an easy/tasty project to try.  I love an excuse to make brownies!

I took Martha's idea and made it even simpler.  I actually used a recipe from Joy of Baking that makes brownies that are meant to be somewhere between cakey and fudgy.  I wanted a moist brownie and also one that would hold up well.  Since I made sure to take my brownies out of the oven earlier rather than later, mine turned out more fudgy, which is how we like them.  Instead of embedding a peppermint patty into the brownies (as well as using one for the faces) as per Martha's recipe, I just added a little peppermint extract into the batter to reinforce the flavor, keeping things simple and not too crazy minty.  

I don't know if everyone's a fan of peppermint brownies but my son loves it and selfishly, of course, I was thinking of him.  He wanted a batch for himself and after I let him sample one, he really wanted to keep the entire batch.   In other words, these are my kid-approved!  Somehow, I did manage to pack up most of the brownies and they now reside with many other creepy and not-so-creepy treats awaiting the school bake sale.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!  Once Monday rolls around, it's officially time to talk Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I can hardly wait!

Peppermint brownies topped with candy cane and dark chocolate drizzle

I've made it a point to slow down and enjoy the holidays.  For me, that means being selective about what I choose to take on, keeping my schedule light, getting things done in advance, and just taking the time to sit down and enjoy the season.

There's plenty of cooking and baking (let's not forget eating) involved at this time of year and I enjoy it immensely.  But in an effort to not go crazy or wipe myself out in the name of the holiday season, I've reined in my holiday baking.  I didn't want to look at my Christmas baking list (yes, I have one) like they were must-do's that I had to fit into my schedule.  Instead, I cut it down into a short list of want-to-do's, a handful of recipes that really appealed to me - things I think my family and I will enjoy - so I could also focus on making old favorites.  While there is always room for something new, I want to keep some traditions at Christmastime.

Well, these peppermint brownies were not part of the plan but they made it into my December baking rotation and I'm so glad it did!  It started when I saw these brownies and the look of the chocolate drizzle and crushed candy canes really drew me in.  I suppose I've just got peppermint on the brain come December and, well, brownies are one of the simplest dessert comfort foods that I crave (to make and eat) often.  So since I couldn't stop thinking about peppermint brownies and since brownies are generally easy/no-major-equipment-required affairs, I went for it. 

I was feeling a bit adventurous because instead of following that recipe for the brownies I saw, I did a little spin-off of several recipes, though I kept that original candy cane and chocolate topping that I liked so much.  For my version, I also called on the brownie recipes from Baked, Smitten Kitchen's favorite based on unsweetened chocolate, as well as Pioneer Woman's mint brownie bites, which has melted Andes Mints in it!

I started with the Baked brownie recipe in mind because I adore the fudgy texture of those brownies but things got really side-tracked from there.  I decided to omit the brown sugar used in the Baked recipe so that the chocolate flavor could come through more.  Along that thought, I went with unsweetened chocolate (what both the Smitten Kitchen and Pioneer Woman recipes use) for deep chocolate flavor.  I had intended to only add peppermint extract for the mint flavoring but couldn't resist the idea of melted Andes Mints!  I have to admit I have them in the house all year round in a candy dish. 

The brownies turned out to be a real hit!  I know it's hard to go wrong with brownies in general but these were moist and had a nice balance of chocolate and clear peppermint flavor.  The Andes Mints really add minty flavor to the brownies themselves while the unsweetened chocolate rounds it out and makes them a bit more serious and less sweet.  The dark chocolate and crushed candy cane on top make them look festive for the holidays and accentuate the flavors going on.

My seven year old loved these, which makes me really happy!  I intended to pack up the majority of these brownies as a gift and he protested and actually asked me to make more "because they're so good!".  I'm not bragging; I just couldn't believe how much he liked them because I think he's been on a bit of a chocolate overload lately (gotten picky with his selection) since I bake so often.  I think the peppermint flavor really appeals to him (the boy can down a large candy cane in minutes) and kids seem to appreciate brownies with a little frosting or topping on them.  Either way, I felt like I hit a home run or scored a winning goal with this one, and it was a pleasant surprise.

That "Fat Witch"

I'm not calling anyone "fat" or a "witch"; I'm talking about brownies!  And I wanted to try this recipe because Fat Witch brownies have bewitched me for years.  They just might be my favorite brownies of all time though I'm a little confused when it comes to the exact reasons why.

Years ago, I was drawn into the Fat Witch Bakery in Chelsea Market by not only the general promise of brownies but also by their adorable name and packaging.  And I was hooked after the first bite of my free sample.  There is something about those Fat Witches!  It's odd because I actually find it hard to describe their flavor.  It's not a chocolaty brownie.  For me, the appeal is their dense, moist, fudgy texture combined with this delicious, rich butter-chocolate-vanilla flavor.  I like to describe it as this alluring "vanilla" flavor but I think maybe it's some magic potion of butter, chocolate, and vanilla swirled together.

I've tried their boxed mix in an effort to get my Fat Witch "fix" at home.  Those taste pretty similar to the actual ones from the bakery but not quite, and they somehow have a boxed mix taste (or aftertaste) to them, in my opinion.  Then...a couple of years ago, the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook came out.  Some of the reviews were pretty harsh (and the negative reviews stay with you, don't they).  Some people said the recipe simply does not produce the brownies you buy from the store.  Plenty of people raved about them too.

Mixed results.  After trying the recipe myself, I'd have to say the homemade version was not as good as the ones from the bakery.  Whether that is because the bakery uses superior ingredients and a more expert hand or if this is not actually the exact recipe, I can't say.  What I do know is mine seemed like a paler version of the real thing.  But that doesn't mean it wasn't good.  It was quite tasty but I'm not sure the final result is enough motivation for me to go into the kitchen and make this particular recipe that calls for so much butter (and sugar), if given other options.  The recipe uses a solid 1 3/4 sticks of butter for a 9" square pan's worth of brownies.  And you use chocolate chips, just 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons worth.

As I mentioned, the Fat Witch brownies are not intensely chocolaty in flavor (unlike the Scharffen Berger brownies, for example) but the batch I made from scratch had even less chocolate flavor than I expected.  Texturally, the true center of the brownies came out dense, moist, and fudgy - as I hoped they would be - but the sides or edges were more on the cakey side (there are 4 eggs in this recipe).  Maybe the recipe doesn't translate well on a small scale?

A couple scoops of homemade caramel ice cream to accompany my Fat Witch brownie

In the end, I ended up with a somewhat "watered-down", albeit still good, version of the actual thing.  I suppose I could try to tweak the recipe (by adding more chocolate, more espresso powder than what I already used to amp up the chocolate flavor, and maybe reducing the amount of eggs) if there were not so many other delicious brownie recipes out there to bake and eat.

To be sure, I'll still be drawn to the real thing, those little Fat Witches chanting my name whenever I visit Chelsea Market...they are definitely good witches.

Brownie cupcakes with peppermint filling

Chocolate and mint.  I'm not sure how it all began but it is one of my favorite combinations.  And brownies are among my favorite things on earth.  I pretty much love all things chocolate!

I know it's been out for years but I only recently bought a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.  While I love a chocolate cupcake with ganache frosting, I'm not a huge cupcake fan, mainly because I'm not a frosting - particularly, buttercream - lover (again, unless there's an overwhelming amount of chocolate involved).  But when I last flipped through the book, I couldn't help but notice many recipes I'd love to try eventually.  Plus, I can't go wrong with one of Martha's books.  It's always well organized, reliable, and I love that there's a photo for each recipe.  Ever since Cupcakes came out, I've been waiting for a "Martha Stewart's Cakes" book that has still yet to materialize; I would buy that in a heartbeat!

So from my copy of the Cupcakes book, I made a few brownie cupcakes with peppermint filling.  I love the promise of brownie cupcakes and there's no need for frosting here.  The surprise center is an embedded peppermint patty, which infuses the brownie/cupcake with a strong peppermint flavor. 

It's not quite a surprise filling, I find, since the peppermint patty "leaked" out of most of my cupcakes even though I was pretty careful to follow the instructions on hiding them.  I kind of like the volcanic look to them and really don't mind a little peppermint lava flowing out.  If you make these and get a particularly "runny" batch, maybe we could just rename them "mint lava brownie cupcakes".  You could tidy them up a bit or hide any filling poking out by dusting some cocoa powder over the top.  I think they're fine either way.

I really enjoyed these.  I love the crisp, shiny, crackly, almost hard tops on these brownie cupcakes.  Be careful not to overbake them so that the center is not only minty, thanks to a York peppermint patty, but also fudgy and chocolaty.  The brownie-cupcake batter was so good, I'd even make these plain, without the peppermint patty inside.  Or instead, I'd just add a touch of peppermint extract or almond extract to the batter.  And the thing that really makes this recipe a keeper is that these cupcakes retained their texture, staying moist and fudgy with a crisp top even on its third day!  They're also very easy to make.

The craggy, sunken tops seemed to call out for a scoop of ice cream.  That's probably over the top but I did it anyway. 

Scharffen Berger (one bowl) brownies

There are lots of brownie recipes out there.  Much like with chocolate chip cookies, or, for that matter, most popular desserts.  One might call for a little more/less butter, chocolate, or flour and, oftentimes, the differences can be quite minute.  I want to stay faithful to a good recipe (and I certainly have my favorites) but I like to try something new in hopes of stumbling upon a great combination.

I've mentioned before that I've yet to meet a brownie that I didn't like.  We can count these Scharffen Berger brownies among the list.  The recipe is from the late Robert Steinberg, of the American chocolate company Scharffen Berger (now owned by Hershey).  It's a simple, one-bowl recipe, that just requires a little muscle power because you must mix the batter rather vigorously by hand (but it only takes about a minute). 

Normally, I don't think you need to use your best chocolates to make brownies (though it never hurts) but in this case, I thought it appropriate to use Scharffen Berger.  I realize that you really can taste the difference in the end result.  I'm not totally convinced it's necessary for everyday, particularly if you intend to down your brownie in ice cream and chocolate sauce, for example, but you really do taste what you put in.  That's particularly the case here because this recipe is heavy on the chocolate, lighter on the butter and other accompaniments.

The fun part of making this particular batch of brownies were the little helpers I had in the kitchen with me: my 5-year old niece and my little guy!  We'd just gotten home after a five-day road trip together and the next morning, I thought it would be fun to try this simple recipe together and have a little project in the kitchen.  My little niece was an enthusiastic and excellent helper!  She wanted to do each part, watch everything, and would wait patiently for instruction.  And ironically, she does not even like chocolate (sigh...) and most sweets in general.  My little guy was more interested in playing that particularly morning but he also helped and is my very reliable taste-tester.

These brownies came out fudgy in the center and deep in chocolate flavor.  Texturally, I prefer the brownies from Baked, which are just sinfully moist, but these have a more pronounced chocolate flavor.  Next time around, I'd use a smaller, 8-inch, rather than 9-inch, baking pan.  Partly since I didn't use nuts, these brownies were thinner than I like.  Better yet, I'd use some toasted nuts next time (despite the little guy's likely protest) since I think some crunchy nuts would be a great balance against the dark chocolate flavor of these brownies. 

Payard's flourless chocolate cookies - 2 ways

On one of our recent excursions into NYC, we stopped by Payard Bakery for some requisite macarons and a few other sweet treats.  Incidentally, we tried one of their savory sandwiches and it was quite tasty.  Anyway...the visit got me looking up some of Francois Payard's recipes and it brought me to these flourless chocolate cookies that have been fairly widely touted.  I thought it would be fun to give them a try for myself.  I think this is a good time to highlight flourless treats with Passover coming up but these are some pretty special flourless cookies to try for no reason at all.

Payard's recipe is flourless chocolate-walnut cookies.  Some people commend them for being low-fat since there's actually no chocolate (just cocoa powder) in them and only egg whites are used to bind them.  What fat you do find in them is the good stuff, coming from the walnuts.  But you won't find me insinuating they're some sort of "health food" because there's plenty of sugar in the mix.  But the amazing thing about these cookies is their texture.  Somehow, they manage to be moist, fudgy, and chewy (yes, chocolaty too) without the actual chocolate, butter, or egg yolks.  They really do taste and look like brownies in cookie form!  The other thing about these cookies is they are very easy to make.  I mixed the batter in a large bowl, by hand, in a matter of minutes. 

When I made these, I wondered if my little guy would like them.  The little one loves a chocolate cookie or brownie but he still insists he doesn't like walnuts (or other chunks of nuts in his desserts - long story, but that's not really true).  So I offhandedly fed him a bite to test the waters and when he almost took my fingers off trying to inhale as big a mouthful as he could, I knew he was into them.  He quickly scarfed one down and requested more, even acknowledging they were good with the walnuts. 

These were so interesting that I decided to make another batch a few days later and play with the mix-in.  I threw the "no actual chocolate in this recipe" mantra out the window and added some mini chocolate chips and a little bit of cocoa nibs in place of the walnuts.  The result?  They were good but in a side by side comparison, we clearly preferred the original toasted walnut version more (not surprisingly, the pros know what they're doing).  The chocolate chips are tasty but made the cookies sweeter than I liked.  The cocoa nibs added a certain level of smokiness to the cookies without the sweetness so perhaps it may be worthwhile to try what Molly at Orangette did and make a walnut-cocoa nibs version.  But I think I'll stick with the original. 

Classic brownies

What do peonies have in common with brownies?

Well, nothing really...Except that when I think of peonies, I call them paper flowers because I remember making these flowers out of different color tissue paper when I was a kid at school.  They were so pretty.  And I'm nostalgic about brownies in a similar way.  I only spent a part of my childhood here in the States, having just arrived here from Hong Kong at eight years old.  But I'll be forever thankful that I met the very awesome, American brownie.

As a chocolate lover, brownies are one of my favorite treats of all time.  I am no snob but I'm generally pretty picky about dessert (and food in general).  But I have rarely met a brownie I didn't like.  To me, even the bad ones are pretty good.  I guess it's the simplicity that I love and the fact that it's all about the chocolate.  I also love that brownie texture, or that chewy bite you get when you sink your teeth into it.  It also helps that whenever you see brownies on the dessert menu - pretty often at one of the restaurant chains - it always comes with a scoop of ice-cream on top and maybe some chocolate sauce too.  Now, who can complain about that... 

I love anything that gives me an excuse to eat ice-cream.  Whenever my son gets a brownie dessert as part of his kids' meal, I can't help but sneak a few bites.