a batty combo

"Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. If you don't, I won't care, I'll pull down your underwear!" Oh maturity, how banal you are. I wish all parties were costume parties and that you didn't need an excuse to parade around town in a tu-tu or a face full of zombie wounds. I love seeing the random toddler with a ballet or princess outfit on in the grocery store in the middle of May. Too bad a line is drawn at a certain age where it is less "what a cute little kitten" and more "what a crazy cat lady she must be!" My husband thinks I am going to be that lady, minus the cats and plus a few extra whack-a-doo sweaters. If you're never in style, how can you be out?

To embrace this wondrous time of year I wanted to bake something that not only tasted but looked like Halloween. To me, that would be something dark chocolate and something pumpkin flavored. Plus, I had to use the rest of the pumpkin I had from the Marbled Pumpkin Ginger Cookies. I couldn't settle on bars or cookies so I made both with little tweaks to the pumpkin batters and subbing brownie batter for dark chocolate cookie batter. I wasn't sure how keen I was on the chocolate/pumpkin pairing but I think it works as long as you pump up the spices in the pumpkin and bring out that taste of pie.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

Yield: 24

INGREDIENTS
pumpkin batter
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C brown sugar
1 large egg
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 C pumpkin puree
4 oz. chocolate toffee bits

chocolate brownie batter
Half a recipe of your favorite chocolate brownie batter, prepared and set aside.

DIRECTIONS
pumpkin batter
Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil.
1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, spices and baking soda. Stir together and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Beat in the egg, vanilla and pumpkin until well combined.
4. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.

Paper plate from Grandma Suedy.  

I swear this has been around longer than I have been alive,

waiting for the opportunity to bear some Halloween treats.

assembly
1. Alternately drop mounds of each batter in the pan.
2. Using the back of a spoon or butter knife, swirl the batters together and then sprinkle toffee bits over the pumpkin swirl sections.
3. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting and placing on your forty-year-old paper plate!

Nutrition: cal, g fat, mg sod, g carb, g sugar, g fiber, g protein

to the heart of the mallow

I have been away again but this time it was in the name of family, fun and beer. Yeah, sorry about that but we like to drag birthdays out around here. I was finally celebrating Torren's 2-6 by taking him to the Empire BrewFest in Syracuse.  I'll spare you the beer-sniffing details and hoppy diatribes but it was a lot of fun and the five-hour festival went by too fast.  I grew up in the 'burbs out there and most of my family remains in the area so we had some major fam time with Grandmama Sue, Aunts Mar and Potty, my brother Noonie and cousins Anniepants and little Lillie Bean.  The latter of which firmly introduced us to the latest toy trends: Zhu-Zhu Pets and Silly Bandz. The Bandz are huge here in Mass as well but I was hoping they would die out before the school year commenced.  Doesn't look like their intrigue is waning.

We capped off the weekend with a trip to Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown.  Who knew that "beautiful" and "brewery" went together?  It helps when there are acres of open farmland and an amazing architectural homage to Belgian brewing farmhouses. So glad we made the trek. Torren's love for beer rivals mine for baking and we each have been warming up to the other's obsession for a while. I stock our kitchen with crazy must-have appliances and baking pans while forcing him to taste-test my goods as and he fills the corners with a corny keg fridge, car-boys and home brew supplies while having me cap bottles for us to distribute the love.

Not really an excuse but I just haven't been baking up a storm or idling in front of the laptop because both are radiating some major heat and this heatwave isn't going anywhere.  We're ending this marshmallow-on-parade with a high note. I have made these several times with varying ingredients and you cannot go wrong.  Despite the cupcake shape, these are definitely brownies, if perhaps a bit on the thick, cakey side of the brownie spectrum.  I have used other brownie recipes to make these if I wanted to "lighten up" a little bit.  There was not an obvious difference so feel free to play.  My usual go-to are thick and fudgy with no visible crumb. These have a slight crumb but are very rich nonetheless and very s'more-sational.

Heart of Darkness Brownies

adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
Yield: 24
This is another recipe that can benefit from creativity.  Switch up the nuts: peanuts, macadamia, walnuts.  Change up the candy bars: peanut butter cups, toffee bars, Kit-Kats.  Change out the chocolate chips: white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter.  Whatever you come up with can be easily substituted.  In this case, I left the caramel off and added peanuts  instead of almonds to continue the s'mores run and avoid a sticky mess on a hot day.

INGREDIENTS
brownie cups
1 1/2 C (3 sticks) unsalted butter (yes, I have used half light butter here in the past without much of a difference so that is up to you)
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 C granulated sugar
1 C firmly packed light brown sugar
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 C very coarsely chopped raw almonds or pecans, toasted
1 C semisweet/bittersweet chocolate chips
5 full-size (2.07 ounces each) Snickers Candy Bars, cut into small chunks
3 C mini marshmallows

caramel drizzle
6 oz (about 25) unwrapped caramel candies
2 T heavy cream
1 t pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray two standard 12-cup muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray, or line them with cupcake liners (way less mess).

brownie cups
1. Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until smooth.
2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a bowl and stir in the sugars, eggs and vanilla.
3. Sift the flour and salt into the chocolate mixture and stir just until combined.
4. Stir in the cooled chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and chunks of candy bar.
5. Fill each cupcake cup halfway with batter. Bake until the surface of the brownies has a glossy, crackled surface, about 20 minutes.
6. Remove the brownies from the oven and top each one with 1/4 cup of the mini marshmallows. Return the brownies to the oven and cook until the marshmallows start the melt and puff up a bit, but not browned too much, about 2 minutes.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool just enough to handle, then remove from the cupcake cups, running a knife around the edge of each brownie to loosen it from the cup (this is why the liners are a good idea, trust me.  You can always take them off if you are concerned about aesthetics). Let cool completely on the wire rack.

caramel drizzle
1. While the brownies are cooling, make the caramel drizzle. Combine the caramels, cream, vanilla, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl (or melt in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan). Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If the caramels are not completely melted, continue heating in 30-second increments, stirring until smooth.
2. Drizzle the brownies with melted caramel and let cool completely for the caramel to harden. Do not chill. Serve immediately or store for up to 3 days in a covered container

Nutrition: 456cal, 25g fat, 123mg sod, 56g carb, 44g sugar, 2g fiber, 6g protein

you can't judge a dessert by its topping

Firstly, sorry for the week off but if you have any idea what this melt-wave in the Northeast is doing to the majority of its residents, then you would get it. I can't complain, a week or two like this happens every year, just to solidify once again that people love to hate on the weather around here and that there will always be a topic for small talk. Needless to say, the kitchen has been closed. Fortunately, we've been running around with our heads cut off since this past weekend of July Fourthdom and I haven't been in the house much to experience the sweltering heat. I broke down and bought another fan. The air conditioners at Target mocked me but I'm too cheap and stubborn to do it. Plus, I think our windows are as old as our {cough}120 year old{cough} house. Not much keeping air in or out as a result.

These little yums were for an awesome family party we attended at our friend Bri's parents' house. I learned a couple of things this weekend: 1. There are some families as loud and fun and into food as my own (another party to see that match would be great!) 2. Cherry vodka and Pepsi take me back to a time when I could have more than one drink of the stuff without singing bad karaoke (I apologize for my Lady Gaga) 3. Paper licenses are not acceptable forms of ID in Massachusetts (and I assume, everywhere). I finally change my name legally and have to cough up my real ID "for a few weeks?" Fortunately I'm lame and don't get out much. Planning is smart.

Back to the eats. Are you getting déjà vu from my last post? Well, just because it looks similar does not mean that it will taste that way. Correction, they'll taste GOOD, just not the same. I have to make sure to throw that in there or you won't get any further into this. Actually, recent convert of sweet things, Rylan P. Doherty asked for seconds and I guiltily had to deny him so I'd have enough for the aforementioned soiree. I will be making more in the near future to make up for that.

These little bars are different from the last because they are baked and do not necessarily call for peanut butter or marshmallows. Rylan thought they tasted like graham cracker though so the s'more idea must have come across after all. Most people adore peanut butter and chocolate and the marshmallows just add that summery feel. I felt that they would go over well with a crowd whose palates I had not yet met. Definitely a good choice- I almost baked a pie and there was some All-American apple crumble that would have trounced that decision easily. So, where I have the additions of peanut butter cups and marshmallow, feel free to crumble up another kind of chocolate (Kit-Kats or Twix had crossed my mind) and stuff it inside and out!

Brownie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Bars

Yield: 16 big or 32 small

INGREDIENTS
Your favorite brownie recipe (for a 9x13-inch pan)
Half of your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (I omitted the chips so there wouldn't be chocolate overkill but some people love that)
3 C chopped peanut butter cups optional (I used milk, dark and white peanut butter cups because I just can't be simple, can I?)
3 C miniature marshmallow optional

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil and if you still haven't tried that non-stick kind (AMAZING), grease it.
1. Prepare brownie mix according to your recipe. Pour mix in pan and bake for 20 min.
2. While brownies are baking, prepare the half batch of cookie dough. Leave it out to remain soft.
3. Remove brownies from oven and drop chopped peanut butter cups over top. They should begin to melt immediately.
4. Spoon softened cookie dough over peanut butter cups, trying to cover the chocolate as well as possible.
5. Put the pan back in the oven for 20-25min. or until the cookie dough layer is firm in the center.
6. Remove pan from oven and drop marshmallows over the top. Put pan back in oven for 3-5 min. or until marshmallows begin to puff and brown. Let bars cool before cutting.

Nutrition (1/32): 242cal, 13g fat, 109mg sod, 31g carb, 21g sugar, 0g fiber, 4g protein

chubby up the hubbies

 I had mentioned a while back that I had a few recipes using the same batter and here is the final installment. I had such a hankering for baking with pretzels to achieve the always coveted sweet 'n salty taste. I kept wracking my brain for a good thing to pair pretzels with and I remembered one of my favorite snacks: peanut butter filled pretzels. From there my brain triggered the great combo of peanut butter, pretzels and chocolate, a la some ice cream place in Vermont.  Hooray, Chubby Hubby Brownies were born!  I am pretty sure my own dude is glad that they're not around right now to give him a bit extra around the middle.

Chubby Hubby Brownies

Yield: 32

INGREDIENTS
1 C unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
18 oz bitter sweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs (or 1 C liquid egg sub)
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 C finely crushed pretzels
1 C lightly broken pretzels
1 C crushed Peanut Butter M&Ms®

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9" x 13" baking dish with foil, and lightly grease.
1. Melt 1/2 C of butter and stir with pretzel crumbs.
2. Press crumb mixture into pan, bake for 15 minutes.
3. While pretzel layer is baking, melt the other 1/2 C of butter, unsweetened chocolate and 9 oz. bitter sweet chocolate in the microwave (stirring every 30 seconds) or over the stove until contents are completely mixed.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at medium speed while gradually adding dry ingredients to mixture until fully combined.
5. Add in chocolate mixture and beat well, it will be thicker than traditional brownie batter.
6. Stir in the rest of the chocolate chips and the 1 C of broken pretzel pieces. Press brownie mixture over baked pretzel layer. Sprinkle crushed Peanut Butter M&Ms over brownie batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Nutrition: 284 cal, 16g fat, 62mg sod, 35g carb, 19g sugar, 2g fiber, 5g protein

satisfactory will have to do

During my attendance at Mott Road Elementary, the grading system was reevaluated and instead of receiving A's and B's, we were given O's (outstanding), S's (satisfactory) and U's (UNsatisfactory).  Ick.  An "O+" just makes me think of blood typing, not a stellar report card.  I also feel that there is a huge leap from being an outstanding student to being a satisfactory one.  The word satisfactory is just plain lame.  Who says that?  It's like trying to let someone down gently, but everyone involved knows that you may as well rip off that band-aid instead of gradually pulling out each hair with it.  I always felt a huge letdown when an S crept its way onto my report card (usually in the "behavior" section, my mouth is just too big to be kept closed), the word left me feeling as blah and vague as its definition. Yet, here I am about to share what I feel is a "satisfactory" recipe.

It is rare to find a food that you love and not be able to hunt down a recipe on the 'nets.  There is a certain treat that has me poring over the shreds of its existence, a few photos and ingredient list, while trying to figure out how to replicate it.  These butterscotch bars by Whimsy and Spice have me on the hunt.  I am happy with my trial outcome but I want to work on it more to achieve what I feel it can truly be.  I could patronize their shop and order some (which I believe I will have to do to truly understand the bars' consistency and ingredient meshing) but I just love experimenting and feeling that accomplishment when you know you have your "a-ha!" moment.   Hopefully these will reappear in the future and earn the "outstanding" mark they deserve.

Butterscotch Chocolate Layer Bars

Yield: 32 bars

INGREDIENTS
graham cracker layer
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1/4 C butter, melted

brownie layer (adapted from Southern Living® Incredible Cookies' Brownie Cookies)
1/4 C unsalted butter, melted
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 1/2 oz bitter sweet or semisweet chocolate
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs (or 1/2 C liquid egg sub)
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

butterscotch layer
14oz can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free, doesn't seem to have an affect one way or the other)
2 T unsalted butter
3/4 C butterscotch morsels

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8"x8" or 9"x9" pan with foil.
1. Mix graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 C melted butter together.  Press into bottom of pan.  Bake for 12- 15 min.
2. While graham layer is baking, melt the other 1/4 C of butter, unsweetened chocolate and 4 1/2 oz. bitter sweet chocolate in the microwave (stirring every 30 seconds) or over the stove until contents are completely mixed.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at medium speed while gradually adding dry ingredients to mixture until fully combined.
5. Add in chocolate mixture and beat well.  Press brownie mixture over graham layer.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. While brownie layer is baking, pour the condensed milk into a saucepan on medium heat.  Add butter and stir continuously until thickened and turning amber in color, about 10 minutes.
8. Stir in butterscotch morsels until melted.  Spread the butterscotch mixture over the base and let cool before cutting. 

Nutrition: 162 cal, 8g fat, 64mg sod, 22g carb, 16g sugar, 1g fiber, 2g protein

blondes or brunettes? (sorry redheads)

I may have wished what I consider my bland mouse-brown hair to be the engaging red that my grandmother was blessed with but I'm also a bit of a purist and believe that what you are born with is ultimately the best fit for you in the end.  Of course, I am not opposed to experimenting but if you know me, you know how I lament the two dark "caterpillars" on my face that give Bert a run for his money.  They just don't scream "go lighter!" to the top of my head.  Saddy-sad, too bad.  I guess I'll have to play with my food instead.
Now as much as I'd love a redhead brownie (I am partial to red velvet cake, after all), we're going to focus on the originals: blondies and "brunettes."  I'm a diehard blondie fan thanks to my love of the chocolate chip cookie prevailing way over any hunk of deep chocolate.  However, I wanted to take the two and see what their progeny would look like.  My tweaking ended up with about 85% blondie to 15% "brunette."  Chocolate has a much more overpowering flavor and thus this percentage seemed the most appealing in order to taste both.  All taste buds are different so maybe you will want to adjust this yourself.  I must say, those wild blondes and staid brunettes make a pretty tasty brownie baby!

Marbled Brownies

Yield: 16

INGREDIENTS
Blonde brownies a la my Grandma-ma-Sue-the-best (this is 1.5 x's the original Blonde Brownie recipe)
*1/2 C unsalted butter, melted and browned
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 1/2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 plus a pinch of a tsp baking soda 
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C chocolate chips (did not tweak original amount to keep chocolate flavor down a little)
*(depending on how gooey you want your brownies to be, you may want to add a tablespoon more.  I found that the centers had an almost undercooked consistency when doing this but the edges were perfectly chewy and not over-dried)
**(you can actually purchase spoons with the old-fashioned measurements, I find these helpful when tweaking the sizes of recipes as done here)
 
semi-sweet chocolate brownies adapted from Kraft

2 oz semisweet chocolate

2 T unsalted butter  

2 T plus 2 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 egg, beaten

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 C all-purpose flour 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and/or line 8"x8" or 9"x9" pan with foil.

blondies

1. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Crack two eggs into small bowl and beat.  Set aside.

3. Melt and brown butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat once foamy and amber in color.

4. In a large bowl, mix together butter and brown sugar until sugar is completely moistened.

5. Add vanilla and 3/4's beaten egg (you will use the last bit for the chocolate brownies, did you think I would have you waste half an egg for those?! pssshh)

6. Slowly add in flour mixture until completely absorbed into wet mixture.

semi-sweet chocolate brownies
1. Place the 2 oz of semisweet chocolate and the butter in large microwaveable bowl (or melt over stove top).
2. Microwave on high stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is completely melted.
3. Add sugar; mix well.
4. Blend in eggs and vanilla.
5. Stir in flour until well blended.

make your brownie love-child

1. Spread two-thirds of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the 1/2 C of chocolate chips over the top.

2. Alternately drop the rest of the blondie batter and semi-sweet chocolate batter over the blondie base. 

3. Using a knife or end of a wooden spoon, swirl batters together to marble.  Do so as much or as little as you prefer.

4. Bake for 25-30 min.  If you are making a gooier brownie, that toothpick you customarily insert at the end will never come out clean!  Just a warning!  Let brownies fully cool before cutting.

Nutrition: 240 cal, 12g fat, 71mg sod, 31g carb, 21g sugars, 1g fiber, 3g protein

getting harder...moving from stout to whiskey

I hope you were able to enjoy a glorious gluttony of corned beef, cabbage and potatoes smothered in a horseradish sauce as we did thanks to Mommy Dearest's culinary prowess and love of the Irish.  Seriously, the table was even decorated like a scene out of Better Homes and Gardens with a fancy tablecloth, candles, favors and little cordials filled with Bailey's (thank you, Father figure).  I told you, there is no slackage on this holiday.

Although we were stuffed after the feast, some were able to indulge in the dessert I brought along as a very small "thank you" to the beautiful evening.  Believe it or not, it is rare that I eat what I make because I have a bit of a tasting-while-making issue and am virtually sick of the confection by the time it comes out of the oven.  In the end, I am a batter lover through and through.  I can't pass up ice cream though (I could be sitting in an igloo in my underwear and still yearn for a scoop of the stuff) so I just grabbed some of that caramel and plopped a bit on top of the vanilla bean ice cream.

Now, before we get to the food, I must wax poetic for a minute.  I slightly adapted the recipe from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor.  The recipes in this book are purely indulgent and amazingly creative.  Equally as wonderful is the book design.  It's covered in cute borders and polka dots- a perfect complement to the extreme sugar factor of its contents.  I am wholly endorsing buying this book just because it is so fun to look at.  Even better, O'Connor offers great advice on techniques, ingredients and the why's and how's.  It definitely brings out my inner baking nerd.

Sugar-Crusted Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey-Walnut Caramel Sauce

slightly altered from Sticky, Chewy, Messy Gooey by Jill O'Connor
Yield: 22 sundaes

INGREDIENTS
sugar-crusted brownie
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 C sugar plus extra for muffin tins
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
6 large eggs
2 T pure vanilla extract
1/2 C Irish whiskey (optional)
1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

whiskey-walnut caramel sauce
2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C Irish whiskey (this can be altered, Irish for St. Pat's)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 C cream (light or heavy)
1/2 tsp salt
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 C walnuts (pecans would be a good sub, too)

vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream for the side

DIRECTIONS
brownies
1. Brush all but two of the cups of two standard 12-cup muffin tins with melted butter. Spoon about 1 TBSP of sugar into greased cups and shake and tap around to cover the bottom and the sides of the cups completely with a thick coat of sugar. Tap out any excess sugar.
2. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F.
3. Combine the butter and chocolates in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes or heat over stove top and stir until completely melted.
4. Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. If the chocolate is not completely melted, continue to microwave for 30 second intervals and stir smooth.
5. In a large bowl, gently whisk together the eggs, 2 cups sugar, and vanilla just until combined. Stir in the chocolate mixture just until combined.
6. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt over the chocolate mixture and fold in just until combined.
7. Spoon about ¼ cup of the batter into each of the prepared cups. (If you run out of batter before you fill all the cups, make sure to wipe out the butter and sugar of any empty cups before baking the brownies, as otherwise they will melt and burn and, in general, make a huge mess.)
8. Bake until the tops of the brownies are firm and a toothpick inserted in the center of a brownie cup comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 20-25 minutes. Be careful not to over bake. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
9. When pans are cool enough to handle, run a thing, sharp knife around the edge of the one brownie, then carefully tip it out and catch in your hand. Place the brownie on the wire rack to finish cooling. Continue releasing the brownies, on at a time, form the pans.
Serve slightly warm with ice cream and Whiskey-Walnut Caramel Sauce.

whiskey-walnut caramel sauce
1.  Combine the sugar, whiskey, and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
2. Cook, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and start to turn color. Increase the heat to high and boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, 4 to 5 minutes. Watch carefully, as it can burn quickly.
3. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and CAREFULLY pour in the cream and salt.  As mentioned before, the mixture bubbles up and you should wear oven mitts and use a long wooden spoon.  Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the caramel thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. The mixture should be the consistency of very thick cream. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and walnuts.
4. Let boiling sauce cool until it is just warm before serving. To store, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week. To reheat the sauce, microwave, uncovered, for about 1 minute on high. Stir until smooth.

assembly
1. Place the brownies on individual servings plates and top with ice cream.
2. Drizzle 1/4 C of warm caramel sauce over the top.
3. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Nutrition with caramel: 513 cal, 32g fat, 81mg sod, 54g carb, 42g sugar, 3g fiber, 5g protein
without caramel: 341 cal, 24g fat, 63mg sod, 33g carb, 25g sugar, 2g fiber, 4g protein 

wee bit o' green for luck

After my math skills improved as a child, I realized that the Irish percentage of my mutt-like heritage was one of the smallest at less than 25% of my genetic makeup. If you saw how my family celebrated St. Patrick's Day, though, you would agree I had earned the mass of freckles over tan-resistant skin. Any excuse for a food celebration truly brings out the best in my fam but this day is practically as big as some people's Thanksgivings. Several corned beefs, loaves of soda bread and pounds of potatoes and cabbage are consumed on the 17th. The boiled food somehow strikes a chord in our bellies.

This day is even more significant now that I have "diluted" my husband's pure Irish gene pool. You don't marry someone named "Torren Doherty" and live down the fact that you are not even a "halfie." I have managed to make up for the lack of red hair by dutifully preparing variations of corned beef and cabbage over the past six years. Moreover, I have learned how to incorporate the lovely Irish pastime of alcohol into my meals. A few Irish cream and stout-tinged recipes will be making their debuts on this holiest of months.
Sorry, Dad, every day's Italian Day, right?

Irish Stout Brownie Cups with a Wee Bit O' Green

Yield: about 4 dozen
INGREDIENTS
1/2 C unsalted butter
6 oz. bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate
1 C granulated sugar
8 oz. Irish Stout, room temp. (chocolate or cream stout would be AMAZING, too)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 bag of Creme De Menthe Hershey's Kisses (interchangeable with other Kiss creations, obviously!)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease mini cupcake/tartlet pan thoroughly or use mini cupcake papers.  Unwrap four dozen Kisses and set aside.
Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat until combined (they can also be melted in the microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds).  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine sugar and vanilla.  Add in melted chocolate until fully incorporated.  Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and add to chocolate mixture, stirring to get rid of any white streaks.  (OK, I am going to tell a little secret here and say that it is rare that I actually mix the flour/leavening agents in their own bowl because I am lazy and hate to have extra dishes to clean...moving on!)  Pour chocolate stout into the batter and stir to fully combine.
Spoon batter into mini tins filling about halfway.  This should yield two batches of twenty-four each.  Place a Kiss in the center of each brownie cup and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool to room temperature and carefully twist out each brownie.  You may need to go around the edge with a butter knife to loosen them up a bit.  Perfect little leprechaun proportions.

Nutrition per each: 79 cal, 3g fat, 9mg sodium, 12g carb, 8g sugar, 1g protein

the power of persuasion (and some dark chocolate)

 

Is it just me or do women love sweets more than men?  I don't even need a full hand to count the number of guys in my life who will devour a dessert like I (or my sister or my best friend or my grandmothers, etc.) do: my father (genetic sweet tooth of aforementioned grandmother) and my beloved new uncle-in-law.  The latter will literally float down from his third story perch in the multi-family we own together and inquire "got any of those yummy cookies for me?"  The cookie fairy has been known to leave sweets outside his door to which he hilariously exclaimed to his girlfriend "when I think about them, they just appear...like magic."

This lack of sweet tooth boggles my mind and makes it difficult for me to pawn off my goods due to the fact that I am usually surrounded by dudes.  My husband Torren is one of those people who will try something new but in the end will ask for the same thing (Reese's Pieces cookies).  Our friends would prefer something alcoholic (I have managed to incorporate that into baking, stay tuned).  Lastly, my brother-in-law Rylan is also a willing taster but would ultimately prefer to eat a can of almonds with a side of unsweetened baking chocolate and dried fruit.  Blech.  So I decided that Rylan was my challenge of the month and I wanted to persuade him to the sweet side with a combo of his loves when he came over for Torren's Superbowl chili the night of the big game. 

Hooray!  I could finally make something "Almond Joy" associated!  Plus, I had spent the previous weekend roasting all of my leftover nuts from Christmas cookies and had plenty of almonds to go around.

These were easy and fun to make and in the end, I managed to make a sweet treat convert out of Ry by appealing to his dark (chocolate) side.  Score one for diabetes!

Almond Joy Brownies

Yield: 24-36 brownies (depending on your appetite)

INGREDIENTS
Your favorite brownies (scratch, mix, smix, whatever). 
My go-to brownie recipe is always Baker's One Bowl Brownie recipe because as much as I love my KitchenAid, I don't always like to clean the damn thing and a bowl and spoon are EASY.  If I am making them for the dieting bunch, I will buy the No Pudge mix (remarkably non-mix tasting, not a fan of fakey) or make it from scratch.
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (I use Fat Free, doesn't taste any different)
1 1/2 C shredded coconut
1 C slivered almonds (toasted is extra yum)
1 C (8oz.) dark chocolate (around 60% cacao is ideal but everyone has a different palette, hence the baking chocolate lover above)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Line 9"x13" pan with that lovely nonstick foil.  Prepare your choice brownies accordingly and spread in pan.  Sprinkle coconut, almonds and chocolate over batter.  Pour condensed milk over top.  Bake for 35 min. and lure that dessert ditcher to the land of sugar.

Nutrition (based on 24 servings): 350 cal, 19 g fat, 78mg sodium, 42g carb, 36g sugar, 8g protein