Posts Tagged ‘chocolate’

Mmm Mmm Better Brownies

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012
mmm_mmm_brownies

Sometimes you just want some chocolate but you just don’t want to dive into a candy bar, am I right? I wanted a brownie like nobodies business and you know what I did? I didn’t go out and buy any that’s for sure. I made some because well, I wanted brownies that I am used to! Good old American brownies!

Brownies are really quite easy to make at home that the only reason you would make them from a box is well, if you wanted to. I’m not too good for a box mix brownie at all. You have a brownie and I am pretty much there with open hands and drool coming out of my mouth.

Brownie recipes are pretty much always the same, aren’t they?

Mmm Mmm Better Brownies

Rating: 41

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
  3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Notes

I had my brownies in the oven for about 35 minutes as I'm not used to this oven here and it didn't seem to bake well enough for 25 minutes so just check on it off and on.

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Peanut Butter Bars

Friday, May 25th, 2012
peanut_butter_bar

Since we’re in Australia and they don’t have Reese’s peanut butter bars you can just buy in any store (you have to go to a speciality shop that sells American candy), I figured I would do one better and make something similar to it. I thought of doing the cups but, you know what? That’s a lot of work! So, I took the bar route after I saw them on Pinterest from Our Best Bites.

Really though, even when I still back home, this has me thinking, “Why have I not made this before”? It is so cheap and easy to make that the thing that took me the longest was trying to figure out the conversions for the recipe.

These bars really tasted quite similar to Reese’s peanut butter cups that I was surprised and in love. Naturally, since they don’t sell graham crackers in Australia I had to substitute it with Maria biscuits which don’t taste anything like a graham cracker but was what I read up on to substitute for. Mine were a bit crumbly but I am sure not complaining.

peanut_butter_bar_2

If you want a quick treat that takes no more baking than melting the chocolate and the butter in the microwave then this is definitely the kind of recipe that you want.

The longest part to it is waiting for it to firm up to dig into them! I even had a bar for breakfast. Hey, it’s got peanut butter and dairy in it, it’s got to be semi-healthy right?

Swedish Chocolate Balls

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Swedish Chocolate Balls

When I first saw these Swedish Chocolate Balls over at Delishhh I knew I had to make them. They are simple, require no baking, and is chocolate.

How can you go wrong?

The ingredients pretty much everything that you have hanging around your house. I love recipes I don’t have to spend much money on.

I didn’t take step by step pictures this time because, well, I was too busy talking to my mom about nothing in particular.

I dipped my balls in sprinkles, which didn’t look so good as well as chocolate.

Swedish Chocolate Balls

The verdict? They are delicious. Much like eating a ball of really rich chocolate frosting. It stops me from eating more than one at time.

Would I make these again? In a heartbeat!  In fact, it is going to be on my holiday baking list.

Recipe is:

1/4 lb or 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 tbsp strong coffee (cold)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Roll in coconut flakes or pearl sugar

Mix butter, sugar and coffee together first and then add all the other ingredients.  Make sure the butter is mixed in well.  The batter should be easy to roll and not too sticky, you can adjust consistency with oats or coffee.

Roll batter into about 25 small balls and roll them in pearl sugar or coconut flakes.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yep, chocolate chip cookies. They have been done to death!

However, there is nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven. You just can’t beat that.

Well, you could beat that with a warm brownie with melting vanilla ice cream. Why would you want to though?

I searched for a recipe that would make soft chocolate chip cookies.

When I was younger and I would make chocolate chip cookies you could use them as weapons.

No lie.

In fact, I think one time they were thrown at someone.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found just the recipe for a soft chocolate chip cookie over at Tasty Kitchen. And would you know it, it was called The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They weren’t lying. They really were soft. The next day they were soft too.

They didn’t make it to three days in our house so I couldn’t tell you if they were soft then. I bet they would be.

I didn’t help with the disappearance of the cookies though…

Okay fine, I might had a few. Just a few. We won’t talk about the amount of dough I ate either.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

They didn’t bake very thick but they weren’t paper thin. I loved them. This is definitely a good go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

I would make them again.

Oh yea, I used chunks instead of chips though. Mmmm chunks of chocolate.

Chocolate Eclair

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

One day my mom and I were talking about different sweets and she brought up eclairs. I told her I had been wanting to try my hand at making them but was intimidated by the dough. Well, I finally faced my fears and made them.

Eclair batter

The dough part wasn’t as bad as what I thought. In fact, it was super super easy. Just flour, water, and butter then eggs beat into it. It came together really easily. I was impressed.

I ran out of piping bags from our previous Cupcake Cookies so I had to spoon out the dough onto the cookie sheets.

Eclair batter

After cooking them, I know now that I didn’t make them thick enough. Oh well, next time right?

They cooked up nicely though and for that I was pleased. I was pretty nervous while waiting for them. I tweeted about it…a couple times!

Which reminds me…are you following us on Twitter yet?

Finished eclair shells

Finished eclair shells

Gorgeous for a first try!

Drum roll please, here is the finished piece:

Eclair

Yep, I sure didn’t sift the powdered sugar again and you can tell. When will I learn?!

Want the recipe? Check it out here!