September 29, 2020

Triple Espresso Brownies

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Triple Espresso Brownies

September 29: International Coffee Day

Coffee, coffee and more coffee! This frosted chocolate brownie has three delicious coffee flavorings that coffee lovers are sure to appreciate:

  • Espresso powder (or instant coffee crystals)
  • Espresso-flavored chocolate baking chips
  • Coffee liqueur (or strong coffee)

If espresso-flavored chocolate chips are not available, chocolate covered coffee beans may be substituted. Try triple espresso brownies with a cup of coffee while celebrating International Coffee Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Midwest Living)

For the brownies

  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon espresso powder (or instant coffee crystals)
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted
  • ¾ cup chocolate espresso baking chips (we used Rex Coffee brand) or chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup sugar, granulated white
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

In a saucepan dissolve the espresso powder in water. Add the butter and chocolate espresso chips. Melt over low heat.

Stir until smooth. Add the sugar, beaten eggs and vanilla.

Remove from heat and add the flour, walnuts and salt. Stir everything until smooth.

Line an 8×8-inch square pan with foil with enough overhang “handles” so it is easy to remove the brownies after baking. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the foil with cooking spray, butter or oil. Spread the brownie batter in the pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Meanwhile, make the frosting.

For the frosting

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon boiling water
  • 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (we used Kona coffee liqueur; see Notes for substitution)
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ cup chocolate espresso baking chips (we used Rex Coffee brand) or chocolate chips or chopped chocolate covered coffee beans

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with powdered sugar. Add the boiling water and mix until smooth. Thin out the frosting to a spreadable consistency by adding the coffee liqueur and vanilla. Spread on the cooled brownies.

Sprinkle the top with chocolate espresso chips. Cut into 16 squares. Store leftovers in tightly covered container for up to five days.

Notes

  • Instead of coffee liqueur, use strong liquid coffee. One teaspoon espresso powder of instant coffee crystals may also be used.
  • We found the chocolate espresso baking chips/morsels from the Walmart baking aisle. They may be ordered from Amazon as well. Rex Coffee and Nestle are two brands that make these products.
  • Get a free PDF cookbook of recipes with more espresso chips.
  • Search our blog for other recipes containing coffee as an ingredient or flavor.

 

August 27, 2020

Banana Peanut Butter Brownies

Posted by HI Cookery under 08 August | Tags: , , , , , |
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Banana Peanut Butter Brownies

August 27: National Banana Lovers Day

During quarantine, online searches for “banana bread recipes” have spiked (which is way better than the number of coronavirus cases spiking). It seems that homebound people did not want to be wasteful of their limited groceries, had more time to spend in their kitchens and wanted to eat comfort food during the uncertainties in life. Having “been there, baked that” banana bread several times, we wanted to make something else with our blackening bananas.

Since we had peanut butter and cocoa powder in our pantry already, banana peanut butter brownies recipe was an easy choice to bake up besides banana bread. So if there are overripe bananas, bake banana peanut butter brownies while homebound and on National Banana Lovers Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Tasty)

Ingredients

  • 2 overripe bananas
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar (we used a little less)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup flour
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup peanut butter

Directions

In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add the butter, sugar and vanilla. Cream everything together.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until the batter is smooth. Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with foil/waxed paper/parchment paper, leaving a little overhang on the sides to be able to pull up the brownies after baking. Mist with cooking spray or grease with butter. Pour batter and spread evenly over the prepared pan.

Scoop out the peanut butter in random places on top. Use a butter knife to swirl the peanut butter. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and wait about 5-10 minutes before lifting the foil/waxed paper/parchment paper side handles and transferring to a wire rack. Cut into squares when completely cool. Yield: 16 brownies (or 9 large brownies).

Notes

  • This is a versatile recipe. Add half a cup of walnuts, chocolate chips or peanut butter chips to the batter before baking.
  • This is an eggless recipe so the brownies bake up more cake-like than packed and dense. Eggs were a precious find at the grocery stores during quarantine—just like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, yeast and flour (in our area).
  • Search our blog for other banana recipes.
 

December 8, 2015

Hemp Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies

Posted by HI Cookery under 12 December | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Hemp Chocolate Candy Bar Brownies

Hemp Chocolate Candy Bar Brownies

December 8: National Brownie Day

We have blogged several times about brownies before. But this one is baked with a special ingredient—a chocolate candy bar! And it’s not just any bar—it has hemp seeds! Hemp is related to but is not the same as marijuana, although they both come from one of the varieties of their common cannabis plant. When baked into brownies, a few people automatically assume there is “pot” in it, which is illegal in some states. Nevertheless, we reassured our skeptical friends that they would probably only get high on sugar and not on “weed”! For National Brownie Day, bake some brownies with a special ingredient—a chocolate candy bar with or without hemp.

Recipe

(Adapted from Dave Lieberman of the Food Network)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (1 stick butter) butter, melted, divided use
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 hemp chocolate candy bar, coarsely chopped

Directions

Prepare an 8×8-inch square baking pan that has been lined with foil with a little hanging over the edges (this will act as the “handles” to lift the cooled brownies from the pan). Grease the bottom and sides of the foil-lined pan with 2 tablespoons melted butter. With the remaining butter, combine it with the sugar in a mixing bowl.

Hemp Chocolate Candy Bar Brownies

Beat in the egg, water and vanilla. Next, add the salt, baking powder, cocoa powder and flour.

Hemp Chocolate Candy Bar Brownies

Fold in the chopped hemp chocolate candy bar pieces. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the center is set and the top is shiny and slightly wrinkled. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Use the foil “handles” to lift the brownie out of the pan. Cut into squares and serve. Yield: 16 brownie pieces.

Hemp Chocolate Candy Bar Brownies

Notes

  • Thanks to Lisa L. for giving us the special ingredient for this recipe—the hemp chocolate candy bar. The hemp seeds added a nice occasional crunch to the fudgy-cake like texture in this brownie.
  • Substitute the hemp chocolate candy bar for a cup of another candy bar (like Snickers fun size or mini chocolate-peanut candy bars).
  • Search our blog for other brownie recipes.

 

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