Valentine’s Brownies

Holiday decor and spirit usually adds a little bit of fun to life.  So although I was short on time,  I didn’t want it to stop me from sending a little Valentine’s Day spirit to my brother and my nieces and nephew.  Looking back, I could have even added Valentine’s Day M&M’s or other festive coated candy, but another holiday…another dessert!  I decided to make this brownie recipe, but I doubled it and made it in a 13″ x 9″ pan.  I did mostly hearts and a couple of these flowers since I apparently either don’t have or couldn’t easily locate a larger heart cutter.  The thunder thigh curse benefit  of cutting shapes out of brownies is that you’re suddenly left with all the outer scraps…

I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again.  These brownies rock.  They’re fudgy, but not to the extent that they totally fall apart into pieces (obviously) when you cut into them.  A go-to recipe for sure. Enjoy!

Oreo Rice Krispies Treats

So, I still have never remembered to take a picture!  However, I’m about due to send another package to Corrie’s deployed co-worker, so perhaps I’ll remember next time since her standing request is for these.  This is them packaged up and ready to go in the upper right hand corner.

Oreo Rice Krispies Treats

• 3 Tbps. Butter
• 5-6 cups mini marshmallows, depending on your “gooeyness” desire
• 8 cups rice krispies cereal
• 8 oz bag mini Oreo cookies or regular size, quartered

Spray a 9″x13″ baking dish with a light mist of nonstick spray.

Place butter and marshmallows into a large microwavable bowl. Microwave for a few minutes until marshmallows puff up nice and large. Remove and stir in cereal and Oreos.

Pour into the 9 x 13. With the back of a large spoon (sprayed with cooking spray) press and smooth treats into the pan. Cut into squares.

Slightly adapted from Picky Palate

Marshmallow Brownie Crunch Bars

We were invited to a yummy dinner with friends, and I brought these as my contribution…dessert!  Luckily they turned out well considering I am now in the habit of making “new” things to take or serve to friends.  Since I’ve been asked for the recipe, I am happy to report our hosts enjoyed them too.

Corrie thought that the marshmallow layer was a little difficult to maneuver once they had cooled, but I really liked that aspect of them.  He loved the Rice Krispies topping, and I enjoyed it but was more into the other layers so go figure!  Either way, I’d recommend these, and I’d definitely make them again.  Word to the wise…they make a very full 13 x 9″ pan, so they’re perfect for feeding a large crowd!

Somehow the majority of my pictures turned out blurry, so I’ll just have to make them again to change out the photo!

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

Brownie:

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1- 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Marshmellow Layer:

• 1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows

Crunch Layer:

• 1½ cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9×13-inch pan.

Brownies: Combine the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally while melting.  Alternately, you can microwave in 15 – 30 second intervals taking care to stir between intervals.  Set aside and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In another separate but larger bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly.  Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended.  Add the melted ingredients into the egg mixture and mix well until combined.  Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

After removing the brownies from the oven, immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them.  Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

Crunch Layer: While that’s in the oven, combine the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan.  Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.  Then spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer.

Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Recipe found at: Brown Eyed Baker Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody; originally from Buttercup Bakes at Homeby Jennifer Appel)

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Corrie once again needed another work treat which usually works out fabulously – the perfect opportunity to try something new and then give it away before it causes significant problems.  This one was a little rushed, so I finally got around to taking a picture that evening after someone had just piled them onto a paper plate to take in ha!  I love these kind of bars – shortbread, fruit, and crumb topping…delicious!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup white sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 sticks of cold butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 4 tsp. cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a 9 x 13 glass baking pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in butter until mixture is in pea sized pieces.   Add the egg and vanilla, and mix to combine. Dough should be crumbly but will stick together when squeezed. Pat half of the dough into the pan.

In another small bowl, mix 1/4 cup white sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Add blueberries and gently toss them to coat. Pour blueberry mixture on top of the dough in pan.

Crumble remainder of dough evenly over the blueberry layer.

Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned. Cool completely, then cut into squares.

Recipe found at: For the Love of Cooking

Chocolate Reese’s Rice Krispies Treats

I’m back! Geesh, what a whirlwind.  Lots of travel (along with some for the aforementioned shower/bachelorette party!), work, and the graduate school quarter is winding down.  Several, several weeks ago I made Oreo Rice Krispie treats.  Within a few days following that, Corrie needed to take in a treat for a work potluck, coupled with the fact that they were a) easy and b) delicious; we made another batch.  Somehow I’ve made them probably three times and have yet to make a picture, but I sincerely doubt that they won’t get made again, so eventually the recipe will come.

Moving on…so Corrie took in the Oreo treats and one of his co-workers loved them so much that she requested more treats for their next treat day.  In fact, she is being deployed, and I had planned on joining Operation Baking Gals, but when she found out she told Corrie I could sponsor her instead.  And what was her first request…yes, Rice Krispie Treats!  Ha.  Then, the next treat day rolled around, but I had just read this recipe and decided to make these instead for something different!  These were met with rave reviews, and I was told they were gone by lunch.  Again, super easy and apparently popular.  What a fabulous combination!

And for the record, I’m apparently on a Rice Krispies Treat kick, because I then needed something that wouldn’t melt in the mail for some packages for my niece who was at camp, my brother, and my brother-in-law, so I did some with Reese’s Pieces mixed in…

Chocolate Reese’s Rice Krispies Treats

• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 large bag mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 bag (~50) mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, quartered
• 1 1/2 cups melted chocolate

Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.

Put cereal into a large mixing bowl and set aside.  Then place marshmallows and butter into a large bowl, and microwave until puffy (~ 3 minutes).  Pour the melted butter/marshmallow mixture onto the cereal and combine with a rubber spatula until the cereal is coated.  Pour into the prepared pan, and press into the pan to form an even layer.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the peanut butter until softened and runny, about 30-45 seconds.   Add in the quartered peanut butter cups, and gently stir to combine.  Pour the mixture over the cereal layer then drizzle or spread the melted chocolate on top of that layer.  Refrigerate until hardened then cut into squares and enjoy!

Recipe Source: Picky Palate

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

It’s official.  I love oreo crusts.  Now these look a little “fluffier” than they should.  These bars are supposed to include one + a partial additional package of cream cheese.  I knew that – saw it and it was noted.  What did I do?  Add two entire packages.  I’m blaming this one on my husband.  I was chatting with him while baking (he’s very cute), and he therefore distracted me.  This does make a large amount of crust, so if you want a slightly thinner version (I mentioned I like crust right?) you could reduce the amount of cookies and butter slightly.

We didn’t end up going where I was originally taking these bars so I ate almost all of them myself.  It was a horribly delicious idea.

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

• 23 Oreo cookies
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:

• 12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 Tbsp. sour cream, room temperature
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 325˚ F.  Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with foil.

For the crust, pulse the Oreos in the bowl of a food processor until finely ground.  Add in the melted butter and pulse again until the crumbs are moistened.  Press the crumbs into an even layer over the bottom of the 8×8 pan, and bake 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool (but leave the oven on).

For the filling, beat the cream cheese on medium-high in your mixer (paddle attachment) until light and smooth, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the sugar until well combined.  Then mix in the sour cream, vanilla and salt.  Beat in the egg and egg yolk on medium-high speed until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Stir in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the prepared crust, smoothing the top with a spatula.  Bake for about 40 minutes, until the cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool about 1 hour to room temperature.  Cover the pan and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours.

To cut the bars, pull the cake from the pan by lifting the foil up out of the pan.  Place on a cutting board, peel away the foil, and slice into bars.  Clean the knife blade between each slice to keep the edges neat.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Adapted from Recipe Girl, originally from You Made That Dessert? by Beth Lipton; Found at Annie’s Eats

Chocolate Chip Blondies

If I’m going to eat a chocolate chip cookie, I’m a chocolate chip bar kind of girl.  I prefer a dense chewy cookie; I’m not at all interested by a crispy edge.  In fact, chocolate chip cookies probably don’t rank anywhere my top 5, but my husband ranks them right around number 1.  So one night, we decided we needed a sweet snack, and when I asked him what sounded good – he picked these out.  Who was I to argue?  Unfortunately my stomach didn’t either, and these were gone too quickly than the thighs of my jeans would have liked…

Chocolate Chip Blondies

• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in a 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips.
3. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut in 16 squares. Store blondies in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Baking

Triple-Chocolate Brownies

One word: Yum.  These were super easy, and we demolished these in a weekend, not even.  Whoops.  And…that’s all I have to say about that!

Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies

Found at Brown Eyed Baker; Originally from Baking Illustrated

• 5 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into quarters
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

With the oven rack in the lower-middle position, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Fold two 16-inch pieces of foil or parchment paper lengthwise to measure 8 inches wide.  Fit the foil into an 8 x 8 square baking pan, pushing it into the corners and up the sides of the pan.  The overhang will give you something to pull up on to be able to remove the brownies.  Fit a second sheet in the pan folded in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet.  Spray the sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water or in a microwave on 50% power in 30 second increments, stirring EVERY 15-30 seconds, melt the chocolates and butter together.  If using the stovetop, stir occasionally until smooth.  Once melted together, whisk in the cocoa until smooth, and then set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined, about 15 seconds.  Once combined, whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.  Finally stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, spread into the corners, and level the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board to cut into squares.

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

We headed over to our friend’s new condo, but the plans were last minute, and I wanted to bring something (I’m the only girl, so usually snacks aren’t discouraged…).  Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand for this, so you’ll have to pardon the quick shot I took before I dug into my own piece.  These were good, but very rich, so I would recommend cutting *slightly* smaller bars for your own consumption.

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

Recipe found at Lovin’ from the Oven

Brownies:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 8″x8″ pan.

In a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave on 50% power, melt the butter.   Off the heat, add sugar, vanilla, and eggs to the melted butter and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and salt.  Incorporate well into the melted butter mixture.  Transfer batter to the baking pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Cookie Dough Topping:

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 1/2 tbsps. milk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Beat together butter, sugars, milk and flour (start on low to avoid flour all over your kitchen).  On low speed, stir in mini chocolate chips.

To assemble, spread the cookie dough over completely cooled brownies.  Chill the brownies until the cookie dough is firm.  Cut into bars.

M & M Bars

Part of our travels included Corrie’s birthday extravaganza weekend in Columbus where we got together with old friends, went to the OSU game (Go Bucks!), and ate at some yummy restaurants.  Two of our fabulous friends hosted us for the weekend, so as I brought these as a sweet treat when we visited.  They were pretty tasty, the only thing I wasn’t thrilled with was that the M &M’s all sunk to the bottom, so I might try tossing them in a little flour next time to see if that helps or adding some chocolate chips to the batter as well.

M & M Bars

Recipe found at: IWANTCOOKIE

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups M&Ms

Grease a 9 x 13 pan, and preheat your oven to 375 F degrees.  In the bowl of your stand mixer or using your hand-held mixer, cream together butter with the white and brown sugars.  Once light and fluffy, add in the eggs and vanilla, and mix in until incorporated.  In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, salt, and flour.  Then add this mixture in portions to the batter while mixing (to avoid having the flour fly up in your face!).  Mix until combined, and then fold in the M & Ms (and chocolate chips if using) by hand.   Spread in an even layer in your pan and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in the pan on a cooling rack, and cut into squares to serve.