Perfect Brownies

My husband was having poker night last Saturday with some of his friends. It was requested of me to make some brownies. I said I'd make some from scratch, but the response to me was, "The box ones taste great. Just make those." Uh, ok. So I did. And then I made these for myself. I have to say that mine were so ooey gooey and altogether delicious. The box ones were good but these were delicious.

Perfect Brownies

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, and melted butter and mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated to the wet. Do not overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment (I used 8x8 pan). Pour the batter and spread it out. Bake at 325F for 20-30 minutes (Mine needed 45 minutes due to thicker brownies). It's done when a toothpick inserted in the tallest part comes out clean. Keep in mind you've got chips in there. If you hit one with the toothpick you'll have melted chocolate on it. Let cool in pan a few minutes. Then carefully lift parchment out of the baking dish. Peel the edges and let cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Just a note, on the original recipe it says to use a high quality chocolate since the recipe list is so simple. I was just making mine on the fly so I used Nestle since that was what was in my pantry. I thought they were simply delicious. I'll probably try a higher quality chocolate next time but they were seriously good with the common brand too. (Just an FYI).

Source: How to cook like your grandmother

Frosted Rice Krispie Bars

This is the bar my Mom always made us when we were growing up. In fact I always thought Rice Krispie bars were made with peanut butter and not marshmallow creme. To this day I prefer these to the marshmallow kind. Yum!

Frosted Rice Krispie Bars

1 cup sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies
6 oz chocolate chips
6 oz butterscotch chips
Butter - for pan

Heat sugar and syrup just to boiling in a saucepan. Do not overcook. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and rice krispies. Put into 13x9 buttered pan. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together and spread over krispie bars. Chill until frosting is set. Cut into bars and serve.



As I was making these a couple of weeks ago I thought to myself that I thought they would be really good with Honey Nut Cheerios so I made them again earlier this week. While I do like the hint of honey flavor I don't care for the underlying Cheerios taste in the bar. I think next time I will try the honey flavored peanut butter to see if I like that better.

Chocolate-Chip Brownie Double-Deckers

My husband, son, and I are having dinner tonight at one of H's coworker's homes. I was asked to bring either brownies or cupcakes. Well since my last "from scratch" adventure was cupcakes I decided to do brownies. Originally I wanted to make a mint layered bar but my husband suggested I do something else since they may not like mint. I went through my recipes and saw this one which I thought may appeal to their 3 and 5 year old daughters.

Chocolate-Chip Brownie Double-Deckers
Woman's Day 11/1/2005
Makes 24 bars
Active: 15 min; Total: 1 hr 15 min

CHOCOLATE CHIP LAYER
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut up
1 cup packed light-brown sugar (I only had about 1/3 cup light so I used dark for the rest)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

BROWNIE LAYER
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut up
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 325F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil, letting foil extend above pan on both ends.
2. Chocolate Chip Layer: Melt butter. Whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Cool.
3. Meanwhile, make Brownie Layer. Melt butter. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Whisk in sugar and salt, then eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Stir in flour with a rubber spatula just until blended. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
4. To finish Chocolate Chip Layer: Whisk in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt with a rubber spatula until blended. Stir in chips. Drop spoonfuls over brownie batter, spread to cover.
5. Bake 35 to 40 minutse until top is set and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs. (Don't overbake, or they won't be fudgy). Cool in pan on wire rack.
6. Lift foil by ends onto cutting board. Cut in 6 rows crosswise and 4 lengthwise.

Per serving: 279 calories, 3g protein, 1g fiber, 15g fat, 9g saturated fat, 58mg cholesterol, 107mg sodium

DO-AHEAD: Can be completely prepared, cut, tightly wrapped and frozen up to a month. There's almost no thawing necessary - about 20 minuts - as these brownies are delicious even when partially frozen.

Ok, I did not use the above tip but thought I would include it as it was part of the recipe in the magazine. I haven't gotten anyone else's opinion on how these turned out but I did try a sliver of one this morning just so I could give a review. I thought the brownie part of the layer was delicious. The chocolate chip part was just ok. When I first bit into it I didn't like it but after I had chewed it then I did like the taste.

I'm not sure if I will make this recipe again or not. If I do make it again I will spray the aluminum foil with some cooking spray before putting the brownie batter in as I still had some pieces sticking to the foil.

UPDATE ON THESE BARS: When I had tasted a full bar (instead of just a sliver) I actually really liked them. The 3 & 5 year old girls who I made them for just loved them and wanted to keep eating them. The family we took them too kept most of them and we brought about a half dozen home ourselves. I had yet another one this morning and still enjoyed it. I probably will make these again.