Samoa Brownies

So I've been holding out on you guys. I've been MIA for 2 months, partly because I had been on bed rest since the end of March and was put on a strict diabetic diet at the end of my pregnancy. So my menu consisted of boring, protein-filled meals that I didn't need to share on this blog. Not much going on in the kitchen. However, the main reason I have been away was because I had finally given birth to another beautiful baby girl at the end of April. We're all pretty much still adjusting to the new little person in our household, but we couldn't be happier. My eldest daughter is the most excited to finally have a little sister.

I was previously warned that having 2 kids was going to be a lot different than it was when I only had 1. They were right. Aside from my own recovery after giving birth and the sleepless nights, there is so much more to juggle. But because I was so restricted with my diet for the past 2 months, I couldn't wait to get back in the kitchen and eat normally again. And you best believe that I have been saving up a ton of new recipes to try out. I have recently got into Pinterest and found great ideas from there, including this new recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff. It was the first thing I wanted to try out and I'm so glad I did. I love the Girls Scout Samoa cookies. In fact, I tried another version of a Samoas Bar when I first started this blog. So when I saw a brownie version of a Samoa, I had to give it a shot.

I used the brownie recipe from my Salted Caramel Pecan Brownies and they came out so good. You can also use a boxed brownie mix, but you know me and making things from scratch. This recipe was quite easy and I'm definitely going to make these again.

prepared brownie
1 3/4 cups shredded coconut
1 (14 oz) package caramels, unwrapped
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. milk
1-2 oz semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

1) Prepare brownies according to instructions. Cool completely.

2) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Place coconut on a baking pan. Bake for 2-3 minutes. Stir coconut. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until toasted. Watch closely to ensure it doesn't burn.

3) In a large, microwaveable bowl, add caramels, salt, and milk. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, about 45-60 second increments. Continue heating until caramel is melted and smooth.

4) Stir in toasted coconut. Spread over cooled brownie. Drizzle melted chocolate chips over brownies and refrigerate for 4-5 hours or overnight. When you're ready to cut, allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour to soften the coconut topping.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

I recently learned from the Brown Eyed Baker that there is a cookbook out there totally dedicated to my love of all things cookie dough, The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook. I. Must. Get. This. Cookbook. After learning of said cookbook, I have been craving for some cookie dough treats. I have saved up this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies I found from, again, the Brown Eyed Baker, for emergency situations like this. Cookie dough and brownies. Genius.

Brownie
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate chips
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Line a 9x13 pan with foil with enough to hang over all four sides. Butter foil and set aside.

2) In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate in microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each increment, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

3) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in melted chocolate until well combined. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour. Mix just until combined (do not over-mix).

4) Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

Cookie Dough Spread
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. whole milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1) In a medium bowl, cream butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla and beat until combined.

2) Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour. Mix just until combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips.

3) Evenly spread cookie dough over cooled brownie. Refrigerate until cookie dough is firm, about an hour. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the brownies. Store brownies in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Salted Caramel Pecan Brownie

My daughter absolutely loves brownies. Anytime she sees it at any store or restaurant, she always begs me to buy her some. I have a great go-to recipe for brownies that I promised her we would make together one day. But I haven't gotten around to doing it. I've been seeing many recipes for Salted Caramel Brownie recipes in the blogosphere and felt like they were calling out to me. So I thought this particular recipe from Beantown Baker was the recipe to make with my daughter.

Once the caramel sauce is made, this recipe was really easy. No need for an electric mixer because the ingredients are whisked together. The result is an ooey-gooey, chocolatey goodness that may have caused problems between me and hubby. You see, he's been doing so well with his diet this week, and blew it because of these brownies. He couldn't stop eating them. Sorry boo. But our daughter wanted some brownies :)

3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup salted caramel sauce
Fleur de Sel for garnish

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until toasted, about 7 minutes. Coarsely chop pecans and set aside.

2) Line a 8 x 8 inch baking pan with foil, leaving several inches overhang on the sides. Grease pan with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.

3) Place 1 cup of chocolate chips and butter in a bowl over simmering water (double boiler). Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

4) Whisk in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and continue whisking until glossy and thick, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and salt and mix just until blended. Transfer batter onto prepared pan.

5) In a small bowl, combine half of the pecans with the caramel sauce. Drop caramel pecan mixture by spoonfuls onto brownie batter. Gently swirl with a skewer or thin metal spatula. Top with remaining pecans and chocolate chips. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to completely cool in the pan set on a baking rack. Once cooled, grab foil overhang to lift brownies out of pan and cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container for 1 week.

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This recipe popped up on my reader last week from Smells Like Home and I had to make it ASAP. It looked so sinfully delicious and Red Velvet is one of my favorite things to eat and make. I, luckily, had just enough flour left. Otherwise I would have to wait some more before I made this, lest I run to the store again for the upteenth time today. This recipe uses ALOT of red food coloring, unlike my go-to Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe, which only uses 1 ounce of red food coloring. So this brownie yields a very deep colored red velvet that is so hard to resist. Topped with the white chocolate buttercream frosting makes for a super yummy alternative to the brownie.

Brownies

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 oz red food coloring

2 tsp. vanilla extract (divided)

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour a 8 x 8 inch baking pan. Set aside

2) In a small bowl, slowly stir together cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into a thick paste until no lumps of cocoa remain. Set aside.

3) In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add in remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. With the mixer off, add cocoa mixture, then turn the mixer on to medium and beat until uniform in color. Turn mixer to medium-low and slowly add flour and salt. Mix just until combined. Do not overmix.

4) Remove bowl from mixer and stir batter with a rubber spatula once or twice to ensure flour has been thoroughly incorporated. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick test comes out clean. Completely cool brownies in the pan on a baking rack for about 45-60 minutes. Frost as desired (in the pan, or cut into 12 squares).

White Chocolate Buttercream frosting

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 oz white chocolate, melted

1-2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1) In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter until soft and fluffy on medium-high, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add melted chocolate and continue beating until well incorporated. With the mixer on medium, add heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.

Fudgey Banana Brownies

I recently learned about freezing ripened bananas for later use. So whenever we end up with bananas that we don't eat up, they end up in my freezer. With that said, I have a lot of browned bananas stocked up in my freezer already. So when I noticed that I had 2 more bananas browning up, I had to think of something to do with them quickly. So I wouldn't have to add to my collection of frozen ones.

Luckily, Beantown Baker, one of my favorite blogs, has dedicated this whole week to banana recipes. Her recipe the other day for Fudgey Banana Brownies caught my eye. I once had a banana flavored chocolate cake at a friend's baby shower and I remembered how much I loved it. So I thought this recipe would be a nice duplicate to that cake.

I'm not sure if I did something wrong. Maybe its due to the fact that this recipe doesn't require eggs. But the brownie was rather dry. Not the soft and chewy brownie I'm accustomed to. The flavor was great, but I just wasn't happy with the texture. Not sure if I'll be making this one again.

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 medium bananas, mashed

2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 35o deg F. Lightly grease a 8 x 8 baking pan.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar on medium speed until light and creamy. Add bananas and vanilla and beat until well combined. Set the speed to low and add dry ingredients. Continue beating until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

4) Press batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

White Chocolate Coconut Brownies

This recipe popped up on Food Buzz one day from Brown Eyed Baker and I immediately had to make it. I love anything that's white chocolate and coconut. It reminds of the flavors of the islands. And anytime it reminds me of Hawaii, it means its going to be a good recipe. This recipe almost became a disaster when I accidentally put 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar instead of just 1/2 cup. It became very sweet and the consistency of the brownie was soft. But I baked it a little longer to firm up and it became a moist and chewy brownie. I've posted the original recipe without my improvisation because I intend on making this again the way its supposed to be made. But the flavors were just what I had expected. Delicious. This made me an instant fan of the Brown Eyed Baker. However, this is not for the diet-conscious. It uses 2 sticks of butter, but it was so worth it.

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

11 ounces white chocolate chips

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

5 eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup shredded coconut

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment/wax paper.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.

3) Place white chocolate and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan with simmering water, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and butter are melted and completely smooth. Turn off the heat but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined then remove the bowl from the pan. Let mixture cool to room temperature.

4) Add 3 eggs to the white chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this point or the brownies will be cakey.

5) Sprinkle flour and coconut over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold flour and coconut into the chocolate until just until a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

6) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely then lift out of the pan with the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies

Last week, I said I wanted to make brownies, and I found this recipe in the archives of the Food Network. But it called for 1 pound of butter, which I didn't have. So I made brownie cookies instead. Today, I had all the ingredients in hand so I decided to finally make it. I'm glad I did, because these brownies are pure chocolate heaven. So yummy! I modified this recipe a little and substituted the unsweetened chocolate with more semi sweet chocolate chips, totalling to 30 ounces of chocolate chips.

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

1) Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

2) Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease and flour a 13 x 18 x 1 1/2 inch pan.

3) Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

4) Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.