Brownie Challenge Recipe #2 -- Deep Dish Brownies

Well, folks, the search may be over before it really even began -- I think I may have found the perfect brownie recipe! This recipe was flaky on the top, chewy on the edges, and dense and fudgy in the middle. I got this from Kayte's blog, and I believe she adapted it from a recipe on Allrecipes. I'm going to try baking them in a bigger pan next time with the hopes that they will come out even chewier. These were simply AWESOME. The definitely get 5 stars!

Deep Dish Brownies

Source: Allrecipes (adaptations from Kayte's blog)

• 3/4 C butter, melted
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C all purpose flour
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square pan.
2. In a large bowl, blend melted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually blend dry mixture into the egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let brownies cool, then cut into squares. Enjoy!

Brownie Challenge Recipe #1 -- Hershey's Best Brownies

Confession: I love boxed brownies. I am ashamed to admit it, but I have yet to find a from-scratch recipe that, in my opinion, compares to boxed brownies. And oh, how I've tried! So, I've set out to complete the Brownie Challenge -- I WILL find the perfect fudgy brownie recipe. Thanks to the ladies on The Nest WC Board, I have my first five recipes. I let DH choose the first one to try, and of course he chose the only one with frosting, Hershey's Best Brownies.



These brownies were good, but they are not "it." They had the texture of a crumbly chocolate cake, not a dense fudgy brownie. They would be fantastic with ice cream, but not exactly what I'm looking for. I will say that they were quick and easy to make and used ingredients I always have on hand. I give them 3 out of 5 stars.

Hershey's Best Brownies

• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
• 1 C sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/3 C Hershey's Cocoa
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C chopped nuts (optional) (I left these out)
• Creamy Brownie Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Stir together butter, sugar, and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Prepare Creamy Brownie Frosting; spread over brownies. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies (Umm, the way we cut them, this made six brownies. If you cut them into sixteenths, they would be TINY).

Creamy Brownie Frosting

• 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
• 3 Tbsp. Hershey's Cocoa
• 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup or honey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C powdered milk
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. milk

1. Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup (or honey), and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. About 1 C frosting.
   

Fudge, Fudge, Fudge!

I made fudge for Christmas gifts this year. I usually stick to just plain fudge with and without nuts, but this year I switched it up a bit. I made three types -- chocolate with nuts, chocolate with peanut butter, and a twist on peppermint bark (white chocolate peppermint/semi-sweet chocolate). They were all incredibly easy and turned out so well. The basic recipe as well as my modifications are below.

Never Fail Fudge (from the back of the Fluff jar)

• 5 C sugar
• 1 large (12 oz) can evaporated milk
• 1/4 lb butter or margarine
• 12 oz marshmallow fluff
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 C walnut meats (I used chopped pecans)
• 2 large (12 oz) packages semi-sweet chocolate pieces

1. Combine first five ingredients in large sauce pan. Stir over low heat until blended.
2. Bring to boil over moderate heat, being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Then boil slowly, stirring constantly for five minutes (use soft ball test).
3. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate and vanilla (and nuts if used) until chocolate is melted. Pour into 2 buttered 9X9 inch pans (I used one 9X13 inch pan) and cool. Yield: approximately 5 pounds.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

I made a half-batch of the chocolate fudge above (without nuts) and spread it in a 9X13 pan. While that cooled, I made another batch, substituting 2 bags of peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips, and again excluding the nuts. I spread this on top of the chocolate fudge.

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

I again made a half batch of the chocolate fudge and spread it in a 9X13 pan. While that cooled, I made another batch, substituting 2 bags white chocolate chips for the chocolate chips, and 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract for the vanilla, again excluding the nuts. I spread this on top of the chocolate fudge and topped with crushed candy canes. This one was by far my favorite.

Notes

With all three batches combined, I had a ridiculous amount of fudge. I filled ten containers with fudge and still had a TON leftover. One thing I would change for next time -- for the peanut butter and white chocolate peppermint batches, I would halve both recipes because the fudge was waaaaay too thick.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

My new issue of Cooking Light arrived over the weekend, and this recipe graced the cover. I knew I had to make these cupcakes IMMEDIATELY. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand. These cupcakes were very good, especially considering they are relatively low in fat and were not frosted. The only change I made was to use semisweet chocolate in place of the dark chocolate because (a) I had semisweet on hand and (b) I prefer sweeter chocolate. I will post the link to the original recipe once it is put on the site (should be next week).

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

From Cooking Light, December 2007

• 1 C all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 oz)
• 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2/3 C granulated sugar
• 1/4 C butter, softened
• 1/2 C egg substitute
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 C 1% low-fat buttermilk
• 1 1/4 oz dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.
3. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 cupcake).

CALORIES 150 (31% from fat); FAT 5.2g (sat 3.2g, mono 1.2g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 3.1g; CARB 24g; FIBER 1.1g; CHOL 11mg; IRON 1mg; SODIUM 125mg; CALC 42mg