Archive for: brownies
Cheesecake swirled brownies are one of my favorite types of brownies. That isn’t to say that a fudgy, rich chocolaty brownie can’t stand on its own – but there is something special about it when it is topped off with a layer of creamy cheesecake. Cream cheese adds a slightly tangy note to the dessert that makes the brownies seem even darker and more chocolatey than before. Typically, I use a plain vanilla cheesecake topping for cheesecake brownies, but I’ve made a few flavor variations in the past. This one is for chocolate lovers.
Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies are fudgy brownies topped off with a layer of chocolate cheesecake. They don’t have the same visual impact as the classic black and white cheesecake brownies do, but they make up for that in flavor. The cheesecake is not too sweet, but has a good chocolate flavor to it that contrasts well with the deeper flavor of the brownies. If you want even more chocolate, add some chocolate chips to the cheesecake mixture before layering it on to the brownies.
You can either spread the cheesecake in a layer on top of the brownie batter when making these because the brownie batter is fairly thick and this is not difficult to do. I prefer to dollop the cheesecake mixture onto the brownies and give everything a quick swirl with a knife. It gives the brownies a more attractive look and gives you a little more variety, with some pieces having slightly more brownie and others having slightly more cheesecake.
+Continue Reading
Ice cream sandwiches are a fun summertime treat. They’re easy to make, because you can take just about any pair of cookies and stuff them full of whatever ice cream you have in the freezer for an instant ice cream sandwich. Now, some types of cookies work better as ice cream sandwiches than others. You want cookies that are tender, slightly soft and fairly thin. This results in ice cream sandwiches that you can fit in your mouth and won’t be hard as rocks when you make them in advance and store them in the freezer! But brownies often work better than cookies. Not only does chocolate go with just about every flavor of ice cream out there, but brownies are more tender than cookies and tend to make a softer, easier to eat ice cream sandwich that most cookies do.
These Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches are definitely a great choice for ice cream sandwich lovers. The brownies are rich and chocolaty, with a hint of cakiness to them that helps keep them easy to bite into even after freezing (great when you don’t have a whole lot of patience for digging into that sandwich!). The brownies are baked in a 9×13 pan and, after cooling, the whole batch of brownies is cut in half. Softened ice cream is spread onto on half of the brownies and the second half is stacked on top. Chill the whole thing and then use a sharp knife to divide up the block into small ice cream sandwiches. The brownie layers are still relatively thick (especially compared to a store bought ice cream sandwich), but I definitely like to have a good brownie:ice cream ratio.
I used mint chocolate chip ice cream inside of these brownies and added a little peppermint extract to the brownie batter, as well. The mint chocolate brownies will still go nicely with chocolate or vanilla ice cream, but omit the mint extract if you prefer to use something like peach ice cream or rocky road as your filling. If you really want to make the brownie layer thinner, cut the sheet in half, chill the brownies slightly and use a large, serrated knife to cut them in half horizontally. You’ll get less brownie in each sandwich, but you’ll end up with twice as many sandwiches this way!
+Continue Reading
When faced with a freshly baked batch of brownies, which piece do you reach for first: the fudgy center or a chewy corner piece? If you are in the corner camp of brownie lovers – as several members of my family are – there is a new pan out that is designed to give you twice as many corners as a regular square brownie pan can. The Corners Brownie Pan is made with an unusual zig zag design, so where the batter in a regular brownie pan will touch straight edges, here it will spill right into corners. Edges are chewier than the center pieces of brownies and corners are always even chewier. It’s not everyone’s favorite piece of brownie, but most corner piece fans have a strong preference for them over center-cut pieces. The pan is nonstick and measures about 15” X 16” X 2”, making it large enough to hold the batter for a brownie recipe – or a brownie mix – designed for a 9×13 pan. The pan can be used with cake batters and cake mixes, as well, so you’re not limited to baking brownies with it, though you won’t get the chewy edges that brownies do when baking other goodies.
The main competition for a pan like this one would be the Baker’s Edge pan, another nonstick pan with an unusual design that delivers brownies (and other baked goods) with far more edges than your standard bakeware. While that pan delivers more edges, this one gives you corners and fudgier centerpieces with no edges at all, so there is more variety as well as more corners to enjoy!
Homemade brownies are unquestionably delicious, but box mix brownies are a standby for even avid at-home bakers (and chefs on reality TV shows who are scared of baking) because they are reliable, take seconds to mix and generally turn out a finished product that will satisfy any chocolate craving. I generally like box mix brownies better than box cake mixes, and I know that I’m not the only one with that preference. In a recent issue (August 2011) Consumer Reports had a brownie bake-off to rate more than 10 different brownie mixes, including two gluten free varieties, and see which mixes came out on top in terms of taste and texture.
The top rated mix in the taste test was Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix, which I’ve also reviewed with great results. The Barefoot Contessa’s Outrageous Brownie Mix also had a top rating, but is triple the price of the TJ’s mix. Both of the top rated mixes contained chocolate chips and were made with butter instead of oil. These two simple things led to brownies that were dense and chewy, had an intense chocolate flavor and gave a fresh, home-baked impression to tasters.
Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge, Market Pantry (Target) Fudge and Betty Crocker Fudge brownies all received very good ratings and were marked as best buys, due to their low per-serving prices. Duncan Hines Double Fudge Decadent and Ghirardelli Double Chocolate (a mix that I’ve always had good results with) were also very well liked by CR taste testers. The peanut, dairy, egg and nut-free Cherrybrook Kitchen Buster Fudge brownies were marked down as being not very sweet and fairly dry, especially compared to the other brands. The two gluten free mixes didn’t score nearly as well as the regular mixes. Pamela’s Products Chocolate Brownies were “dry, gritty and chalky” and they found the Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Brownies to have “off notes” and an “almost baconlike taste.”
In short? Look for a brownie mix that calls for butter and adds chocolate, rather than just cocoa powder, to the mix for the most like homemade brownies – but know that there are some good value mixes that still turn out a very satisfying product. Add chocolate chips to your mix brownies to make them even more chocolaty, and if you don’t care for the texture of a gluten free brownie mix, but want something without gluten, try making a Flourless Chocolate Cake instead.
Whenever I want to dress up a batch of brownies, I don’t turn to chocolate ganache or fancy chocolate chips. I turn to a big bag of cream filled, Oreo-type sandwich cookies, chop them up and add them to my brownie batter. I suppose that this is actually dressing down the brownies, rather than dressing them up, but Oreo cookies make a fantastic addition to a batch of brownies and take these from good to irresistible.
These Cookies n’ Cream Brownies are fudgy, chewy brownies that are loaded with oreo cookies (or a similar brand of chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookie). The brownie batter is not that unusual, made with chocolate and cocoa powder to ensure that it has a good chocolate flavor. There is quite a bit of sugar in it and the sugar contributes to that chewy texture, as well as to the flavor of the brownies, sweetening the batter because all the chocolate called for is unsweetened. There is no leavening in this brownie batter, either, which keeps the brownies very moist, rich and fudgy.
The Oreos are a nice addition to these for a couple of reasons. They actually hold up very well to baking and you’ll see the full sandwich preserved in the brownies when you slice into them! You definitely get a cookies n’ cream flavor along with the dark chocolate brownie, just like you do when you eat cookies n’ cream ice cream. This recipe makes a big batch, which is great for sharing, so make this for a party, take it to a bake sale or just invite some friends over to share.
+Continue Reading
