Million Dollar Brownies

Sometimes I think I've posted one of my favorite recipes, only to find that I have sub-consciously kept it to myself.  I'm a sharer though, I really am.

This is my current go-to brownie recipe - named "Million Dollar Brownies" and totally worth a million dollars.

They're rich, thick, fudgy, chocolately, gooey and delicious.

See?

MILLION DOLLAR BROWNIES


7 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)
1/2 cup pecans (optional, which means at my house they are a no-go...)


Heat oven to 350°.  Melt butter and stir in cocoa, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Stir in rest of ingredients.  Spread (it's thick) in a greased 8 x 8 in. baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.  (I usually make a double batch and bake in a 9 x 13 in. pan for 25-30 minutes).

Y'know what's good?

Zucchini bread french toast. Just sayin'. The kids suggested it and I being the amazingly patient, understanding mother that I am...well, we tried it. Delicious with a little sour cherry jelly dabbed on top. Mmmm!

Also, I made the best, BEST brownies the other night. Well, actually it's more like cake than brownies. We'll call them cake brownies...k?

Simply wonderful.

However, I can cook pretty much anything presented to me in a recipe, but I can not, let's repeat, CAN NOT, seem to master frosting. It always tastes good, but the consistency always bugs me. Maybe it's because I just don't particularly care for frosting, that makes me dislike it all...hmmm.

However, this is all that's left of Shane's lunch helping of the cake brownies...he said he liked it all, even the frosting. Which did, by the way, turn out much better than some recipes, I'd say keep this one, it tastes good, but wait until it cools to frost anything...trust me on that one. It's a much better frosting today than it was yesterday.

TEXAS CAKE BROWNIES

3 cup flour

3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup butter

9 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting

1/2 cup butter

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

6 tsp. buttermilk

4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 12 x 18 inch jelly roll pan. ***Please note the size, it's a huge batch of brownies!!***

2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and water to a rapid boil. Pour over the flour mixture and stir until combined. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract, in that order, and mix well.

3. Spread evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Cool before frosting.

4. Frosting: In a small saucepan melt 1/2 c. butter, stir in powdered sugar, 3 tbsp. cocoa, buttermilk and vanilla, in that order. Beat by hand until creamy. Spread on cooled brownies.

B = Brownies

Dark Chocolate Brownies

7 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 c. butter

1/4 c. water

1 c. sugar

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1-1/3 c. all purpose flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

unsweetened cocoa powder and/or powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly grease a 9-inch square by 2-inch deep baking pan; set aside.  in a medium saucepan, combine chocolate, butter, and the water; cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted.  Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to chocolate mixture; beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add flour, salt, and cinnamon.  Beat on low speed until combined.  Spread batter in prepared pan. 

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.  Cute into bars.  Sprinkle with cocoa powder and/or powdered sugar.

Thirty Minute Thursday

We have had beautiful, rainy, cooler weather the last few days and I am loving it! It's great to be able to pull out some of the 'rainy day' recipes; recipes that you don't exactly want to eat on blistering, hot days. Last night we had brisket, sweet potato surprise, and mint brownies. mmmmm! No wonder I can't lose that weight that I want! I realize every time I cook that I should really start measuring the ingredients in the dishes that I make, so I have a better idea how to write down the recipes. I tend to add a splash of this, a dash of that and....no measured ingredients to document. I vow to do better, I promise.

Sweet Potato Surprise

4 sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 c sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 375° F. In large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Transfer the mixture into a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the topping ingredients until crumbly. Distribute the topping over the sweet potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownies
10 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. cocoa
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Mint Filling
1/2 c. butter (very soft)
2 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring
(Beat together and spread on cooled brownies)

Chocolate Topping
1/2 c. butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(Heat for 1 minute in microwave. Stir and pour over mint filling, coating evenly)

1. Melt butter and cocoa in microwave. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour and salt; mix. Bake in 9x13" pan (grease bottom) at 350° for 25 minutes. When cool frost with mint filling. Then put in freezer for 10 to 20 minutes to harden frosting. Frost with chocolate topping.