Told you I’d be back.  You doubted it, I know.  But here I am…and I am the bearer of good things.

First up?  These brownies.  Caramel Coconut Brownies.  And they are super easy.  So easy, in fact, I hesitate to even post them, because the die hard From Scratchers will disapprove, and those of you who like cheats will curse me for adding such a delicious concoction to your repertoire.  I apologize in advance.

Continue Reading

Or I guess you could call them Fleur de Sel Caramel Brownies, in case you want to serve them at a fancy dinner party.  Everyone knows that you can get away with serving anything at a fancy dinner party if you name it something French. Francais. Whatever.

Talk about rich…these are the epitome of rich. Gooey. Salty. Sweet. Chocolate….what’s not to love?

Continue Reading

See these brownies?  Don’t they just beg to be eaten? (Trust me, they do!)

I made these brownies using my favorite go-to candies of decadence: Lindt’s Lindor Truffles.  You see, my good friend Paula, the force behind Bell’Alimento, petitioned me to do a guest spot on her fabulous site. I am honored that she thought of me, so I wanted something seriously delicious for her readers.  I know this fits the bill!

Head on over to Paula’s site for the recipe, and be sure to stick around for awhile – her Italian cooking is mouth watering!!

Have a great weekend!

Update February 23, 2010-

Just arrive from Tastespotting? Click on my HomePage for a great Le Creuset GIVEAWAY…It’s fantastic!

What a mouthful.

A few months ago I found out about the Chocolate Adventure Recipe Contest, and thanks to some fine Twittering, I scored a great gift package of Scharffen Berger Chocolates to help out in my quest to come up with the most unusual and decadent “adventure” recipe.  For those of you who wondering what the “adventure” is all about, let me explain.

Scharffen Berger has a yearly contest that challenges the entrant to use a variety of “Adventure” Ingredients. This year, we had to use at least one (but preferably more) of the following items: (I used the ones that are RED)

• Fresh mint (any varietal)
• Crystallized ginger
• Pandan leaf
• Banana leaf
• Sumac
• Raw honey
• Cacao nibs
• Fresh or whole dried chili pepper
• Malbec
• Peanut butter
• Black-eyed peas
• Rice flour
• Papaya
• Cumin
• Paprika (any varietal)
• Smoked sea salt

So, as you can see, pretty adventurous.  Keeping in that frame of mind, I thought out of the box…chocolate is typically a dessert.  But I like to eat dessert first!  So, why not make a chocolate salad?  I made a delicious chocolate vinaigrette using some wonderful Peach Balsamic Vinegar I purchased on our trip to New England.  I also made some Brownie Croutons, because, well, because any excuse to eat brownies is a good excuse.

This is certainly not a recipe you should expectt to find on many menus, but…I can see it appearing on a fancy schmancy menu somewhere.  You know the type, where a table of well heeled businessmen and their wives are having dinner, and one of the slinky sized 2 ladies sees it. Oh, Look, Dahling. A Chocolate Salad. How divine. I think I’ll have that…I’m really not all that hungry.  Meanwhile, she’s screaming inside Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! but hoping the others are impressed by her desire to eat only a salad.

Anyway, I am in it for the Prizes. So, as long as only myself and 3 other people enter, I stand a chance. Here is what’s up for grabs:

PRIZES

TWO GRAND PRIZES

$10,000 for the winning recipe in both the Sweet and Savory categories as well as a delectable, custom selection of Scharffen Berger® chocolates. The recipes will be featured on chocolateadventurecontest.com, ScharffenBerger.com and TuttiFoodie.com.

TWO SECOND PLACE PRIZES

Winners receive a signed copy of Demolition Desserts by Elizabeth Falkner, Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich, and The Essence of Chocolate, by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg as well as a delectable, custom selection of Scharffen Berger® chocolates. The recipes will be featured on chocolateadventurecontest.com, ScharffenBerger.com and TuttiFoodie.com.

Sounds good, huh?  Well…wish me luck!

Chocolate Mint & Field Green Salad

with Chocolate Peach Vinaigrette & Brownie Croutons

For Salad
12 ounces Mixed Field Greens
25-30 fresh Chocolate Mint Leaves
Chocolate Peach Vinaigrette
Fresh Peaches, cut into small pieces
Brownie Croutons

For Chocolate Peach Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/4 cup Chocolate Syrup* (Recipe to Follow)
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
1/2 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
pinch Paprika
pinch Salt
1/8 cup Olive Oil
1/8 cup Balsamic Peach Vinaigrette
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

To Prepare the Chocolate Peach Vinaigrette:
Combine all ingredients and stir by hand.

For Chocolate Syrup
1/2 cup Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
Pinch salt
1/3 tsp vanilla

To Prepare Chocolate Syrup:
Mix the water and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat until cocoa is dissolved. Add the sugar, and continue to stir. Boil for about 3 minutes over medium heat, then add the salt and the vanilla (or other flavoring). Let cool. Pour into a sterilized glass jar, and keep stored in the refrigerator. Keeps for several months. Yields two cups.

For Brownie Croutons
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
pinch Smoked Sea Salt
5 Tablespoons Unwaxed Rice Flour
1/2 cup 62% Scharffen Berger Baking Chips, chopped

Prepare the Brownie Croutons:
Preheat Oven to 350F.
Prepare 9" Square Baking Pan.
Combine melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well with whisk. Add in dry ingredients, with exception of chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.
Once mixed, sprinkle in Chocolate & crystallized ginger and combine. 
Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until brownies are set.
When cool, allow to sit out at room temp for 24 hours. 
Cut into small, thin pieces (approx. 1 inch square by 1/3 inch thick). Coat with melted butter by tossing in a mixing bowl.
Bake in 375F Oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy.

To Prepare Salad:
Combine field greens and fresh mint in each bowl.  Sprinkle with peaches & Brownie croutons. Apply Vinaigrette.  For a special occasion, this would be fantastic served in Chocolate Bowls.

I am a mother.

Not a great one, mind you, but I am still a mom.  I also tend to get annoyed when my little boy, only two years old, is underfoot when I am in the kitchen trying to bake.  It seems no matter which corner of the kitchen I am in, he’s right there. Right. There.  Normally, I fuss, and shoo him back to the living room, where toys abound and Yo Gabba Gabba is blaring, but he inevitably ends up back underfoot. I know I can’t be the only one that this happens to.  You, too?

Even though I had cake orders to work on on Monday, I changed up my attitude.  Why not let him help?  My cake was baked and was cooling, the icing was made and ready whenever I was.  So I had a little downtime.  Here’s our conversation. (Yes, I talk to him as if he is an adult, learning a new language, never baby talk. I will repeat whatever I need to say as many times as he needs to hear it, and I will also ask him to repeat anything I don’t understand instead of prompting him. I think it has reaaalllly expanded his vocabulary. Just saying. No, I am not an expert…this has just worked for US.)

“Seven?  Do you want to make Daddy something to eat?

“Uh huh.Yeeees.”

“What do you want to make your Daddy?”

“Brownies. Biiiig brownies.”

“Brownies?  Okay.  Cakey or gooey?”

“Gooey! And Candy!”

The child is a genius, I tell you.  He probably didn’t mean for us to cut up lots of his Halloween candy bars, but that’s what we did.  What a fantastic way to get rid of that bucket full of sin! Seriously?…Genius.

For our recipe, I simply used a  brownie recipe that I knew was pretty fudgy on it’s own, but added in lots of chocolate syrup and reduced the amount of water.  You could always use a box mix if you wanted and get the same effect – it’s all about being together with your child.

The very first thing I did was put him in a little blue cowboy apron Mom made.  Too cute!  He wanted me to wear an apron, too, which I of course did, as I am rarely in the kitchen without one. Then I let him pick out the spoon he wanted to use.  He really seemed to get a kick out of being allowed to use “Mommy Spoons”…and I was happy to oblige.

I measured out our needed ingredients, as well as cracked the eggs (which he thought was hilarious for some reason and cackled), but I let him mix all of it himself. He poured each of the ingredients into the mixing bowl, and he stirred the entire batch up on his own. I did incorporate what little bits he missed, but he really did a great job on his own.  Oh, and the syrup?  He loved squeezing in the syrup. You’d have thought I hung the moon.

Once mixed, I opened up several of the trick or treat candy bars – a couple of Twix, some 3 Musketeers, some Hershey Bars – whatever looked good – then chopped it up.  The Little Man scooped most of it into the bowl (some didn’t make it past his mouth) and then we stirred again.

I let him spray the loaf pan, and then I poured the batter in.  I let him push the buttons to set the timer – 1 hour and 10 minutes, he licked the spoon a lot,  and then we went off to nap.

As soon as he woke up, his first question was “Where Daddy’s Brownies? I lick ‘em.” And he told everyone that we encountered that afternoon that he made brownies. And that he licked the spoon.

To be honest, I didn’t realize that he was that adept.  I imagined a huge mess, and a fight on my hands each step of the way.  So I was thrilled to see how well he did and how much he got into it. It was a great way for us to spend time together, and I am so glad I took the time to try.

Believe it or not, I have a few memories of my very early childhood…some as early as 18 months old.  And I wonder, will Seven have similar memory retention?  If so, do I really want his memory to be of me being aggravated and short with him for being a toddler? Or, will he remember our time together making Daddy Brownies?

I really hope it’s the brownies.  I’m going to keep working on that.

I hope if nothing else, this post has encouraged you to take a time out and try baking with your little one. Yes, I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but it really does mean so much.  They want to be LIKE YOU.  How long will that last? How many other people do you know that look up to you that much?  Please give it a shot…I think you’ll be glad you did.

Do you have special things you do with your toddler in the kitchen? If so, I would love to know.  Please share!  Oh yeah…If you want a toddler apron, tell me! We have lots of cute fabrics and the kids look so precious in them! If anyone is interested, I will list a couple in my Etsy Shop. Say the word! 

Trick Or Treat Brownies

Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup Chocolate Syrup
• 6-8 Snack Sized Candy Bars

Preheat oven to 325F.

Melt Chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until well combined

Add flour, salt, chocolate syrup and chocolate mixture and blend well.

Chop up candy bars and add to mixture.

Pour into prepared (greased) loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. These are very gooey brownies, but the edges will be thick and set and the center, though gooey, will hold it’s shape when cut.  Brownies are done when the batter no longer wiggles when shaken.  It is better to pull a little early versus leaving them in too long. Enjoy!