Recipe #5: Chocolate Mint Bars

This week's recipe came as a request from my sister.  She saw the recipe for Chocolate Mint Bars in the Cooking Light Special Edition 2011 magazine.  The recipe can also be found at this link.

While not officially titled a brownie, the bottom layer has a typical brownie like texture and it just looked extra yummy, so I had to make it.

I will admit that I did not follow the recipe exactly because I went ahead and used three whole eggs instead of two eggs and the egg substitute, and I used whole milk instead of fat free milk because that is what I had in the house.  I also did not have two full cups of powdered sugar, so I only made three-fourths of the peppermint filling, but it seemed to be enough to cover the bottom layer.

The Review

on a scale of 1 to 5

• Overall Rating: 4
• Recipe Difficulty
• Rating: 3 (Moderate)
• There are three separate stages to this recipe that requires some extra time to complete.  The mixing of the ingredients does not require any extra skill, but having to wait at least one hour between each stage takes some extra patience and advance planning.

• Taste
• Rating: 4 (good)
• The bottom layer has a good chocolate flavor.  With the use of chocolate syrup, it does not have a strong fudgy taste, but the chocolate taste still goes well with the topping.
• The mint topping is delicious and I think that it could be used to make homemade peppermint patties.
• The chocolate glaze on top is also quite yummy.

• Texture
• Rating: 4 (good)
• These bars are soft with a dense cake-like texture.  Not exactly fudge-like, but close.
• Even though these bars are kept in the fridge, the top layers are just soft enough to make it easy to bite through without falling apart and making a huge mess.
  

• Husband's Opinion
• My husband is a big fan of these bars as are his coworkers.
• Their main statement is that these are rich enough that just eating one leaves the eater satisfied.

• Hints and tips
• Give yourself plenty of time to work on this project so you do not feel rushed to get them together.
• I actually made these brownies the day before and let the bottom two layers sit (covered) in the fridge overnight before I added the glaze.  I then let them sit in the fridge for another four hours before I cut them.
• Keep them in the fridge for as long as possible before serving them.  This will keep the top layer from melting and making a mess. 
• I also cut these into smaller bars than the recipe calls for, so I was able to share them with more people, and the smaller pieces (about 1.5 inches square) seemed to be enough to satisfy.

• Would I make these brownies (bars) again?
• Definitely!  I love mint candies, and this bar reminded me of peppermint patties.  I think that the next time I will make the full batch of the middle filling (and maybe a little extra) and add a little more peppermint flavoring to make it stronger.

Recipe #4: Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies

This week I decided to shake up the experiment a bit and make some peanut butter brownies.  I was actually looking to make some peanut butter brownies that also had chocolate mixed into it (hoping it might taste a little like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup), but I did not have all the ingredients on hand for the recipes that I found, so I ended up selecting Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies at allrecipes.com.

The only change I made to the recipe is that I used butter instead of margarine.

The Review

on a scale of 1 to 5

• Overall Rating: 4
• Recipe Difficulty
• Rating: 1 (Easy)
• The recipe itself is well written and easy to follow.  All one has to do is measure the ingredients and mix them in a bowl.

• Taste
• Rating: 3.5 (decent)
• I have not had many peanut butter brownies, so I really do not have much to compare these to.
• The peanut butter taste is not too strong, but is strong enough that you can tell that the peanut butter is present.
• The brownies covered with semi-sweet chocolate also have a good taste and provides a good balance between the two flavors (although not quite like a Reese's)

• Texture
• Rating: 4 (good)
• These brownies are chewy just as the title suggests.
• They have a more cake-like texture.
• I used chunky peanut butter, which adds a little crunch to the brownie that reminds the eater of the peanut butter's presence.
  

• Husband's Opinion
• The husband says that he does not like these as well as the first three brownies.
• This opinion is supported by the fact that he has only eaten one.

• Hints and tips
• I would highly recommend the use of a Measure-All cup to measure the peanut butter.  The ability to push the peanut butter out of the cup after measuring means that all of the peanut butter will end up in the batter.
• I covered half of the brownies with semi-sweet chocolate to add a little chocolate taste to the brownie.

• Would I make these brownies again?
• For an alternative to chocolate brownies, these are pretty good and I would make them again, especially if I did not have any chocolate around the house.

Recipe #3: Mmm-Mmm Better Brownies

Mmm-Mmm Better Brownies - how can anyone resist such a title for a recipe.  Since this recipe claims to be better (and because it uses oil instead of butter and I have some oil I need to use up before it goes bad), I decided to make it this week's trial recipe

The first four ingredients are easy to mix together by hand.  Since this recipe calls for oil instead of butter, one does not have to take the time to soften or melt the butter before mixing it all together.

This time I made sure to mix the dry ingredients together with a wire whisk to ensure that the cocoa was not lumpy before adding it to the oil and sugar mixture.

I've had this neat pan for a number of years now and have never used it, so I decided to give it a try today.  As you can see below, the brownies came out of each square without falling apart.  I reduced the cooking time to 15 minutes, and they seemed to have come out just right.

The Review

on a scale of 1 to 5

• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Recipe Difficulty
• Rating: 1 (Easy)
• There is no extra work involved in mixing together these brownies.  Just measure the ingredients and mix them together in the bowl.

• Taste
• Rating: 3.5 (decent)
• The first brownie I tried had an overpowering oily taste, so I decided to let the brownies cool down even more and try again.  The second sample did not have this oily taste.
• The brownies have a lighter chocolate taste than the recipe from last week.   
• While mostly dense in texture, they do not have a strong fudgy taste.
• Texture
• Rating: 4 (good)
• The brownies (as I made them anyways) had a mostly dense texture.  The middle of the brownies are a bit sunken, so more batter is likely needed.
  

• Hints and tips
• Apparently it is important to also let these brownies cool completely before eating or you might taste more of the oil than you would like.
• If I use this baking pan again for this recipe, I will likely double the recipe so the brownies will have a thicker middle.

• Would I make these brownies again?
• I would most likely make these brownies again if I did not have any butter or if I was in a hurry to make a dessert.  They were certainly quick and easy to make.

Sarah's Banana Bread Muffins

I have a bad habit of buying bananas but not eating them fast enough.  Part of the problem is that right now I sometimes crave bananas, but they give me a little bit of heartburn, so then I regret eating them. 

Since I had some bananas ripening very quickly on my counter, I decided to make some banana muffins.  Going on to Allrecipes.com, I chose to make Sarah's Banana Bread Muffins.  I chose this recipe because I love banana bread and I wanted my muffins to taste the same.  I also wanted them to be somewhat healthy, but I chose to follow the recipe as written (this time), so I don't know how healthy this recipe really is.

I decided to go ahead and mix up the batter by hand.  Since this recipe called for oil instead of butter, the ingredients mixed together nicely with a wire whisk.

Three mashed bananas.  My bowl almost wasn't big enough.

All the ingredients mixed together.  This recipe actually called for mixing the dry ingredients in until the batter is smooth instead of just until moistened.  The muffins came out moist, so it appears that overmixing is not a danger with this recipe.

Often when I make muffins, I have trouble filling all twelve cups.  For this recipe, there is plenty of batter and I had to fill the cups nearly to the top. 

Perhaps my biggest complaint about this recipe is that the ingredients are not written in the order that the baker needs to use them.  I did not like having to search the list to discover how much of each ingredient I needed to add.

The muffins are delicious, and they do taste like banana bread.  Next time I make these muffins, I plan to use some whole wheat flour and I might even experiment with using some brown sugar instead of using all white sugar. 

You may be asking why didn't I just make some banana bread if that is what I wanted instead of muffins.  I prefer to make muffins because they are easier to freeze so I do not feel like I have to eat an entire loaf of bread in a short amount of time before it goes bad.  Also, I like the convenience of having the bread already made in single serving sizes.

Cooler Weather = More Baking

With temps in the upper 70s and lower 80s this week, I have loved being able to keep the house open and enjoy some better baking weather.

On Saturday I had the opportunity to make some homemade French bread using the recipe that came with my Breadman bread machine.  For years I resisted buying a bread machine, but I am thankful that I finally took the plunge a couple of years ago.  The simplicity of just adding all the ingredients to the pan and letting the machine take care of the rest makes baking bread a much more pleasant experience.

I also decided to make some homemade wheat bread using this recipe from Allrecipes.com.  Typically when I make this bread, I don't include the full amount of honey and I leave out the cornmeal, but this time I decided to follow the recipe exactly as written.  With the full 1/3 cup of honey, I found the bread to be a little too sweet for my taste, especially for making sandwiches. 

I plan to make some banana muffins in the next day or two since I have some bananas that are quite ripe sitting in the kitchen.  Now to find the perfect recipe to try . . . .

Recipe #2: Hershey's Ultimate Chocolate Brownies

Chewy, fudgy, smooth, and yummy: adjectives that all adequately describe this week's recipe that comes from the back of the Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chip package and is available online.  I remember trying a recipe on the back of a package of chocolate chips before, so I thought I would give it a try again.

Hershey's Ultimate Chocolate Brownies came out much more like a good fudge brownie box mix.  The recipe was a little more complicated than last week's recipe, but most average bakers should be able to handle the recipe just fine.

 The initial process of mixing the cocoa powder with half of the melted butter and boiling water seemed strange, but it resulted in a nice smooth chocolate base that I think added to the richness of the batter.  This recipe only called for two cups of sugar which resulted in a less-sweet and less-gritty brownie compared to Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies.

The Review

on a scale of 1 to 5

• Overall Rating: 4 
• Recipe Difficulty
• Rating: 3 (moderate)
• The initial steps of mixing together the cocoa powder, butter, and boiling water takes extra time, but the resulting brownie is well worth it.

• Taste
• Rating: 5 (good)
• The brownie has a nice chocolate taste that does not overwhelm the taste buds with too much chocolate or too much sugar.
• Note: I did not make the frosting that was listed on the package to go on top of the brownies.  I typically prefer unfrosted brownies and wanted to try the brownies alone before trying them with frosting on top.
• Texture
• Rating: 4.5 (pretty good)
• The baked brownie had a good, dense texture. 
  

• Hints and tips
• Make sure you start boiling the water before you begin mixing the brownies but don't let it quite reach boiling before beginning or else too much of the water will evaporate.
• The brownies taste pretty good right out of the oven and they still taste great many days after baking.

• Would I make these brownies again?
• Definitely.  The only trick will be that I will need to make sure I give myself a little extra time to mix them together.