Pumpkin Blondies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies

It's been too long since the last blog post however there is an excellent excuse for my absence.  I am proud to announce that I gave birth to a baby girl two months ago!  Finding time to bake with a newborn has been tough but now with a little routine I have managed to find time to do what I am so passionate about.  Carving out time just for myself is what makes me strong enough to get through my day.  I am so excited to start baking and blogging again and I hope that you find some great recipes that I have shared!

Now onto the main event!  These pumpkin chocolate chip blondies are so soft and moist.  It is more cakey than it is dense like a blondie.  The blondies definitely call for a tall glass of milk.  I made them for a local school bake sale and they were a hit!  The flavors of fall are upon us and I can't wait to share some more recipes.

The link between food and psychology:  the success of food is in its label.

How will you experience food?  Well, the wording we choose will determine it's success.  This experiment showed that people who were told they were eating a smoked salmon ice cream, disliked the taste. The others were told it was a frozen mousse and decided this was more acceptable (Yeomans et al., 2008).  Sometimes people also think food tastes better when it's more expensive or sold in fancier packaging.  So as long as we choose the right food label we can set up great expectations for taste.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies Recipe
Adapted from My Baking Addiction

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree. If the mixture looks curdled, do not fret.

4. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Easy Brownies

Double Chocolate Toffee Brownies

Moist, rich and cake-like brownies at the tip of your fingers.  This is the first time I have seen brownies made in this method and it makes  delicious homemade brownies accessible to even the laziest person.

Double Chocolate Toffee Brownie Recipe

Makes 18-24 brownies

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, or chopped bars
1/2 cup chocolate toffee candy pieces

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat. In a bowl or large measuring bowl, beat the eggs together with the sugar and vanilla extract.

Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the white chocolate chips, and the chocolate toffee candy. Beat to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake for about 25 minutes. You can see when the brownies are ready because the top dries to a slightly paler brown speckle, while the middle remains dark, dense and gooey.

To serve, cut into squares and pile up on a large plate.

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson.

Hot n Cold

Baked Alaska

The ultimate combination of hot and cold in what seems like an accidental science experiment.  The meringue acts as an insulator and keeps the ice cream from melting in the oven.  Meanwhile, the edges of the meringue become crispy and add a texture to the dessert.  The tartness of the raspberry sorbet cuts through the richness of the chocolate ice cream and brownie. 

Hard frozen layers of ice cream covered in meringue and lightly baked -- and that decadent brownie, it's worth the indulgence.

Baked Alaska Recipe

Ingredients

1 quart super-premium raspberry sorbet
1 1/2 quarts super-premium chocolate ice cream

Decadent Brownie, recipe follows

Meringue

8 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sugar

Directions
To make the ice cream dome, remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow to soften slightly. Line a 3-quart bowl with plastic wrap.  Spoon 2 cups of the raspberry sorbet into the bowl and smooth with a spoon or offset spatula to even. Top with the chocolate ice cream, again smoothing to even, and then top the chocolate layer with the remaining 6 cups orange-vanilla ice cream. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and freeze until the ice cream is very hard, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Turn the brownie out onto a large, flat, ovenproof plate. Unmold the ice cream dome on top of the brownie layer. Place the cake back in the freezer. Hold in the freezer until the meringue is ready.

In electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until fluffy. Increase the speed to high and add the sugar in a slow stream until stiff, glossy peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the ice cream dome from the freezer. Remove the plastic wrap. Cover the ice cream dome completely with the meringue, using the back of a spoon to make swirly peaks. (Alternately, place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a rose tip and pipe spikes for a hedgehog look.) Freeze for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Bake until the peaks start to turn a golden brown color, 3 to 5 minutes. For easier slicing, let the cake stand for 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

Decadent Brownies:
Cooking spray
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease the parchment well.

For your brownie batter, melt your butter in a medium (or large) heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

While the butter is melting, whisk the cocoa powder, sea salt and sugar in a separate bowl. (The sugar and salt will work as abrasive agents to get any lumps out of the cocoa.) Whisk the cocoa/sugar/salt combo into the melted butter until the sugar has dissolved fully. The mixture should look like fudge and pull away from the bowl into a ball. Take off the stove and set the pan on a dishtowel on your counter. Allow the fudgy mixture to cool down until it's warm, but not hot anymore.

Stir the vanilla into the cooled fudge mixture to loosen it up. Add the eggs into the mixture 1 at a time, adding the second egg after the first egg is fully incorporated. The batter should look shiny and well blended. Add in your flour and stir it until it's fully incorporated. Once it looks fully blended, beat the batter vigorously for at least 45 strokes. This'll not only get out any pent up stress, but it will make the brownies chewy. Fold in your chocolate chips. Spread the thick and fudgy brownie batter evenly in the lined pan with an offset spatula or your greased hands.

Pop the brownie in the oven and bake until they get a nice crust and your house smells like brownies, 20 to 25 minutes. Let them cool completely on a rack or a dishtowel on your counter.

Adapted from Anne Thornton

A melding of flavors

Pink Lava Devotion

Tart fresh raspberry mousse paired with rich decadent brownies create a balance of flavors with just the right amount of sweetness.

Family potlucks usually mean I need to bring a dessert.  My sister, ecstatic as I walked in the door with this treat in my hands, adores the combination of raspberries and chocolate as much as I do. She created this clever name because the mousse resembles lava and the brownies were the cooled lava rocks.  Devotion because these two ingredients love to be a sweet ending to any party.