Super Fudgy Brownies

Boy, have I got a treat for you guys today.

First of all, notice the new blog design? After playing around with the HTML codes and stuff, I FINALLY got the designs up! I love the new look!

Back to the brownies......

I am sincerely in love with these brownies....and who cares if they're not healthy anyways? I could eat the whole batch before they even make it into the pictures.

While I have to admit I'm a sucker for chewy boxed mix brownies, these brownies are definitely my new favorite! As sad as I am to admit this (or maybe not), these are wayyyyyyy better than the boxed ones. I swear in the name of cupcakes and fairy dust. 

I was joking with my friends the other day, that what makes my brownies the best is that I put in secret fairy dust and lots of love. It's no different with these brownies. Secret ingredients: 6 sprinkles of fairy dust and a heart full of love.....secret ingredients will intensify with baking ;) 

I'd also like to warn you, that these brownies are definitely for chocolate lovers. They will be THE most chocolatey and fudgy brownies that you've EVER tasted. Seriously.

On a more serious note, though, a lot of people (er......I mean cookbooks......) have told me that cocoa powder brownies will always be inferior to "real" chocolate brownies. But mind you, the only source of chocolate/cocoa in these brownies come from cocoa powder. And are they inferior to "real" chocolate brownies? No. Not by a long shot. Keep trying.

Honestly, my taste buds can't stop thinking about these fudgy, smooth, chocolatey, and intensely flavored brownies. I have to bring them in for discipleship group so I can't eat all of these, but sharing is caring.......although I'd gladly eat the whole batch myself, even if it means I'll end up being the slowest runner in my PE class (if I am not already).

I bet most of you are asking for the recipe. Well, sorry, not gonna link it today......

JUST KIDDING. 

Obviously I love you all so much........so you can find it here. The original recipe used caramels, but I omitted them and got super delicious plain brownies (:

Happy baking!

    

Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies--and recipe!

If there's only one word I could use to describe these brownies, it'd be unreal. These brownies are unreal. Legitimately unreal.

So I do realize that I've been whipping up a lot of "skinny" recipes lately. Not that that's a bad thing or anything. In fact, it's made me realize how smart some people can be. Like Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction. That's where I got this amazing recipe, and Sally is such an innovative baker it's hard not to hate myself for not being a cool as her. 

I have no idea how I didn't make these dainty little squares of chocolatey and peanut buttery delight ages ago. I feel like I've been missing out and those extra calories from the boxed mixes were stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

No, I was not talking about you, skinny peanut butter brownie. You are not stupid. Carry on being your usual delightful self.

Honestly, these brownies were probably the easiest things to make and they were well worth the (not so hard) work. I don't say this lightly. Everything was just zapped up in a blender in a matter of minutes, and voila! the batter came to life! It was just that easy.

Oh, and did I mention what was in these brownies? There's absolutely no flour, no butter, no oil, and no shortening whatsoever. These brownies are packed full of healthy fat free yogurt, unsweetened cocoa powder, and the secret ingredient: whole rolled oats.

These brownies get enough thickening from the oats which were used in place of the flour. They were blended in with the other ingredients and simply ground till they became powder form. Unreal? I told you. 

That feeling you get when you know you don't have to work out after eating a tiny square of these brownies is so reassuring. I like it.

Dear Betty Crocker brownie mix, I love you to death, but these yummy little squares have become your greatest enemy. Good luck trying to win my heart. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Mmmm...on three, can we just say "dreamy"? 

I will leave you with the recipe at the bottom of this post. If you want the original, visit http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/06/10/skinny-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies/ to hear from the mastermind herself! I've edited the recipe to a printable recipe, so if you want to print it out, just click on the words "Printable Recipe" and it will take you there!

Happy baking!

Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies Printable Recipe
The original recipe asked for 20-25 minutes baking time, but I found that I had to bake them for nearly 35 minutes and they still ended up nearly underbaked. Bake for 20 minutes first, then adjust at 5 minute intervals until the brownies pull away from the pan. Ingredients: -3/4 cup creamy peanut butter -6 ounces low fat/fat free plain Greek yogurt (I used regular yogurt and they still turned out fine) -1/4 cup skim milk -1 large egg -a pinch of salt -1 teaspoon baking powder -1 cup granulated sugar -1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder -1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 175 degrees Celsius. Spray an 8-inch square pan with LOTS of cooking spray because the brownies will be sticky and soft!  2. Put all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the peanut butter into the blender. Start with the liquid ingredients at the bottom of the blender first, than gradually fill up with dry ingredients. Blend the mixture until the batter is smooth and the oats are ground up. Occasionally scrape down the sides of the blender to ensure that everything is well mixed. Batter will be thin, much thinner than most brownie batters from boxed mixes or regular full-fat recipes. 3. Pour the batter into the pan, then microwave the peanut butter for 30 seconds. Drop spoonfuls of the peanut butter on top of the brownie batter and lightly swirl around with a sharp knife until the peanut butter is "feathered". DO NOT overmix, as the peanut butter is best left just slightly swirled into the brownie batter. 4. Bake for 20-25 minutes (it took me almost 35, so adjust accordingly). You'll know that the brownies are done when the begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.  5. Let the brownies cool completely. You can place them into a refrigerator for an hour or two so they'd firm up and cut easier. Cut into 12 (or 16 like I did) and enjoy! 

Browniesss....(part 2)

True to my word, I did make a second batch of brownies!

Yes, I totally just cheated.........

That picture above is of the first batch, but I took it after I posted the previous entry, so forgive me!

I love the picture above! So pretty and artistic! 

I did not just praise myself for my awesome photography skills.

Each individual brownie square was packaged in a nice treat bag, then tied off with a small silver/gold strip of wire.

In total, I made 30! The picture below is only a portion of what I actually made!

Happy baking!

Browniesssss....(part 1)

I looooooove brownies.

Especially if they're warm, fudgy, and moist.

I was requested to make 30 portions of brownies and 30 cookies for a church party. Now I don't know about you, but I love it when I get requests! It just gives me another reason to bake, and it makes other people happy!

This morning, when I was whipping up my first batch of brownies (from a box mix, I might add) something just didn't go right. The batter just wasn't its usual self.

So, I took a gamble and made a new batch FROM SCRATCH.

The thing is, I am fine with using a boxed mix. I will gladly make you 20 batches of brownies, but definitely from a mix. If you asked a random group of bakers, I might as well be the first one to admit that I HATE making brownies from scratch.

Here's why:

1. I haven't had any luck with made-from-scratch brownie recipes. Ever.

2. Many brownie recipes are not foolproof.

and

3. There is no way of guaranteeing that your brownies will turn out moist and fudgy like the ones from a mix.

Judging from the results I had though, I think I have FINALLY made a batch of brownies from scratch that I'm actually happy about!

Look, just look! So beautifully moist. I think I'm in love.

And yes, I did flip them upside down to cool because this recipe gave me the most beautifully crisp crust on top. I was so afraid of breaking that crust when I transferred it onto the cutting board that I decided to leave it upside down. Whatever.

Mmmmm......did I just make you drool on your laptop? Yeah, thought so.

Sadly, National Brownie Day isn't coming anytime soon (I learned that from my math fair project), but I'll definitely be making these brownies again on that day!

Er....I mean....this afternoon. 

That's right, folks! I'll be making another batch of these later in the day, and I'll be making another batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies too, so stay tuned!

Happy baking!

 

S'mores Brownie Cups....almost......

School is officially over!!!! Which means....SUMMER HAS BEGUN :) YAY. 

To kick off a (hopefully) awesome summer, I made S'mores Brownie Cups with my bestie....well....

Almost.

I almost  did. Because I forgot the graham crackers. Whatttttt??????

But anyhow, we still managed to make some decent brownie cups with marshmallows on top.

                                    

You know, when you have a whole bag of marshmallows, you gotta figure out how to use them. I used 6. Now I need to figure what to do to the rest (NOT eat it....summer diet in force)

In the oven!

So cute! Love the little white hats on these cute little brownie cups!

I had to "undress" one of them cuz that one didn't melt properly, but I don't mind because one of my family members doesn't like marshmallows.

That was a grrrreeeeaaaaattttt head start to my summer! I'll be cooking a lot this summer, so stay tuned!

Happy baking!

The Baker's Secret--Math Fair Project

So a while ago we had our annual academic fair at our school, and this year I had to do a math fair. Now if you know me, I LOVE math, and this year, I was able to incorporate baking AND math into my project. SWEEEEEEET :) 

My project was called "The Baker's Secret", and to be honest, I do think it's quite hard to solve until you understand the concept. Anyhow, I think that bearing in mind I went solo while other people had partners to split up the work load, I did fine.

                       

The title of my board...not too original, but very fitting nonetheless!

"The Story" a.k.a the wordy stuff before you get down to the core of the actual math.

The inside of the story

But seriously, did you know? I'm gonna have to bake a batch of brownies on December 8th!

The secret and guarded solution!

The inside of the solution

I just HAD to stick on some measuring spoons! Hey, authenticity is great, and I am a little OCD about this kinda stuff!

Not to mention, I made a little rolling pin myself as well haha :) But if you bake like me, you'll realize how ironic that is because rolling pins are NOT required to make brownies ha!

The final product :) Doesn't look too nice, but I think overall the content was good.

And of course, hard work pays off :)

                             

Overall, I think the fair was a GREAT experience--I LOVED it! While it was a little hectic having to manage all that work myself, I did enjoy coming up with a good story and getting to think of little bits and pieces that I could add onto my board. I definitely am proud of my board, and I think the little imperfections only make me prouder :)

Happy baking!