Category Archives: Brownie

Sea Salt Caramel Peanut Butter Brownies

I recently asked my husband, what dessert he would like for his sweet treat for his lunches? I enjoy packing his work lunches. I always like to include a few proteins, whole grains, veggies, fruit, salty snack, and sweet goodie.

Also, I love packing lunches for my husband and I because brown bagging is a resourceful way to use leftovers. Packing a lunch daily can really help save money & reduce waste. So many people dine out or order in for meals for lunch breaks. This habit can be easily $10-20 a day downtown in a city; not to mention high in unnecessary & unwanted calories.

His response to my question for his sweet treat was brownies. I asked what kind and he mentioned a traditional style (last week I had made Blondies). I couldn’t bare making Plain Jane Brownies; therefore, I spiced them up a tad. This led me to the mix up of a beautiful marriage salted caramel,peanuts, and chocolate.

Prework:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Foil line a glass 9 by 13 baking pan and spray generously with canola oil cooking spray

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil

4 oz of extra dark chocolate (63% cacao), plus more for drizzle 1-2 tablespoon melted

4 Tablespoons of natural peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 scant cup of dry roasted unsalted peanuts

1 1/2 cups of pretzels (wheel or mini pretzel shape)

6 ounce jar of sea salt caramel sauce or homemade prepared caramel sauce, plus 1-2 tablespoon for final drizzle

A few pinches of Sea Salt for final sprinkle (optional)

This recipe yields 16 large brownies or 32 mini
Directions:

Take over a double broiler and melt the chocolate, coconut oil, and peanut butter. Once the mixture is melted add in the applesauce, & sugar. Remove the double broiler and add in the eggs one at a time with a whisk and lastly add in the vanilla. Set aside.
In the meantime, whisk together the flour, kosher salt, and baking powder. Add the liquid chocolate mixture to the flour. Mix until combined.
Pour 1/3 of the batter on the bottom of the prepared 9 by 13 pan. Layer the pretzels evenly on top of the batter (it is roughly 47 pretzel wheels), than sprinkle with the peanuts. Drizzle with half of caramel sauce. Place the remaining 2/3 of batter on top of the nut, caramel, pretzel layer. I find using a plastic spatula sprayed with cooking spray makes for easier spreading.
Bake at 350 degrees for 33 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the brownies clean. Place the brownies on a wire rack to cool. Allow the brownies to completely cool before removing from the pan.
Using the foil sides, lift the brownies from pan and place on parchment paper.
On a diagonal drizzle with caramel and chocolate. Lastly sprinkle with sea salt. Store in a sealable container. Cut to your desired serving size.

Make sure to store in an airtight container

Banana Peanut Butter Blondies

We celebrated a special birthday yesterday at work! One of the birthday girl’s favorite combinations is banana, peanut butter, and chocolate! But than again who doesn’t love this happy marriage of flavors. I know Elvis did as well hence the name!

Prep time: 10 minutes Bake time: 35 minutes

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cooking spray a glass 9 by 13 glass baking dish. Set aside.

Recipe yields: 32 blondies

Ingredients:

2 (4) inch ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 (1/4cup) stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup mini chocolate covered Peanut butter cups or mini buckeyes

Directions:

In a electric mixer bowl, cream together the sugar, bananas, peanut butter, butter and vanilla. Gradually on low speed, add one egg at a time.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

Fold in the mini peanut butter cups. Evenly spread the batter into a lightly sprayed baking (9×13) pan.

Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and edges start to brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Once completely cooled store in a sealable container.

Tip: These are best served with some ice cream

Macadamia Nut Blondies

Today is Macadamia Nut Day. Instead of adding walnuts into your oatmeal or your favorite trail mix try giving the macadamia nut a try. Macadamia nuts contain monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and plant substances that might lower cholesterol.

My husband and I went to Hawaii this past May and Hawaii is famous for their native Macadamia Nuts. One thing we noticed while we stayed on the various islands of Hawaii, these nuts are added to just about every baked good from cookies to quick breads. Today I thought I’d add them to a blondie bar.

Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 25- 30 mintues

This recipe yields: 24 Blondies

Essential Tools for the job & pre work:

9 inch baking pan
Parchment paper (optional but will make life easier)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking dish with parchment paper; enough to get sides to pull the Blondies out to make for easier cutting.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup chopped finely macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer attacjed bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add applesauce and mix. Beat in eggs one at a time & add vanilla. Set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, spices and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Lastly fold in the macadamia nuts. Spread into a prepared 9 inch square baking pan (I did use a dark pan). The type of pan will effect the cooking time). If your pan is lighter you might need to bake it longer.

3. Bake in the center rack of oven for 25-30 minutes or until set and golden brown & toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Using parchment “handle” pull bars out and place on cutting board & cut into 24 bars. Store in a airtight container, whole wheat products don’t last as long as AP baked goods.

Mini Brownies

Tomorrow is Administrative Professional’s Day and I wanted to honor our department’s secretary by baking her some brownies. One of her favorite sweets is chocolate. There is no better way to satisfy a sweet tooth for chocolate other than rich chocolate brownies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp fine espresso powder

1 TB cornstarch

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup of chopped chocolate (I used leftover Easter Chocolate)

Yields: 12 mini brownies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously spray with cooking spray an individual brownie pan ( I have the pampered chef product).
In a large mixing bowl mix with whisk the applesauce, canola oil, vanilla, and espresso powder. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Make sure to whisk everything together
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to fold and incorporate the ingredients. Lastly add the chucks of chocolate & fold to incorporate.
Portion out the batter into the individual cups and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Peanut Brownies

All day long I swear I could smell brownies. So when I got home from work I had to bake some! I found a recipe in an old Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook that I modified to present day! This one is for you Jenna! My sister loves her coconut oil!

This yields 9-12 brownies

Ingredients:

2 oz pure dark chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 TB peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Predirections: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8 dish with foil and spray with cooking spray and set aside.

Directions:

1. Place chocolate, coconut oil, and peanut butter in 2 qt sauce pan in low heat. Keep stirring occasionally until chocolate melts.

2. Remove from heat and add vanilla and eggs and mix to incorporate. Add in sugar and continue to mix.

3. In s separate bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda until incorporated. Add into melted chocolate batter and mix to incorporated. Lastly fold in peanuts.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.

5. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let the brownies sit in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before pulling the foil out and cutting the brownies.

Enjoy!

Mint Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

Today is National Registered Dietitian Day. In honor of the celebratory day. I made the team mint brownies to go with a cute idea I found on pinterest regarding appreciation and coining “mint” through the poem. I tweaked a poem for teachers to relate to registered dietitians and it goes like this:

Thanks for your dedication and commit-“mint” to our team.

 Thanks for your encourage-“mint” to always do our best.

Thanks for your involve-“mint” in making our patient’s lives better.

Thanks for your invest-“mint” of time and energy  to make Trinity such a great place to be.

 Thanks for making each day an enjoy-“mint” to come to work.

Thanks for helping to create a nice environ-“mint”  for our co-workers and students to learn and grow.

Everything you have done this year has really “mint” a lot to me!!! Happy RD Day!

The original recipe can be found on Bob’s Red Mill Blog and only yields a 8 by 8 inch amount.

This recipe Yields: 1 13 by 9-inch pan (32 brownies)

Prep work: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 by 13 with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside

Ingredients:

For the Brownie Layer

3 sticks (24 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
6 oz squares Dark Chocolate ( I prefer Trader Joe’s 72 %)
6 large Eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure Mexcian Vanilla Extract
3 cups Raw Sugar or Granulated Sugar
1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

For the mint layer:

6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened
3 cups Powdered Sugar
3 tablespoons Skim Milk
1 1/2 teaspoon pure Peppermint Extract ( I used Watkins)
4 drops Green Food Coloring

For the chocolate ganache topping:

3 ounces Dark Chocolate
3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. Using a double boiler method, melt the butter and chocolate for the brownie layer. Once all the chocolate and butter has been melted remove from heat and allow to cool slightly and add each egg separately to the melted chocolate batter. Whisk after each addition. Place the chocolate mixture in a large bowl and add sugar and vanilla to the chocolate batter whisk to incorporate. After all the sugar has been blended throughout add both flours and whisk to separate throughout. Place the batter into the prepared foil oven safe baking dish and place in oven for 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool completely on rack.

2. Once the brownies have cooled start the second layer, the mint layer. Place butter in a stand mixer bowl, place on medium to high speed and cream butter, decrease speed and gradually add the powdered sugar, milk, food coloring, and mint extract. Mix until everything is smooth and creamy and the color of the filling is to your liking.

Place filling on top of cooled brownies using a spatula to spread evenly. Place brownies in refrigerator to so that the filling layer can harder before placing the ganache.

3. Once the mint filling layer has hardened, prepare a second double boiler for the ganache. Place the dark chocolate and butter in the double boiler and allow the chocolate and butter to melt completely. Once everything has melted place the ganache on top of the mint layer. Spread evenly with a metal spatula. Cover the brownies with a plastic lid or plastic wrap and allow to cool completely before cutting into bite size pieces.

Helpful hint: I let the brownies cool overnight in the refrigerator. I cut them in the morning and placed in recycled jam jars. Three brownies fit perfectly in each jam jar. I placed a decorative muffin paper-cup on the top (I used tape to help the cup stay on the lid to make for easy tying later). I did place wax paper between each brownie as I was stacking to help them prevent from sticking together.

I tied them off with using a colorful string and placed my “mint” poem to each jar. I also included a lanyard and a coupon for our gift shop at the hosptial. Just something small to show my team how much I appreciate them. The good news about this recipe is I made 7 jars with 3 brownies in each jar which means I only used 21 brownies which left plenty leftover to share with others!

Enjoy!

Coconut Nutella Brownies

I was in the mood for a sweet treat made with Nutella! I think these are going to hit the spot.

Ingredients:
1 cup ap flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tsp Mexican vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup Nutella or hazelnut spread
1/2 cup plus two tb Dutch processed cocoa
13 by 9 inch pan lined with foil sprayed with
cooking spray

This recipe yields 18 servings

Preheat oven to 350.

Directions

1. With the paddle attachment cream the butter, Nutella, and sugar in a stand mixer.

2. Add vanilla, and one egg at a time. Mix batter after each egg addition.

3. In a seperate medium size bowl mix together flour and cocoa with a whisk.

4. On medium -low speed slowly add the flour mixture into the wet batter:

5. Lastly fold in oats and coconut to fully incorporate .

6. Pour batter into cooking sprayed foiled line 9 by 13 pan.

7. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until tooth pick comes out with dry crumbs. My oven took 24 minutes. Let brownies cool on wire rack.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

I pack my husband’s lunch daily and I always like to add a sweet treat. I had brownies on my mind this afternoon. I popped them in the oven afterwork for a nice dessert after dinner. Plus the oven was already warm from supper.

Ingredients:
1 tsp vanilla pure
1 tsp instant coffee (100% Colombian trader joe’s brand is what I used)
1/4 cup almond meal
1.5 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch Processed cocoa (there is no comparison to penzeys)
6 oz of chopped dark chocolate (I had some left over from Easter Malley’s from Cleveland Area)
1 cup raw sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
5 farm fresh eggs or 1 1/4 cup egg substitute

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowel except the chopped chocolate and whisk to fully incorporate.

Now add lightly beaten eggs, vanilla, applesauce, & canola oil. Mix to combine.

Pour batter into a cooking sprayed 9 by 13 and spread evenly.

Sprinkle dark chocolate over batter.

Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Let pan cool for at least 5 minutes on wire rack.

Cut into squares as you see fit. Makes about 3 dozen brownies.

Tiramisu Brownies

I made these for a coworker’s birthday the other day. She loves coffee! They are very rich and will definitely hit the spot if you are craving a chocolate fix. The marscapone gives the right bit of creaminess to these bite sized tasty little devils. The original recipe called for double the ingredients which made for a pricy dessert so I cut it in half and tried to decrease some of the saturated fat as well. The original is a TOH recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cake flour
1/16 cup instant coffee
1/16 cup espresso powder
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (6oz)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 stick of butter (2 oz) softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup egg substitute
8 oz Marscapone cheese (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cocoa Dutch processed
1/2 cup raw sugar plus 1/8 cup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Foilline an 8 by 8 inch baking dish.

Set a side.

Mix flour with the coffee granules and expresso powder together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl place the chocolate chips to melt.

Place in microwave and cook in 30 second intervals (Until melted).

Add butter, sugar, vanilla, and canola oil to melted chocolate.

Add egg substitute, and one egg, mix to incorporate.

Add dry mixture.

Whisk to mix ingredients together.

In a separate bowl mix marscapone, 1/8 cup of sugar and 1 egg until incorporated. Set aside.

Now take the brownie batter and place 3/4 cup to 1 cup on the bottom of the cooking sprayed 8 by 8 dish.

Top evenly with marscapone cheese batter; make sure to cover all the brownie batter.

Top with remaining brownie batter. Make sure to cover all the marscapone spread.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until tooth pick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack and dust with coco powder.

Yields 16 brownies! Enjoy with you favorite cup of joe!

Perfectly Portioned Brownies

My sisters in law for Christmas bought me the pampered chef individual brownie pan which I love….love!! Of course I had to try brownies first but I have Apple Sreusel Crescent Bites in the oven now for breakfast.

This recipe yields 9 brownies (even though the pan is made to yield 12)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil or (1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce)
1 tsp Mexican Vanilla Extract
1 cup sugar ( or 1/2 cup Splenda for baking and half cup sugar)
2 eggs or <(1/2 cup egg substitute) or (4 egg whites)>
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa (high quality brand you know my favorite )
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cooking spray mini brownie pan.

2. Take a medium bowl and add oil ( and applesauce if using), vanilla, eggs, and sugar whisk until mixed well.

3. Add salt, baking powder, cocoa and flour and mix until combined.

4. Use scant 1/2 cup or 2 oz scoop to place batter into pan.

Add water in leftover empty vessels to prevent scorching.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes (test using toothpick method).

Let rest in pan for 5 minutes and move brownies to wire rack for cooling.

Enjoy!

A Pinch of Luv

from scratch baking and cooking blog

Category Archives: Brownie

Sea Salt Caramel Peanut Butter Brownies

Banana Peanut Butter Blondies

Macadamia Nut Blondies

Mini Brownies

Chocolate Peanut Brownies

Mint Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

Coconut Nutella Brownies

Dark Chocolate Brownies

Tiramisu Brownies

Perfectly Portioned Brownies