Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease bottom of a 9×9-inch baking pan with butter or shortening.
In medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and dark brown sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in toffee bits. Press into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together sugar, 3/4 cup flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add eggs, vanilla and remaining 1/3 cup butter (melted). Beat until smooth. Stir in dark chocolate chunks.
After removing baking pan from oven, carefully spread the brownie filling batter over the shortbread crust.
Bake for 40 minutes more. Let brownies cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 toffee shortbread brownies.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup and 1/3 cup butter, divided
1/4 cup toffee bits
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
1 cup and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease bottom of an 8×8-inch baking pan with butter or shortening.
In medium saucepan, stir dark chocolate and 3/4 cup butter over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in 1 cup of sugar, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla and salt. Gradually add in flour, stirring just until combined. Spread batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Let brownies cool completely, about 1 hour.
Prepare frosting by combining evaporated milk, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolk and 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, pecans and coconut. While frosting is still warm, spread on brownies. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 brownies.
Brownie Points: Evaporated milk is milk that’s been cooked down to allow water content to evaporate. The concentrate is canned, and the result is heavier, creamier milk with a slightly toasted or caramelized flavor. If you don’t have evaporated milk in the pantry, make your own! To produce 1 cup of evaporated milk, simmer 2 1/4 cups of regular milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it reduces to 1 cup.
Ingredients:
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup and 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 eggs and 1 egg yolk, divided
3/4 cup plus 4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes
For some, peanut butter is fun and flirty. And most equate chocolate – at least on some level – with love. But when you combine peanut butter and chocolate in a recipe like this for peanut butter brownie biscotti, well it’s downright lustful!
This is a great treat to make for your special someone to help celebrate Valentine’s Day. And [shameless plug alert!] for a lower calorie gift that will last much longer and bring much more pleasure for you both, accompany the peanut butter brownie biscotti with a signed copy of Baked Chicago’s Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook.
Peanut Butter Brownie Biscotti
Preheat your oven to 375° F. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter and butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Beat until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating just until combined.
Use the mixer to incorporate about half of the flour before using a wooden spoon to stir in the remaining flour by hand. Fold in the dark chocolate.
Transfer the peanut butter brownie biscotti dough to a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in half. Shape each dough portion into a 9-inch long log roll. Place the rolls 3 inches apart on a large, ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the rolls slightly, to about 2 inches wide.
Bake initially for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325° F. Transfer the baked loaves to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place the slices on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, before turning slices over. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes more, or until biscotti are dry and crisp. Transfer biscotti to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 32 peanut butter brownie biscotti.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup dark chocolate, chopped
Bacon makes almost every recipe better. I love the crunchy texture of crispy bacon. This recipe for bacon and salted caramel brownies features both crispy bacon and a deep bacon flavor because it incorporates some of the bacon grease into the batter. It makes for a very rich, very decadent explosion of flavor for your taste buds. This bacon and salted caramel brownies recipe has received great response from readers of the Baked Chicago blog, which is why it’s featured in the Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook.
Update as of 10/26/13: The genius folks over at America’s Test Kitchen share an easy way to make caramel in the microwave. It requires a bit less constant attention than making caramel on the stove top, so I’m sharing their video quick tip in case you prefer to use the microwave for the caramel in this recipe.
6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup salted butter, divided and cut into pieces
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
In a medium skillet, fry the bacon slices until just crisp. Remove the bacon, reserving the bacon grease in the pan. Add the cream to pan and let cool. When the bacon has cooled, crumble or chop finely. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup of sugar over high heat until the mixture is liquid and deep amber in color. Add 6 tablespoons of butter and the cooled bacon cream mixture. Stir until the butter is melted. Add the chopped bacon and let cool.
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter or shortening.
In a large saucepan, melt the remaining butter and dark chocolate over very low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth and add in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the remaining sugar, vanilla and flour, just until combined.
Spread half of the brownie batter in the prepared baking pan. Drop half of the bacon caramel mixture by tablespoon, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter. Spread the remaining brownie batter over the top, and then drop the remaining bacon caramel mixture by spoonfuls over the top of the brownies. Drag the back of the tablespoon through the batter to create a swirled effect.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 bacon and salted caramel brownies.
At first blush, the combination of bourbon, bacon and pecans might not make sense to the mind. But trust me, your taste buds will understand it all and thank you for it. Here’s what one reader wrote about this bourbon, bacon and pecan brownies recipe, which is featured in Baked Chicago’s Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook:
“Love, love, love the Bourbon, Bacon and Pecan brownies! (Yes, bourbon and bacon!) These brownies were so moist and chocolatey with a hint of bourbon and a hit of salt from the bacon to finish off each bite. So delicious you’ll want to share these with friends and family!” JAStenzel review from Amazon.com
Bourbon, Bacon and Pecan Brownies
In a medium skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon fat and set aside. Let the bacon cool and chop roughly. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9×9-inch baking pan with butter or shortening.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large heatproof bowl set on top of a small saucepan of simmering water, melt the dark chocolate and butter. Stir constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until frothy (about 1 minute). Beat in the melted chocolate mixture, bourbon and reserved bacon fat. Fold in the flour mixture and pecans, just until combined.
Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the chopped bacon on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out nearly clean. Cool the brownies completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 brownies.
Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
These turtle brownies were, in part, inspired by a favorite childhood candy: Kathryn Beich’s Katydids. Kathryn Beich’s (part of the Nestle company in the 1960’s and 1970’s and possibly longer) had operations in Central Illinois near where I grew up. They worked with schools and churches with fundraising programs where you’d order your favorite confections, including Golden Crumbles, Butter Mints and Katydids. I remember selling the candy for school groups in yearly fundraising efforts.
Today, the Kathryn Beich brand is barely visible and no longer part of Nestle. A Google search found some old pictures of those tin cans that required a key to “unlock” the vacuum seal.
For anyone who remembers these cans, can you believe we were actually allowed to open them as kids? The edges were so sharp that you could cut a bitch. Personally, I also loved the caramel filled chocolate bars which amazingly seem to still be available.
While that “technology” may no longer be used, I do remember it definitely locked in the freshness of the candy. The Katydids would melt in your mouth. The crunchy pecans and caramel were bite-sized portions of addiction.
This recipe for turtle brownies is featured in the Baked Chicago’s Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook, available at Amazon.com. Thanks to the many readers who have shared that this is one of their favorites in the book.
Update on 10/26/13: America’s Test Kitchen has a great suggestion for making caramel in the microwave. For those who may be a bit timid about making caramel from scratch on the stove top (it does require constant monitoring), this might be a better solution. This recipe uses the stove top method for the caramel in the turtle brownies, but you can get similar results following the instructions in this video.
Preheat your oven to 325° F. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter or shortening. Melt the dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, set over pan of simmering water. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. Let the mixture cool slightly.
Whisk together in a large bowl this flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Whisk the sugar and eggs on medium speed with electric mixer until pale and fluffy (4 minutes). Add the chocolate mixture, milk and vanilla, mixing until combined. Reduce speed to low and add in the flour mixture, until well combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few dry crumbs. Let the brownies cool, about 30 minutes.
Bring 1/3 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Constantly stir until the sugar has dissolved. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Cook until the sugar is a medium amber color (5 to 7 minutes). Remove from heat and add the heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Gently stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add pecans and stir until caramel begins to cool and thicken.
Spread the caramel over brownies. Refrigerate for one hour to help set. Let the turtle brownies stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 brownies.
I’ve always been surprised how little flour actually goes into most brownie recipes. Usually, the recipe calls from a half cup to a full cup of all-purpose flour. A little flour goes a very long way. And I was even more surprised when I first tried these dark chocolate flourless brownies because you almost can’t tell there’s no flour in them at all. They’re actually very moist and gooey and kind of melt in your mouth. If you have a favorite flourless baking recipe, I’d love you to share it with me and the readers of Baked Chicago.
Dark Chocolate Flourless Brownies
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with butter or shortening.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large heatproof bowl, combine butter, sugar and dark chocolate. Place the bowl over simmering water in a saucepan. Stirring often, heat until the butter and chocolate are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the eggs, water and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa powder mixture; fold in the chocolate chips.
Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Lightly dust with powdered sugar and cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 dark chocolate flourless brownies.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups dark chocolate, chopped
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
You don’t have to be Irish to appreciate these stout-glazed brownies. Whenever I hear the word “stout,” I immediately think of the adjective, which usually refers to a person who is (somewhat) fat or has a heavy build. Growing up, I was a “stout” child and I remember hating to go shopping for clothes. Almost nothing off-the-rack would fit me without some kind of alteration. I remember having to shop in the “husky boys” section for clothes. Husky typically means big and burly or strong. I don’t know if husky is better than stout when it comes to describing kids’ clothes. But I do know that I much prefer “stout” as a noun, which means a strong, dark beer brewed with roasted malt or barley. If a beer is a stout, it’s considered to have a strong or the strongest flavor.
There are several kinds of stout beers: dry (Irish), imperial (Russian), porter, milk, oatmeal, coffee, oyster and even chocolate! Chocolate and beer often makes for a great combination in recipes. These stout-glazed brownies will have you dancing an Irish jig with each bite.
Want to share these stout-glazed brownies with the kids? Here are some things to consider when baking or cooking with alcohol:
alcohol boils at 172° F, so almost any kind of baking or cooking with alcohol won’t leave any in the food once it’s done. It evaporates quickly.
there’s not much alcohol in beer to begin with. It’s mostly water.
there’s not enough alcohol in beer for it to burn.
Bob’s your uncle!
Stout-Glazed Brownies
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9×9-inch baking pan with butter or shortening. In a medium saucepan, bring the stout to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 10 minutes). Let cool and set aside.
In a medium heatproof bowl set on a small saucepan of simmering water, melt 12 ounces of dark chocolate and 1 cup butter. Stir constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the chocolate mixture and 1/4 cup stout, reserving the remaining stout. Fold in the flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt.
Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the brownies surface begins to crack. Toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs. Cool for 20 minutes.
Stir the remaining 4 ounces of dark chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, set on top of small saucepan of simmering water, until melted and smooth. Add the reserved 1/4 cup stout, remaining 2 tablespoons butter and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk until well blended.
Pour the warm glaze over the brownies. Let stand until glaze is set (about 40 minutes). Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows to make 16 stout-glazed brownies.
Ingredients:
1 cup stout
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces plus 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons and 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
Happy birthday to Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘N ‘ Roll®. Elvis was known to love his peanut butter, bananas and bacon. All three of those flavors are rolled up into this sandwich cookie that I’ve named Cacao Jungle Cookies. I’ve thrown in some roasted cacao nibs for a deep chocolate crunch.
While the recipe calls for using semisweet chocolate in the brownie sandwich cookie base (it balances well with the banana-bacon cream filling), I also recommend trying a more decadent version of the cookie by substituting the semisweet chocolate with Scharffen Berger’s 82% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate which gives a stronger flavor contrast.
Cacao Jungle Cookies
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and let cool. Finely chop the bacon and set aside.
Place the semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted; set aside and let cool. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, use a mixer to beat together the butter and sugars (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla, beating until combined. With mixer on low speed, alternately beat in the chocolate and flour mixtures. Mix just until combined. Fold in the cacao nibs by hand.
Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely. Yields about 32 cookies, which makes 16 sandwich cookies.
While the cookies are baking, beat the softened butter, peanut butter, mashed banana and cream cheese in a medium bowl, until just mixed. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt, mixing until combined. Fold in the bacon by hand.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. When ready to assemble the cookies, put 1 tablespoon of filling on the bottom of one cookie. Then place another cookie on top.
Ingredients:
Sandwich Cookie Ingredients:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate (62% cacao), chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup roasted cacao nibs
Filling Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
pinch of kosher salt
4 slices of bacon, crispy and finely chopped
Number of servings: 8 (2 sandwich cookies per person)
Like some heat in your chocolate? The smoky chipotle chiles and earthy unsweetened cocoa powder add a depth and richness to this chipotle chocolate brownies recipe. On a 4-alarm rating scale, I’d give this a 2-alarm rating for heat. If you’d like to go full tilt, double the amount of ground chipotle powder to 2 teaspoons. Or if you want to dial it down, just substitute any chipotle powder you remove with additional ground cinnamon for balance.
Chipotle Chocolate Brownies
Preheat your oven to 325° F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking pan with butter or shortening, and set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the dark chocolate and butter. Stir constantly over very low heat until completely melted and smooth. Cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine the flour and cocoa powder; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, espresso coffee powder, cinnamon and chipotle powder. Add in the chocolate mixture. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture, a half cup at a time, beating on low speed just until combined.
Spread the brownie batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until edges start to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour, on a wire rack.
Dust with unsweetened cocoa powder and cut into 8 rows by 4 rows to make 32 brownies.
Day 5 in Chicago with the daily high temperature doesn’t get above the freezing point. It’s definitely hot chocolate weather – and this Aztec Hot Chocolate recipe is a spicy way to drink yourself warm this winter.
Aztec Hot Chocolate
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and dark chocolate. Melt the chocolate over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Once the chocolate is melted and the milk is warmed thoroughly, stir in the cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Pour into 4 mugs. Top each mug with a small handful of marshmallows and one cinnamon stick for stirring. And, if you like, a pinch of cinnamon on the melted marshmallow is a nice added touch your mouth will thank you for.
Well, America, it’d be nice to say we didn’t think we’d be in this situation. But even the most optimistic of us knew that (way in the backs of our minds) it was unlikely our government leaders could act like responsible adults and avoid the fiscal cliff. In homage to those politicians (Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike) in Washington, I’ve created my own version of Fiscal Cliff Fruitcake brownies – made up of a fruitcake base, loaded with nuts and a healthy dash of rum. Because we’ll all need a drink to get through this fiscal cliff mess they’ve created.
Fiscal Cliff Fruitcake Brownies
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Butter a 13×9-inch baking pan and set aside.
Combine butter and both the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until chocolates melt and mixture is smooth. Cool mixture until it’s lukewarm.
Using an electric mixer in a large bowl, beat sugar and 3 eggs until very thick and pale (about 3 minutes). Stir in the chocolate mixture, vanilla and rum.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt to blend. Stir flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. Mix in walnuts, pecans and dried fruits.
Spread batter into prepared baking dish; smooth the top. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top cracks and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool brownies in the pan on a wire rack.
1 cup butter
9 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup rum
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup chopped dried figs
1/3 cup chopped pitted dates
1/3 cup dried sour cherries
