Pretzel M&Ms Blondies

I love any recipe that gives me an excuse to buy candy. In this case, I had an excuse compelling reason for the purposes of research to try out pretzel m&ms. Pretzel m&ms have been around for a few years now, but I've stayed pretty loyal to my old favorite, peanut butter. But I'm glad I gave these a chance, because I really enjoyed how they worked inside the blondies. I love the combination of salty and sweet. I also appreciate that this recipe comes together fairly quickly and easily.


PRETZEL M&M BLONDIES

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and then cooled
1 c light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c (or more) pretzel m&ms

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 pan with foil.

2. Beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the salt. Gradually add in the flour. Stir in the m&ms.

3. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake. Place pan on a wire rack to cool for a bit. Pull out foil and then let cool completely. Cut into 16 squares.

Source: Bake at 350

This recipe is shared with Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Craft-O-Maniac, Made by You Monday, Tuesday Talent Show, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, This Chick Cooks, Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper, Foodie Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Sweets for a Saturday

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

There are some recipes I know will be a huge hit before I even try them. This is one such recipe. What made me believe these Peanut Butter Cup Brownies would go over like gangbusters? Well, it's a rich, fudgey chocolate brownie. With peanut butter cups in the batter. Topped with a chocolate cream cheese icing. With more peanut butter cups sprinkled on top. What could go wrong?

And these brownies lived up to my expectations. They are simply divine. The base brownie itself is excellent, the frosting has a nice tang from the cream cheese, and the peanut butter cup topping is a show-stopper. Put a plate of these brownies out on your work desk and dare people to walk past without stopping for one. There is no such thing as a diet around these.

These brownies do have a downside, though. They're a bit messy to eat, especially right after being frosted. After a couple of hours the frosting will harden a bit. I know it will be hard to suffer through the sweet chocolate and peanut butter mess, but I promise you can make it though. I believe in you. The other drawback is that these brownies don't last very long, mostly because they have a tendency to jump into your hand when you're not looking. And then you have to eat it. It would be rude not to.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES

for the brownies:
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 c. peanut butter cups, chopped

for the frosting:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. peanut butter cups, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 x 8 inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Grease this pan lining with a light coat of non-stick spray.

2. In a 2-quart or larger saucepan, melt together the butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat. Remove from the heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add in vanilla. Stir in the flour and baking soda, mixing just to combine. Fold in the peanut butter cup pieces.

3. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Place pan of brownies on a wire rack to cool.

4. Once brownies are cooled, remove them from the pan by lifting out the lining. In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar. In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Remove from heat and pour the chocolate over the cream cheese mixture and mix to combine. Frost the cooled brownies. Top with chopped peanut butter cups. Press on the peanut butter cup pieces slightly. Cut brownies and serve, or store in an air-tight container.

Source: Anyone Can Bake, by Better Homes and Gardens, pg. 126.

This recipe is shared with Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Craft-O-Maniac, On the Menu Monday, Recipe Sharing Monday, Made by You Monday, Tuesday Talent Show, This Chick Cooks, Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Fresh Food Friday, Sweets for a Saturday, Sweet Indulgences Sunday, Cast Party Wednesday

Brown Butter Rice Krispy Treats

I finally got a copy of the cookbook Flour, which I'd been eying for a few months. I wanted to dig right in, but, alas, my oven has been broken for the last week. It's been a sad week for me :(. Thankfully, the cookbook's author, Joanne Chang, was kind enough to include this no-bake recipe for Brown Butter Rice Krispy Treats.

It's probably been 20 years since the last time I've enjoyed a rice krispy treat. Making these was a trip down memory lane. This recipe stays fairly true to the beloved classic, while giving it a tad more sophistication. Browning the butter gives these treats a nutty, more complex taste. Yet, the large amount of marshmallow creates the ooey-gooey-ness nostalgia demands. My husband, who hates marshmallow, loved these. I think you'll love them, too.


BROWN BUTTER RICE KRISPY TREATS

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean, split lenghtwise
2 10 oz. bags marshmallows
1/2 tsp kosher salt
9 c. crispy rice cereal

1. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with aluminum foil.

2. In a large, heavy bottomed, stock pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into the butter. Once butter is melted, it will start to foam up and bubble. Once the bubbling subsides (which will take a few minutes) is when the butter will start to brown. You'll notice the butter go from yellow to a light tan to a golden brown. You should notice a nutty aroma.

3. Once your butter has browned, immediately add in the marshmallows and salt. Stir constantly until marshmallows are melted and combined with the browned butter. Remove from the heat and stir in the rice cereal. Stir until rice cereal is fully coated with marshmallow mix. Spoon into the prepared pan. Allow to rest at room temperature for about an hour before cutting into squares.

Source: Flour, by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson, Chronicle Books, 2010, pg. 133.

Raspberry Oatmeal Squares

Growing up in suburban Philadelphia in the late 80s, it seemed like I ate the exact same cake at every celebration. White cake, white crisco-based frosting, raspberry filling. I ate it at baptisms, I ate it at first communions, I ate it at quinceaneras. So it's no wonder, when planning the dessert menu for my brother's graduation, I decided I had to make something with raspberry filling. It wouldn't be a real celebration otherwise.

I had a particular recipe in mind, but it turned out to have errors, leaving me with a mess the day before the party. I had to scramble to find a new recipe that would work with the ingredients I already had. Luckily, I came across this one for Raspberry Oatmeal Squares. These squares are simple to prepare and are very tasty.

RASPBERRY OATMEAL SQUARES

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper or foil. Lightly spray the inside of parchment paper or foil with cooking spray.

3. In medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Continue blending until butter has been well incorporated into the dry ingredients. Take 2 cups of this mixture and press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread raspberry jam on top, leaving 1/4 inch uncovered around the edges. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture on top of jam and press lightly.

4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Source: Allrecipes

White Chocolate Pecan Bars

I'm discovering more and more that pecans are quite the little crowd pleasers. Walnuts certainly never get that type of reaction. These white chocolate pecan bars are easy to make and very tasty. Plus, you can tell people the recipe for these bars comes from the world-famous Magnolia Bakery in New York City. Fans of the show Sex and the City will know what you're talking about and be instantly impressed.

WHITE CHOCOLATE PECAN BARS

• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c pecans, coarsely chopped
• 8 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped (I recommend Ghirardelli)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In small bowl, combine flour and salt. Set aside. In larger bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.

3. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 c of the chopped pecans. Transfer batter to a greased 9 x 13 pan.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges lightly brown. Remove pan from oven and place on a cooling rack.

5. Immediately after pan is out of oven, sprinkle chopped white chocolate on top. Wait 5 minutes, and then spread chocolate around with a spatula. Sprinkle chocolate with remaining chopped pecans. Allow to cool and then cut into bars.

Source: The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

The Brownies

A year ago, I decided on a whim to start making snacks for my husband's work group. I figured this would be a win-win-win situation. I'd get to practice baking without the end results tempting me, my husband would be the hero of his engineering group, and his co-workers would get a mid-afternoon sugar high. These brownies were one of the first things I baked for the group, and I get endless requests for them. They've almost become my signature item. If there's an occasion for me to ask "what should I bring?" there's a decent chance the answer will be "bring the brownies." I can't recommend this crowd-pleasing recipe enough.

THE BROWNIES

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar with melted butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour about 1/4 of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined, smoothing out any lumps. Continue adding the flour mixture in batches, mixing well after each batch. You might find the batter thick and difficult to work (at least I do, but I have no arm strength). Resist the temptation to use an electric mixer. Brownies are always better when hand mixed. The results will be worth it! When flour mixture is fully incorporated, stir in chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. With brownies, it's very important not to over bake them. When in doubt, pull them out! Allow to completely cool before cutting. Makes 24 brownies.

Source: Allrecipes