Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies!
Posted: February 26, 2009 Filed under: Bars-dessert and cookie, Brownies, Chocolate, Dessert 6 Comments »My two favorites in one..peanut butter and chocolate. These brownies were out of this world and came together so easily. I found this recipe on Feeding the Fire(MEN) adapted from Goodhouse Keeping and Recipezaar.
I needed something to thank our neighbors with and was wanting to make yet another cupcake when I came across this recipe. I stopped my search right then and there. These were it. I did try a small bite and OMG make these now. The cakey and fudgy, yet deep chocolaty brownie mixes quite well with the simple peanut butter swirl. Nothing could make these better!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Brownies
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Swirl
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
Directions:
Brownie
Grease a 13×9 inch baking pan. In a heavy saucepan, bring butter, sugar and water to a boil, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Cool slightly and mix in vanilla. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs. Slowly add in the chocolate mixture until completely mixed. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and mix well to combine.
Peanut Butter Swirl
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix on medium speed until well combined.
To prepare: Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking pan. Using a spoon, dollop the peanut butter mixture on top of the brownie batter. Top with remaining brownie batter. Using a knife, cut through the batter to create swirls of the brownie and peanut butter. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
White chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies..
Posted: February 26, 2009 Filed under: Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert 1 Comment »WOW that is a mouthful! I found these cookies on Epicurious.com and took the ladies recommendations to cut back on the sugar and chill the dough. These cookies were super soft and chewy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Perfect! I didn’t add the nuts as we were out and used white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. I also baked at 350 on chilled cookie sheets to keep the cookies from spreading. They came out perfectly!!! A great twist on our favorite oatmeal cookies!!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups packaged finely shredded unsweetened coconut
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup almonds with skins (4 oz), toasted, cooled, and chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.–I baked at 350.
Beat together butter and sugars in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until just blended, then beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and mix at low speed until just blended. Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.
Arrange 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough about 3 inches apart on 2 lightly buttered large baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position and rotating pans halfway through baking, until golden, 15 to 18 minutes total.
Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer with a spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies in same manner.
Panko Encrusted Tilapia
Posted: February 25, 2009 Filed under: Fish/seafood 7 Comments »WOW what a great Ash Wednesday/Lenten/fish meal. We were growing tired of our usual tilapia meals and I wanted something new. So, after much searching, I found this recipe from Martha Stewart. Hers calls for cutting the tilapia in strips for fish sticks, but I kept ours whole and baked it a bit longer. This was surprisingly good as I dont like Old Bay Seasoning. It was lighter than I thought and baked up great. I did bake mine on a rack to keep the bottom from getting soggy..it made the entire piece nice and crispy!!
I did serve it with a lemon aioli (thinned out to keep it light and refreshing), but she used an herb dipping sauce. I included the entire recipe from Martha for you to enjoy.
I served it with rice, steamed veggies, and a salad.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cups panko
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into wide strips (see note, above)
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 teaspoons prepared white horseradish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475, with racks in top and bottom third. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil; set aside.
Place egg in a wide shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine panko, Old Bay, and oil. Dip tilapia into egg, shaking off excess, then into panko mixture, pressing to adhere. Place on prepared baking sheets.
Bake until lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, parsley, mustard, lemon juice, and horseradish; season with salt and pepper. Serve fish sticks with sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
Ebelskiver (Filled Pancakes) with Cinnamon filling
Posted: February 22, 2009 Filed under: Breakfast, Holiday Recipe 8 Comments »WOW OH WOW OH WOW! These are so decant and rich, but oh so worth it. I recently got a Ebelskiver pan for my birthday and decided Sunday morning was a great time to make this wonderful treat. You can fill the pancakes with whatever you like, cinnamon, chocolates, jams, etc…and they are quick to bake up, so have a few fillings on hand and your guests can all choose and make their own!! I did use the Ebelskiver Mix from William-Sonoma as it was a gift as well, but I did include the mix recipe for you, just in case!!
Recipe for filling and topping found at William-Sonoma.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
If using the mix:
1 1/4 cups of the mix
2 eggs separated
1 cup milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter melted, plus more for baking
Fillings of your choice
Maple syrup, whipped cream or frosting to top
Cinnamon Filling (the yummy filling we chose):
See below for directions.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes,
at room temperature
For the cream cheese frosting: (Works best with Cinnamon Filling)
See below for directions.
3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 Tbs. milk
For the pancakes: If not using the mix:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
Directions:
If using mix:
Put the pancake mix into a bowl. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, milk, and butter. Whisk the yolk mixture into the mix until well combined.
If not using the mix:
To make the pancakes, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 Tbs. melted butter. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.
Put 1/8 tsp. melted butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of the filling into the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using 2 skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the pancakes to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.
Drizzle the pancakes with the frosting and serve immediately.
Cinnamon Filling:
To make the cinnamon filling, in a bowl, still together the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and, using the back of a spoon, mash the butter into the flour mixture until all of it is absorbed into the butter, forming a paste. Set the cinnamon filling aside.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, reduce the speed to low and beat until combined, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 3 Tbs. of the milk and beat until combined, about 1 minute. The frosting should be thick but still pourable; add more milk if needed to thin it. Transfer the frosting to a small bowl; set aside.
Butter Honey Wheat Bread for Breadmaker
Posted: February 21, 2009 Filed under: Breads 2 Comments »With it cooler here lately, having dough rise well hasn’t gone very well. I have tried to use my over to help rise, but that hasn’t worked either. So rather than try and fail with another cooler day here..only 62 in the house….I decided to pull out the ol’breadmaker and make up another loaf of honey wheat bread. But I wanted a new recipe. As I searched, this recipe kept coming up. And guess what? It came up for great reason. It was soft, flavorful, and baked up nicely. I would definitely give this recipe another try.
Makes a 1-1.5 lbs. loaf.
ENJOY!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup water
2 tablespoons margarine-I used butter especially with a title like this one–The title given in the original recipe too..LOL-I used 4 tbsp for more butter flavor
2 tablespoons honey-I used a 1/4 of a cup for more of a honey flavor
2 cups bread flour-I used 1.5 cups
1/2 cup whole wheat flour-I used 1 cup
1/3 cup dry milk powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
DIRECTIONS:
Put ingredients into bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Process for large (1-1/2 pound) loaf, wheat setting.
Lighter Chicken Parmesan
Posted: February 20, 2009 Filed under: Chicken, Italian, Light and healthy, Pasta, Spaghetti 3 Comments »I LOVE CHICKEN PARMESAN and when I saw this lighter recipe on Brown Eyed Baker’s site, adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, I just had to make it. It turned out to be more flavorful and cooked up better than the full fat version, at least I think so! This is definitely going on our must make list from now on.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Table salt and ground black pepper
3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon water
Vegetable cooking spray
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat and sliced into cutlets
2 cups tomato sauce , warmed
3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3/4 cup)-I used three slices, one for each breast
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
Directions:
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a 12-inch skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.
In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs, Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.
Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 15 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and Parmesan separately. *I served it over angel hair pasta*
Per Serving:
Cal 310; Fat 8 g; Sat fat 2.5 g; Chol 75 mg; Carb 20 g; Protein 38 g; Fiber 1 g; Sodium 790 mg
Cream Cheese Frosting
Posted: February 20, 2009 Filed under: Cakes/Cupcakes, Dessert, Frosting, Toppings 5 Comments »A great frosting for deep chocolate cakes, red velvet cakes, carrot cakes, and for the orange cupcakes I made recently. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes and it was nice and light and flavorful!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
2 – 3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Directions:
1 With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2 Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness.
3 Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate your cake or cupcake.
Orange-Vanilla Cupcakes
Posted: February 20, 2009 Filed under: Cakes/Cupcakes, Dessert 16 Comments »I wanted to bake for H and the men at the garage where he works on his car, but I have recently made them a lot of chocolate desserts, so I needed something new. When I saw this recipe on Shawna’s Blog, adapted from Joy of Baking, I knew this was the recipe I wanted to make. I did use the zest of an orange instead of lemon. The cupcakes came out with a nice hint of orange and were super moist. They are very good especially when topped with cream cheese frosting.
Also, Shawna added orange extract instead of zest to give a deeper orange flavor. I didnt have any, but it will deepen the orange flavor. Good idea!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon (optional – I used orange)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting.
Baked Shrimp Scampi
Posted: February 19, 2009 Filed under: Fish/seafood, Quick 2 Comments »After a few posts about this recipe on the Nest boards recently, I decided for our shrimp dish this week (we eat shrimp 2-3 times a week), I would make this. It was, as mentioned, very easy to make. I think it took all of 30 mins from gathering the ingredients to putting it on the table!! I always love to find great meals that we can enjoy on a busy night. Eating great doesn’t have to take all day!! I found this recipe on the Food Network Site .
I would cut back the amt of butter next time. It was way too much for our liking.
Sorry the picture is so bad, my camera died right away..BOO!
ENJOY!
Ingredients-I halved the recipe for just the two of us. This recipes makes 6 servings. Included the original recipe.
- 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 1/4 cup minced shallots–I omitted as I thought I had some on hand but did not!
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves–I omitted as we dont like rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 extra-large egg yolk
- 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.
Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.
Potato Slabs
Posted: February 18, 2009 Filed under: Appetizer, Potato, Side dish 3 Comments »A new recipe floating around the What’s Cooking board is the potato slab. These were a great change up from our usual side dish and easy to make as you can use whatever you have on hand. Can be made as an appetizer too!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Potatoes-One or two per person–I used red skin
Shredded Cheese to top each slice-I used sharp cheddar
Toppings-green onions, olives, salsa, green peppers, bacon, sour cream etc..
Seasonings-Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, etc..
Directions:
Wash and slice potatoes into quarter inch slices. Place on a greased baking sheet. Season with your favorites-I used s, p, garlic, and evoo. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30ish minutes. Flip and cook another 15-20 mins. Top with cheese and other toppings. Bake another 10 mins to melt cheese. Top with cold toppings-Sour cream, butter, etc. and serve warm.
