Passover Means Brownies!

Hi everyone.  I am so sorry that I haven't blogged lately.  I made chocolate cupcakes that were fantastic, and topped them with peeps.  They were fantastic.  I am more than happy to share the chocolate cupcake and chocolate frosting recipe with anyone!

However, I am here to talk about Passover, which starts tonight.  That means I can't eat food that contains yeast.  My amazing mother sent me Mandel bread, and I am baking brownies.  These brownies are edible all-year round.

Passover Brownies:

Ingredients:

10 tbsp unsalted butter plus 1 tsp for greasing the pan

6 ounces or 1 cup (parve passover) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/8 cups sugar plus 1-teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup Matzo cake meal

1 1/2 cup (parve passover) semi-sweet chocolate chips or 3/4 cup (parve passover) semi-sweet chocolate chips plus 3/4 cup walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease in 8-inch square pan with butter and matzo cake meal.  I would suggest a disposable one, but you don't have to.

Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl.  Remove from heat, and add 6 ounces chocolate chips, stiring until they are melted.  Stir in the sugar and vanilla extract.  Test the temperature of the chocolate; it should be tepid.  If not, let it rest until it is.

Whisk the eggs together, and then off them to the chocolate mixture.  Stir until the eggs are all mixed in.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in the matzo cake meal until it blended.  Add in the chocolate chips, or chocolate chips and nuts.  Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake the brownies on the middle shelf of the oven, for around 30 minutes.  The toothpick should come out with some moist crumbs.  Cool completely on a wire rack, and refrigerate overnight.  Cut the brownies up, and store in the fridge!  

It's (almost) Pi day!!

Tomorrow is Pi day! I'm always disappointed in myself when a day like cupcake or cookie day comes around and I don't know it until the end of the day and I don't have time to bake.  As I was heading to the market today, I remembered that tomorrow is Pi day.  I was going to bake a cake (I have been looking forward to making one for a few weeks now), but switched it up and decided to make a chocolate pie.  Now, I did not make the crust.  That would have been too complicated for me today, but who doesn't love a triple chocolate pie?

Ingredients:
1 extra large graham cracker pie crust (I got the keebler 9 oz crust)
3 boxes (Hershey) chocolate pudding mix, instant, 4-servings
1 box vanilla pudding mix, instant, 4-servings
3/4 cup (low-fat) chocolate milk
2 1/4 cup (skim) milk
1 tub cool-whip, extra-creamy
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
1) In a small bowl, whisk together 1 box vanilla pudding mix and 1 cup milk.  I only have 1/2 box in my apartment, but I think using 1 box will be better. Place in fridge.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together 3 boxes chocolate pudding mix, 3/4 cup chocolate milk, and 1 1/4 cups milk.  Whisk in 1/2 of the cool whip.
3) Spoon the chocolate pudding into the pie crust, and spread out evenly.

4) Take the vanilla pudding out of the fridge, and spread evenly over the chocolate.

5) Next, spoon the non-frozen cool-whip over the vanilla pudding.  It is much easier to spread the cool-whip when it is runnier.

6) Last, but not least decorate to your desire!  I added chocolate chips around the outside and then made the Pi sign in the middle.  However, you can use whatever you would like to decorate the pie.  

An alternative would be to place marshmallows over the top of the pie instead of the cool-whip and vanilla pudding.  Broil the pie until marshmallows are golden.

Have fun and Happy Pi day!

Valentine's Day Baking

Valentines day is exactly one week from today.  Do you know how you are going to celebrate it yet?  Are you going to bake for a valentines?  Are you going to bake for friends?  How about for yourself? Me, I am going to bake for my favorite valentines: my father!  What better way to bake then with the Valentine's day M & M's, and heart shaped (chocolate chip) cookies.

I am going to apologize in advance for my lack of pictures of some of the cookies and steps.  I accidentally pulled out the USB before I had finished uploading the pictures and lost half of them....

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (minus 1 tbsp) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package M & M's (I recommend picking the holiday packages :) )

Instructions:
Beat butter and brown sugar in a mixer until combined.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed.  Then add the granulated sugar.  Next, add in the egg and vanilla extract.  Add in the pudding mix, followed by the baking soda and flour.  You want just under 2 cups of flour (see my picture for below).  I recommend taking out 1-1.5 tbsp flour so that you can create a dome in your cup.  Next add in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 3/4 cup M & M's and mix in by hand.  Roll out the dough as follows: use ~1.5 tbsp of dough or 1/4 cup dough and take out 1 tbsp.  Roll the dough and place on the cookie sheet.  Place the side with all of the M & M's down on the cookie sheet (trust me on this!).  Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.  Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.  Pull the cookies out and add more M & M's to the top and bake for about another 2 minutes, or until browned.

This is what my second cup of flour looked like:

The cookies with the M & M's face down.

The first round of M & M addition.

Can't you see the difference already in the number of M and M's?

The final product, already packaged to be sent in the mail!

Have you ever wanted to make shaped chocolate chip cookies before?  They are not easy to make, and I can't imagine rolling out chocolate chip cookie dough and then baking it only to have it spread out and lose shape!  So, I went about making shaped chocolate chip cookies, or really blondies, in another way.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips, plus a few tbsp
1 cup peanut butter chips, plus a few tbsp

Instructions:
Melt butter, and then add the butter and brown sugar to a mixer.  Once all combined add in the granulated sugar.  Next, add in the egg and vanilla.  Mix in the baking soda, baking powder, and flour.  Last, add in the chocolate and peanut butter chips and mix by hand.  You can substitute the chips with any flavor that you want.  Line a 9x11 baking pan with parchment paper and evenly spread out the dough.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then pull out and lightly press in more chips to the top of the blondies.  Bake for another 10-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool until the cookie is warm, and then use cookie cutters to cut out shapes!

This is what the cookies looked like after I cut out all the hearts.

Happy baking (and dough eating)!