life-changing marshmallows

Posted in brownie by baxterandmain

Growing up I always enjoyed marshmallows. My brother taught me to eat them directly from the bag that my mom always seemed to have hanging around in the cupboard for future baking projects. However, I did not know that marshmallows could in fact be life-changing until I had the homemade ones at City Bakery in New York.

Fortunately for me they sell them by the bag so when I was in NYC for work in December I bought two bags to take home.

This weekend I wanted to bake something that featured these beautiful, pillow-like marshmallows and thought what goes better with marshmallows than chocolate? My brother’s girlfriend gave me some awesome German chocolate for Christmas so I thought I’d use that and make some brownies.

I did all sorts of searching on the interweb for the perfect marshmallow brownie but was not feeling it for any of the recipes I found. Then I remembered that around this time last year I made some award-winning brownies and thought I would adapt that recipe to incorporate the marshmallows and voila.

The results were a fudge-y brownie with nice caramelized, almost crusty marshmallow bits on top.

I’m not suggesting you run out to New York to scoop up a bag of these heavenly marshmallows in order to make this recipe (though if you are there, you owe it to yourself to do so) as I think this recipe would work just fine with store-bought marshmallows. If you wanted a s’more-like effect you could add some graham cracker crumbs into the batter and I think that would be great too. Or you could combine graham cracker crumbs and butter and line the bottom of the pan with that! It’s fun to experiment with baking, so go nuts. (You could add nuts too! Now we’re just getting plain crazy…)

Marshmallow Brownies

1-½ stick butter
2 ounces dark or milk chocolate (or a combination of the two), broken into chunks
¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 ¼ cups sugar
3 whole eggs, warmed to room temperature
1-½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
9 marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place a large piece of foil in a 9-inch square metal cake pan, draping the foil over the edges. Grease foil with butter.

Melt the 1 ½ sticks of butter with the chocolate chunks over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Whisk to combine. Add the cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour. Whisk to combine, though be careful not to over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Insert whole marshmallows into brownie batter.

Bake for about 18 minutes then rotate pan. Bake for an additional 20 minutes

Cool at room temperature in the pan for about a half hour, then lift the brownies from the pan and refrigerate in the foil just until they are firm. Remove from foil and cut the brownies into 12 or 16 squares

17Dec2011

christmas cookies

Posted in cookie, dessert by baxterandmain

Today is another bonus post as I am sharing three (three!) recipes of sweet treats. Unfortunately I was not so great with the photography of said sweet treats while making them… You will see that I got some beginning images of two of the cookies and nothing at all of the buckeyes. So even though you will not have much of a visual feast with this here post I guarantee you that the recipes herein are winners. Guarantee!

One of my favorite traditions of the season is exchanging plates of various Christmas cookies and candies with neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc. The variety of cookies is key because there’s bound to be something you’ll like on the plate and conversely something that the recipients of your plates will like. For example, those little peanut butter cookies with the Hershey’s Kiss in the middle that seem to be so popular this time of year– I love those things!

So this year I made jam thumbprint cookies for people who don’t like super sweet things, caramelita bars for people who like rich treats, and buckeyes for everybody. Because who doesn’t like buckeyes? They’re crowd-pleasers. Peanut butter and chocolate is the finest food pairing that ever existed, for shizz.

The buckeyes went first, then the caramelita bars, and finally the jam thumbprints. Add one or all to your Christmas cookie plates this year!

Jam Thumbprint Cookies (from recipes for “Basic Vanilla Dough” and “Thumbprints and Ball Cookies” at www.marthastewart.com)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Jar of fruit jam of your choice (I used raspberry and blackberry)

Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each 1 inch apart.

Press well into the center of each ball using your finger. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, and press well again with handle end of a wooden spoon. Bake until firm, 7 to 9 minutes more.

Let cool completely. Spoon filling into thumbprints.

Crunchy Buckeyes

1 stick of butter
2 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups confectioners sugar
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chips or baking bars—both work)

Mix butter and peanut butter in a large bowl. Add crispy rice cereal and blend, then add confectioners sugar and blend. Form dough into balls and place on foil-lined baking sheet. Place sheets in freezer to harden for about 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in heat-proof bowl placed over saucepan with boiling water, stirring until smooth. Dip peanut butter balls in melted chocolate with fork until only an “eye” of peanut butter is visible (i.e. ¾ of the ball should be completely covered in chocolate.) Set on foil-lined baking sheet to cool and set.

Oatmeal Caramelita Bars

CRUST:

2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup butter, softened

FILLING:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts, optional
12 oz jar of caramel ice cream topping
3 tablespoons flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13”x 9” pan with butter. In large bowl combine all crust ingredients. (I recommend using a pastry knife or a fork to do so. I used my stand mixer and it pulverized the oatmeal to flour consistency.) Press half of crumb mixture, about 3 cups, into prepared pan. Reserve remaining crumb mixture for topping. Bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle warm base with chocolate chips and nuts if using. Combine caramel topping and flour. Pour evenly over chocolate chips and nuts. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Return to oven and bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Cut into bars. (Note: refrigerate prior to cutting to make it easier on yourself.)

19Sep2011

a chill is in the air

Posted in dessert by baxterandmain

Saturday afternoon I came home to find a pumpkin next to my front door. Isn’t that sweet? My upstairs neighbor left it for me and it got me in such a fall spirit I pulled out my fall wreath and put it on the front door and then decided it was high time to do some fall baking.

Fall is for sure my favorite season by far. Mostly because of the food. I love all things relating to the squash and root vegetable categories. And while I am sad to see summer go I am more than happy to welcome back fall and all of the wonderful flavors it brings.

About a month ago when it was approximately 92 degrees at 10 o’clock at night I came home to find a bat flying in circles in my living room. Bats do not belong in my living room. I immediately freaked out and shut myself in my bathroom calculating how long I could survive in there if need be. Fortunately I had my cell phone with me and was able to call for back-up. My friend volunteered her boyfriend to remove the bat from my apartment and that he did, ever so calmly. To thank him I bought him a 6-pack of beer and decided to bake him pumpkin chocolate chip square bars.

Seems like a fair trade, right? Well, fortunately he seems to think so too.

Pumpkin and chocolate chips compliment each other very well. I have also used both ingredients in pancakes and muffins and they were equally as tasty. These bars are dense and sweet with the distinct fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and all-spice.

Makes that hot summer night and the bat seem like a distant memory…

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares (slightly adapted from recipe found at www.marthastewart.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice (if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon each allspice and cloves [all ground])
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

16Jun2011

get along little cowgirl

Posted in cookie by baxterandmain

I’m a big fan of cookies that have the kitchen sink in them– you know, chocolate chips, marshmallows, peanut butter, pretzels, cornflakes– the more the merrier. One of my favorite cookies from a bakery in New York even has potato chips in it. Craziness. So over the weekend when I was looking through cookbooks and found a recipe for Cowboy Cookies I felt like I hit the jackpot. Better yet I found it in a cookbook that my aunt put together of my grandma’s recipes and there’s a funny photo of my grandma looking very uncomfortable on a horse next to the recipe. So that settled it.

You start with a basic cookie dough recipe and then add oatmeal:

Chocolate chunks:

Toffee chips:

These are the mix-ins I chose, but this is a recipe you can get creative with. Next time I think I’m going to add crushed pretzels, dark chocolate chips, and candied bacon. Oh yes, I said bacon.

In honor of my grandma I’ve decided to re-name this cookie the Cowgirl Cookie. Giddyup.

Cowgirl Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups oatmeal
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)
1 package toffee pieces, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add eggs and beat until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and add vanilla. Beat for 5 seconds.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder and beat until incorporated.

Stir in oatmeal, chocolate chunks, and toffee pieces. (Note: you could experiment with a variety of mix-ins. Butterscotch chips, pretzel pieces, and peanut butter chips would all be great. Go crazy!)

Put spoonfuls of dough on parchment paper-lined sheets. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on wire rack.