APPLE BROWNIES - Amy Traverso

How did I miss this cookbook? This was published a year ago and I love apples!  The Apple Lover's Cookbook  by Amy Traverso is a gem.  And this recipe is one of the best ever--if you like apples, cinnamon, and walnuts, and of course you do. Thanks to Sunday of Ciao Domenica for mentioning this gorgeous book.

 Ingredients
1 cup (145 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick; 113 g) salted butter, melted and coole, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup (210 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (60 g) chopped walnuts
2 large firm-sweet apples (about 1 pound total) --I used Honey Crisp--peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Directions
1. Preheat ove to 350 degrees and set a rack to the middle position.  Generously butter the baking dish (11 x 7) and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.  In the bowl of a standing mixer at high speed or using a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and egg until pale, about 2 minutes.  Add the walnuts and apples and stir by hand until evenly combined.  Add the flour mixture and stir until combined, another 30 seconds.

3.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown and lightly firm to the touch, 40 to 50 minutes.  Let cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then cut into 12 bars and transfer to serving platter.

Note:  Instead of chopping apples into 1/2 cubes, I chopped them into 1 inch.  So, this turned out to be apple cake instead of apple brownies.  Next time, I will cut into the 1/2 inch pieces which should make it more brownie-like.

BUTTERSCOTCH BLONDIES - Smitten Kitchen

Super easy, one pan, yum.

Blondies
Adapted by Smitten Kitchen from How to Cook Everything

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1.Butter an 8×8 pan

2.Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.

3.Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below). I added 1/2 cup butterscotch chips and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

4.Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

•1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
•1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
•1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
•1/2 cup mashed bananas
•1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
•2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
•Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
•Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

Chocolate and zucchini is a combination that works suprisingly well. I've seen a lot of recipes for chocolate zucchini cakes and brownies. But since my friend, Kathy, had great success with this recipe I decided to make this one. She also told me it is good without the frosting (but, really, why would I not put this yummy frosting on top?)

The fam enjoyed--even little kids likes them and didn't notice the shards of zucchini. So give it a try--I think they would freeze well, too.


INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups shredded zucchini
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
*
* 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/4 cup butter
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

S'MORES BROWNIES

Very yum! I don't often make chocolate desserts but this one caught my eye. It is adapted from Bon Appetit on Joy the Baker's blog. It was the roasted marshmellows on top that clinched it for me. Add in the graham crackers and now you understand why the brownies are called S'Mores.

I also loved the bittersweet chocolate that the recipe calls for. The bittersweet chocolate is perfect with the marshmellows and the graham crackers. Sweet but not too.

Be sure to let the brownies cool completely before slicing. And do the usual of running the knife under hot water and wiping it off after every slice. These brownies are very gooey.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup graham cracker, roughly broken with your hands
12 big marshmallows (I also diced 6 additional marshmallows and stirred them into the batter. These marshmallows dissolve when baked, so you can leave them out, or throw them in. Up to you.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9×13-inch baking pan with 2-inch-high sides. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a medium sized bowl over a heavy saucepan of simmering water. Stir chocolate and butter in this double boiler until melted and smooth.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients. Fold in graham crackers. Pour batter into prepared pan. Dot with 12 large marshmallows. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30- 40 minutes minutes.

Marshmallows will be browned and puffy but will deflate as the brownies cool. Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky. Serve or wrap individually in wax paper for storing.