Brownies & Bars | Grin and Bake It!

Written on August 24, 2010 by Kate

One of my girlfriends, Tina, hosted a party to celebrate her 40th birthday this past weekend. When I asked her what I could bring, she said,” How about those eyeballs you made. Everyone loves those.” Someone eavesdropping would think this was a really bizarre conversation, but I knew exactly what she meant. I host an annual pumpkin carving party each year, and last year I made chocolate covered brownie bites, disguised as eyeballs. Since eyeballs didn’t really go with the birthday bash theme, I dressed up these brownies in party attire.

I have been wanting to make these brownie sundae bites that I saw on Kristan’s blog, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. If you follow my blog, you know what a fan I am of hers. So, Kristan ~ I totally copied you, but imitation is the best form of flattery, right? And you know I’m not a stalker, but truly an admirer.

These were huge on cute factor, great on taste, and best of all these brownie bites, balls, truffles ~ whatever you choose to call them are easy to make. (See this post for instructions.) For the record, I don’t like to call them brownie balls or the ones with cake, cake balls, as some bakers do. It doesn’t sound very lady-like. Am I the only person whose mind always goes straight to the gutter? Let’s all agree to call them something other than brownie balls, shall we?

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Written on June 30, 2010 by Kate

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Do you ever rack your brain trying to come up with an original idea… your very own, never been done, idea? Finally, BOOM! ~ it hits you, something you’ve never heard of… something you’ve never seen… something you’re pretty sure no one else has ever thought of. Before actually claiming ownership of your original idea you Google it, only to find dozens of links to what you can only conclude is your not so original idea. I’m not a psychologist, but I think our psyches were better off pre-Google era. We could easily claim ownership of our original ideas, and spend a lifetime patting ourselves on the back for our brilliance.

As I was brainstorming more easy kid-friendly treats for the Fourth of July, it came to me… “Firecracker Krispies”. It seems only fitting with their “Snap, Crackel, Pop!” slogan. Could it be, I just invented “Rice Krispie Firecrackers”? I bravely typed “Firecracker Rice Krispies” into the search engine and pushed enter. A few links came up, but not what I envisioned. Hmm… I did a few more Google searches, and checked the Kellog’s Rice Krispie website. Nada. Nothing. Zilch!

So without further ado, I present to you my original Firecracker Krispie. Google never lies, but if by chance there is someone out there who has already done this, please I beg you, don’t burst my bubble… at least for a day.

These are really easy to make, and kids with clean hands can join in. You can try substituting pop rocks for sprinkles. Need a 4th of July favor? Put these in cellophane bags, and add a ribbon.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Festive Fourth of July paper
Waxed paper
Non-stick cooking spray (optional)
Chocolate wafers
Sprinkles
Licorice
Star wire
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
4 cups mini marshmallows
3 tbsp. butter

Whip up a batch of Rice Krispie treats (recipe on the cereal box, or click here). Scoop the Rice Krispie/Marshmallow mixture onto a piece of waxed paper.
Take another piece of waxed paper and place it on top. Use your hands to smooth it out into a square shape. If you need to get in there with just your hands, forgo the waxed paper and spray a little bit of non-stick spray on your hands.
Once you’ve made a square-ish shape (no need for perfection), cut 1 ½” strips of the Rice Krispie mixture. Depending on how large you decide to make them, you may want to then cut the strip in half.
Use waxed paper and shape strip into a cylinder. You want to make sure that it stands up, so the bottom needs to be flat. Continue making these Rice Krispie cylinders until you’ve used up your mixture. I made 12 out of one batch (diameter approx. 1 ¼”, 4” tall)
Use a paring knife to hollow out a little hole in the top. This is where the licorice wick will go after you’ve dipped the firecrackers in chocolate. Melt chocolate in the microwave at thirty second intervals, stirring in between. Dip the top of the rice krispie treats into the chocolate, coating well, and shaking off any excess. Add sprinkles before the chocolate dries. Stand them up to set.
While the chocolate is setting, take the licorice piece and gently push it into the top into the hole that you made. As the chocolate hardens, it will help secure the licorice into place.
To finish these off, cut a strip of festive paper 1 ½” wide, wrap it around the circumference and use double-sided tape to adhere. Inside the licorice piece, put a few pieces of colorful, star wire.

Voila… my quite possibly, but I would never swear on it, original Firecracker Krispies. During my Google search, I discovered that Kellog’s was actually having a contest for a July recipe. The deadline was Tuesday. Thanks for bursting my bubble Google!

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Written on June 11, 2010 by Kate

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I know it sounds counter-intuitive, calming someone down with chocolate, but let me tell you… it worked! How in the world did I end up with an obsessed baseball fan for a son? I didn’t think it was genetically possible, considering my lack of athletic ability and interest in professional sports. I guess it’s just more evidence that God has a sense of humor. Looking back on the last nine years, I ignored the signs. The boy, unlike me, has always been able to remember people’s names and recognize people he’s met in totally different contexts. You know that awkward moment when you run into someone you vaguely remember, and that person calls you by your name. You then kind of stumble saying, “Hi”, only making it completely obvious that you have either, one, forgotten entirely who he or she is, or two, couldn’t think of his or her name to save your life. This is when my boy comes in handy. He remembers everyone’s name, including Frank who runs the pharmacy, and Joshua, who owns Toy Town.

So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he knows the first and last name of every professional ball player, plus all of their statistics, including batting averages, RBI’s, and stolen base percentages. I would rather retake the Euro AP exam, almost twenty years later, than be quizzed during a baseball game. This week I used my own skills to outsmart the crazy Dodger fan. If you’re mouth is stuffed with cookies, it’s almost impossible to talk baseball.

I saw these new York mint pieces at the store and was intruiged. If you don’t love mint, this isn’t go to be your thing, but see below for other variations. I decided these little mints needed a brownie textured cookie. Straight out of the oven, these weren’t a grand slam. After they had cooled, they were better, and by the next day, at their best. These are worth a repeat, but next time, I’ll probably try a different mix-in. The boy loved the cookie, but preferred it filled with M&M’s (I made a few with those too).

The recipe I planned on using was the giant chocolate toffee cookies from Bon Appetit (love these!), until I realized I only had unsweetened chocolate on hand. Instead, I took a shortcut that started with a boxed brownie mix. This is a good option when you’re in a hurry and don’t want a ton of dishes.

The Dodger’s play the St. Louis Cardinals all weekend (where I was born). The boy asked who I was cheering for, and simply to add a little rivalry, I told him the Cardinals. If you get cornered into watching baseball this weekend (or soccer!), sneak into the kitchen and make these. I’m sure you have something on hand to mix in. These will make for a much more entertaining game. Go Cardinals!

Mint Chocolate Brownie Cookies

21 ounces brownie mix (I love Duncan Hines!)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

1 cup York Peppermint Patty Pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir until well blended. Fold in mint pieces. Drop mix from a tablespoon onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use your fingers to round them and flatten them a bit. Put extra mint pieces on top and press into the batter. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight container.

Tips & Variations

* If you’re out of parchment paper, lightly spray pan with noncooking spray.

*It’s easy to burn chocolate cookies because it is harder to tell when they’re done. These will look crackled and glossy on top. 10 minutes was perfect in my oven.

* Other mix-in ideas: M&Ms, Coconut M&M’s, Mounds Pieces, nuts, white chocolate chips, any other kind of chip, Reese’s peanut butter cups chopped, chopped oreos, marshmallows & graham cracker pieces, you can’t go wrong!

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Written on May 11, 2010 by Kate

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Sugar cookies in bar form… Genuis! I saw a picture of these sugar cookies bars on Tastespotting a few weeks back and knew I had to make them. Lori , otherwise known as Recipe Girl had posted about them on her blog. I decided to try these out for the kids’ dessert at our Cinco De Mayo celebration.

Now here’s a novel piece of advice, follow the recommended size of the pan in the recipe. I used a smaller Pyrex pan than the recipe called for, which made the bars a little on the thick side. Next time around, I will add part of the batter to an additional Pyrex for optimal thickness. The kids loved them though. Really, I think you could put this icing on anything and it would taste great. I’ll confess, I did eat most of the left-overs, but cut off part of the sugar cookie bottom for a better icing to bar ratio.

I’ve got something even sweeter than sugar cookie bars to share today ~ my Mother’s Day present from my boy. It just confirms that I have the greatest kid in the entire world (don’t we all think ours are the greatest?). He wrote me a poem (in school), and took me out to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. He might be mortified if he knew I was posting his poem, so shhh…. don’t tell.

What is Mother?

as friendly as Jesus

a loving soul

a dependable woman

caring for others

a gift from heaven

always there for me

a thoughtful friend

an encouraging individual

a playful person

an incredible cooker

with a great heart

That is my mother!

Do you see why I love this child? Talk about making me feel good about myself. I love that he thinks of me as an incredible “cooker”. I’m sure he’d tell you I make the best chicken nuggets around. And as friendly as Jesus? Wow! To me, this is the present of all presents. I need nothing more in this life.

If, and when he makes me a little crazy during his teenage years, I’ll have this poem handy to remind me of what a great kid God has blessed me with. He and I have stuck together through a lot, and I can’t imagine my life without his amazing spirit.

SUGAR COOKIE BARS

(From RecipeGirl.com)

COOKIES:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter; at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar (sift after measuring)
5 Tbsp. milk
food coloring, if desired

1. Prepare bars: In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Mix in vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt & baking soda. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased, rimmed baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). The dough will be just like cookie dough- heavy & sticky- so it’s best to spray your hands with a little nonstick spray and use them to help mold the dough into the pan.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
4. Prepare frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening together until smooth and creamy. Mix in vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Add a few drops of color, if desired. Spread over cooled cookie, then cut into bars.

Yield: 32 bars

Tips:
*Refrigerate the bars until firm… it will be easier to get nice, clean cuts.

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Written on April 30, 2010 by Kate

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“Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort.”
~ Norman Kolpas

Comfort food was definitely on my menu this week. The past few days have been chaotic and stressful, but above all life-changing. I still haven’t processed all of it yet.

Monday night was a victory for students, teachers, and parents in the community. After a five-day strike, the school board finally caved and agreed to a fair contract for our teachers. This group of seven clearly had no idea what they were up against. In total, 92% of our 2,200 teachers walked the picket line. Thousands of parents and students joined in our stand-off and embraced our teachers whole-heartedly. Only 37% of our students attended school during the strike, with only 10% of our high schoolers showing up. What happens when a huge majority of your teachers and students walk out… a whole lot of media attention that the board never anticipated.

The moral of the story is this… if you plan on backing 2,000+ teachers into a corner, you better be prepared to deal with the consequences.

Not only am I a teacher, but also a parent in the district. My boy has been lucky enough to have had the same teacher for two years. She has been such a blessing in our lives. My son has grown tremendously because of her support and guidance.

What could we do to show her our support? Comfort food, yes that works! While I got ready for each strike day, my boy and his dad picked up Starbucks for the staff and delivered it, along with some comfort food I had made.

Comfort food for me usually is something sweet. I’m not much of a main meal or side dish kind of girl. In fact, I’m fine skipping dinner completely. Note to Prince Charming…Nachos and mashed potatoes are exceptions ~ feel free to deliver those in stressful times.

During the strike, I made two of my favorites, Starbuck’s copycat coffee cake and oatmeal blueberry bars. I also baked up two new recipes, which were loaded with comfort. I found a can of pumpkin puree in my pantry and made pumpkin bars with chocolate chips. I also made use of the ripe bananas on my counter, and the result was one of the moistest cakes I’ve ever tasted. It was iced with a cream cheese frosting. Let’s face it, life can never be too bad if you’ve got cream cheese icing.

We survived all of the chaos and are ready to rest up and recover this weekend! Have a great weekend!

Pumpkin Bars (Recipe from Realmomkitchen.com)

printable recipe

6 eggs 1 1/2 cup oil

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin

3 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Mix together eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin. Fold in dry ingredients and pour into jelly roll pan (13 x 18 pan) . (At this point I sprinkle half the pan with 1 cup of chocolate chips) Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake.

Banana cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

(printable recipe)

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Written on January 26, 2010 by Kate

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Two weeks ago, I shared part one, the pre-planning, of the owl-themed baby shower. This past weekend, my mom hosted the shower in her house, and I was asked to provide the desserts. I’ve learned over the years not to say no to my mom, and I certainly never say no to dessert! I didn’t attend the shower, but stopped by ahead of time to drop off the goodies. Everything looked adorable. She had all different kinds of pink candies arranged on her coffee table and baby pink roses in various arrangements. The favors went perfectly with the theme and invitation, little owl hand towels from Target and mini soaps from Bath and Body Works were wrapped up in cellophane bags for each guest.

As for the desserts, I made made baby girl owl cupcakes inspired by Hello, Cupcake!, one of the best books out there on making cupcakes. What I love about these baker/authors is that they’ve designed cupcakes that anyone can make. You don’t need a piping kit. They show you how to cut Ziplocs to pipe. You don’t need to be a baker. They use cake from a box and fancy it up a bit. The candies used to decorate the cupcakes can be easily found at the grocery store. This is a must-have book for cupcake lovers! To make the cupcakes, I used large marshmallows and chocolate chips for the eyes. I found chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in my candy stash, which worked perfectly for beaks. I used a leaf piping tip for the ears and fur and melted a handful of red candy wafers to pipe little red bows.

As for the other sweets, I made brownie pops with Valentine sprinkles. My mom said these were a hit. What is it about these? I guess because they’re cute and taste good, people go crazy for them. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the taste of brownie pops, over cake pops. Maybe I just haven’t found the perfect frosting to cake ratio yet. My all-time favorite pops though are cheesecake pops (recipe from the Sticky, Gooey, Mess, Chewy cookbook) The recipe is posted on Hostess With the Mostess. These are a little more time intensive, and time is something I don’t have much of these days. I did, however, set aside time to make owl sugar cookies, because every party should end with sugar cookie favors. I know my favorite cookie blogger idols (you know who you are) will agree!

I’ve had my pink, girly fix for awhile. I guess it’s back to legos, Pokemon, and the Nintendo DSI for now (Lord, help me! ).

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Written on January 13, 2010 by Kate

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Last week I posted some fabulous snowman treats from various food bloggers. Those snowmen inspired the brownie pops that I made. Ever since our Halloween party, when I made eyeball brownie bites, neighbors have been requesting brownie pops. What I love about pops – cheesecake pops, cake pops, oreo pops, or brownie pops is that they can be decorated for any occasion – formal or informal events. They also are just enough to satisy a serious sweet tooth, without the danger of consuming too many calories. That is, if you can stop at just one.

These were simple to make. A few weeks ago, I had frozen some of the brownies that were rolled into balls (without the chocolate coating) when I made my a batch of brownie pops. As long as they are placed in an airtight container, they still taste fresh.

Snowman Brownie Pops

(Everything except the Brownie’s should be available at Michael’s, or your local craft store.)

frozen brownies rolled into balls (see this post for more info.)
white candy coating
edible food decorating markers
Wilton’s Brownie Crunch Rainbow Topping
Lollipop sticks and lollipop-sized cellophane bags & ribbon

Instead of adding one rolled brownie ball onto the lollipop stick, add two, and then shape the body of your snowman before dipping. You want to make sure the bottom brownie is flattened a little so that the finished snowman stands up well. I ended up with one wobbly one. At this stage, you may want to refreeze them until they firm up again. If you try to dip pops that aren’t firm, you end up with crumbs in your melted chocolate bowl, which then transfers to the balls and they won’t look very pretty.

Once they’re pretty solid, they’re ready to dip. It works best to use a smaller, but taller bowl for the melted chocolate with these double brownie pops. Once dipped, gently shake off excess and place standing up on waxed paper to dry.

After they have dried, use the black food writer to add the details. Take an orange brownie crunch topping, dip the flat part in a little bit of melted chocolate and adhere to snowman. I thought they looked good at this stage, and of course I had to taste-test. They tasted great! I thought they looked even better all wrapped up and ready to share. The lollipop wrappers were the perfect size for these treats. I think I have my snowman fix now, and will soon be moving onto Valentine’s Day!

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Written on December 10, 2009 by Kate

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For some reason I get enjoyment out of finding Starbucks copycats or clone recipes (whichever word you prefer). Maybe it has to do with the satisfaction I get from making something better for a fraction of the cost. Or maybe it has to do with my innate need to uncover secret information (and believe me I am the detective you want to hire!) But honestly, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe I was a disgruntled Starbucks barista in a previous life, since I am on a never-ending quest to show-up Starbucks.

This time around I’m doing it a little backwards. I’ve never actually bought these bars at Starbucks, so it wouldn’t be right to claim that they’re better. Based on all of the reviews and the source, it’s a pretty safe bet. This particular “clone”, as he prefers calling them, comes from Todd Wilbur who spends his days cracking the code on popular recipes. The bar is fabulous and seriously, can we get anymore festive than this? This is another great pick for a cookie exchange or a treat to bring to neighbors. My only advice is to refrigerate these for a few hours before digging in. I, of course, couldn’t wait and was a tad disappointed. However, this morning I decided to give it another try and something magical happened in my fridge last night. Much better cool or at room temperature.

If you’re in a cranberry mood, but want another option, go check out Bridget at Bake at 350’s recipe for Cranberry Almond Bars that she posted this week. And if you’re in a cocktail-cranberry mood, you must make the Jack Frost Make-ahead Cranberry Margaritas that I posted last year. People go crazy over these and you do everything ahead. I’m making them again tomorrow for a girls night get-together.

Anyone in a Starbucks Copycat kind of mood?

Go and check out Todd Wilbur’s website. This week’s free recipe is a clone of Starbuck’s Peppermint Brownies.

or go back and see a few of my better than Starbucks posts…

Caramel Frappaciuno Cupcakes -Picture on the right. Enough said!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars – Yum, Yum & Yum!!! One of my all-time favorites!

Starbucks Copycat Coffee Cake – will be gone in no time!

My Don’t Wait for Prince Charming Chai Tea Recipe (P.S. Prince Charming still hasn’t arrived with my chicken soup, but I am forever hopeful!)

Cranberry Bliss Bar Clone Recipe

(From Todd Wilbur, Top Secret Recipes Unlocked)

Ingredients
\3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. minced crystallized ginger
3/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries
4 oz. white chocolate, cut into chunks
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extractFrosting
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. lemon juice

Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vegetable shortening

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Make cake by beating the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, ginger, vanilla, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks into the batter by hand. Pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned on top. Allow the cake to cool.

Make the frosting by combining the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped dried cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

Make the drizzled icing by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and shortening. Drizzle this icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion with a squirt bottle or fill a small plastic storage bag with the icing and cut off the tip of one corner.

Cover the cake and let it chill out in the fridge for a couple hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times, making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.