TGI Friday's Brownie Obsession

I will be honest, I haven't tried to make this recipe but if it is like the one at the restaurant, then they are amazing! So, I thought I would post it for anyone who might want to give it a shot.

Pre-heat oven 350

Grease 9 x 13 pan

Brownies

1 2/3 granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 tbsp water

2 bars (4 oz) unsweetened Giradelli baking bar, broken into pieces

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 tsp salt

1/2 cup shopped nuts (optional)

Microwave sugar, butter and water in large microwavable bowl on high for 4 to 5 minutes or until it is bubbly, stirring once. Add baking bars; stir until melted.

Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt; stir well add nuts. Pour into prepared 9 x 13 baking pan.

Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack, cut into bars.

To serve

Place brownie in shallow bowl. Top with chocolate sauce(recipe below). Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Drizzle Carmel sauce(recipe below) over the ice cream and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Chocolate sauce

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

6 oz semi-sweet Giradelli chocolate baking bar(broken into pieces)

Heat the cream with the butter and sugar in a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth. Add the chocolate to the cream mixture. Stir over simmering water until it is melted and thoroughly combined. Let cool at room temperature.

Carmel sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 tsp cornstarch

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp butter

In a saucepan combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Add whipping cream and butter. Bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Then, reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Cover and cool. Chill in the refrigerator until serving time.

Andes Mint Cookies

We haven't posted anything in here for a while, so I thought I would try to revive it! Here is the recipe for the  cookies that are super easy to make but everyone loves them!

Andes Mint Cookies

Ingredients

1 box of Devils Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup Oil
2 eggs
1 cup of chocolate chips
Andes mints

Directions

Combine cake mix, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add in chocolate chips. Roll dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake 7 minutes at 350 degrees. Immediately after removing from oven, place a mint on each cookie. After 1-2 minutes, use a knife to spread the mint over the top of the cookie. Cool. (I think it taste better chilled, so I always put in them into the fridge.) Eat and enjoy! :)

(I didn't take this picture, found it on the internet)

Holiday Eclairs

So, it appears this blog has died a bit...so I post.  Our ward Christmas party had a dessert competition.  I made homemade eclairs and won best over-all dessert with this recipe.  Not too shabby.  There were probably 40-50 desserts in the running.  Shane thought they tasted good; I did not actually get to taste one, but I trust...everyone's judgement :)  They look laborious, but are actually pretty simple, so don't be nervous.  I even took these pictures on my own and did not copy them off the internet!  Enjoy.

Holiday Eclairs

Choux Pastry

1/2 c. butter
1 c. water
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large eggs

Cream Filling

1 (4-serving size) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 c. milk (or as called for on pudding package)
1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Chocolate Icing

1/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. butter
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. hot water

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Lightly grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.  
2. In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 c. butter and water.  Bring to a boil, stirring to melt butter.  
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to form a stiff ball of dough.
4. Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition to ensure they are incorporated.  Work quickly, especially with the first one, to prevent it from cooking into scrambled eggs on the bottom of the warm pan.
5. With a spoon or pastry bag fitted with a large tip, spread/pipe the thick dough onto prepared cookie sheet into 10 strips approximately 1 1/2 x 4" each (or make them smaller so you can have more; they puff up quite a bit in the oven).
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake another 20 minutes, until puffed and golden and hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom.  When removed from oven, IMMEDIATELY pierce the ends almost through to the other side to let steam escape and prevent any sogginess in the middle.  This hole is also where you will be piping your filling into.  Let cool completely before filling and icing (this will only take about half an hour).
7. For CUSTARD FILLING: Combine pudding and milk in a bowl and mix according to package directions.  In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Beat in 1/4 c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Fold whipped cream into pudding.
8. Scoop mixture into pastry bag fitted with a smallish tip and pipe mixture into centers of eclairs until full.
9. For ICING: Melt the chocolate and 2 Tbsp. butter over low heat in a saucepan (or in the microwave, stirring after 30 seconds and giving additional 10 sec. increments as needed until fully melted).  Stir in 1 c. powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Stir in hot water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until icing is smooth and reaches desired consistency.  Drizzle, pipe, or spread over filled eclairs.
10. Store in fridge.  

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I've never gotten all that excited about cupcakes in the past, but I have found some recipes lately that have really turned out well.  Rich chocolate cake with a chocolate chip cookie dough filling and cookie dough flavored frosting.  If you like cookie dough, you will love these cupcakes!!  This recipe is for 12 cupcakes, but can easily be doubled to make 24.

COOKIE DOUGH FILLING:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

CUPCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

COOKIE DOUGH FROSTING:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

GARNISH:
additional mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Prepare the cookie dough filling (see *Tips below): In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to stir together the butter, sugars, milk and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the cookie dough is firm. Scoop out dough in 2 tablespoon scoops and place it on a cookie sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes.

2. Prepare the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners. Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt in a blender. Blend to combine. Add the water, oil, egg and vanilla. Blend to combine, scraping down the sides as needed a couple of times until all is well mixed. Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners. Drop a ball of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough into the center of each cupcake. If you would like the cookie dough to bake up slightly, keep the top visible. If you'd like to keep the cookie dough somewhat raw, push it to the bottom of the cupcake wrapper, making sure that the batter comes up and over the dough.

3. Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake portion of the cupcake (not tested through the center where the dough is), comes out fairly clean. Cool the cupcakes completely before adding the frosting. (NOTE:  for me and my oven, I found setting the oven to 350 degrees an cooking for 18 min was about right----you don't want to overcook!)

4. Prepare the frosting: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Mix in the flour, milk and vanilla and continue to mix until all is well combined.

5. Assemble: Frost cupcakes with a knife or scoop the frosting into a piping bag and pipe it on decoratively. Sprinkle mini chips on top and ENJOY!

Tips:

*You don't necessarily have to melt the butter and refrigerate the dough before scooping. The melted butter just helps the sugar dissolve a bit more so you don't have that grainy texture in the cookie dough. It is necessary to freeze it though.

Source: RecipeGirl.com

*I use the Wilton 1M star tip for getting the lovely frosting swirl on the cupcake.

Rating:  * * * * *  Definitely five stars!

Salted Caramel Brownies

This was in a Food Network magazine.  They turned out pretty good - and rich!  I think Rachelle and Betty Ann could handle it, but normal palates, not so sure.  A couple changes I made: I used Paro instead of coffee granules since I didn't have coffee, and sprinkled coarse salt instead of flaked salt over top of the caramel since I didn't have flaked salt either.  (The salt and caramel on top is NECESSARY!  It's the finishing touch.)  These changes seem to have been okay 'cause they turned out good.  (Again, used the author's photo.)

1 c. butter
1 1/3 c. plus 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp instant coffee granules
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp flour, divided
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
5-6 oz. good caramel sauce
2-3 tsp. flaked sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Butter and flour a 9x12x1 1/2 inch baking pan.
2. Melt the butter, 1 1/3 c. chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate together in a medium bowl set over simmering water.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes.  In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee, vanilla and sugar.  Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.  (It is very important to allow the butter to cool before adding the chocolate chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies.)
3. In a medium bowl, sift together 1/2 c. of the flour, the baking powder and salt and add to the chocolate mixture.  Toss the remaining 1 c. of chocolate chips with 2 Tbsp flour in a medium bowl and add them to the chocolate mixture.  Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Don't overbake!
5. As soon as the brownies are out of the oven, place of the jar of caramel sauce without the lid in a microwave and heat just until it's pourable.  Stir until smooth.  Drizzle the caramel evenly over the hot brownies and sprinkle with the sea salt.  Cool completely and cut into bars.  

Chocolate Roll Up Cake

I have never made this one before but this is Thomas' favorite cake that his mom makes. So, I thought it would be a great contribution to this blog!

Chocolate Roll Cake
1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup cocoa powder

4 egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

4 egg whites 1/2 cup sugar

15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan greased and lightly floured

Sift together the first four ingredients

in a small bowl beat the egg yolks and vanilla at high speed for about 5 minutes, gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar. When you finish beating the yolks, they should be lemony color and the sugar should not be grainy anymore, they will look and feel thicker than when you started beating them. Thoroughly wash the beaters.

In a large mixing bowl, (it works better if it is metal or glass because egg whites will not whip well if there is any trace of oil in the bowl and plastic can hold on to oil even after it is washed, that is also why you need to wash the beaters well) beat the egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1/2 cup sugar continue beating till stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg yolks into the egg whites. Sprinkle flour mixture over the mixed together eggs, and gently fold in until it is all thoroughly combined. It will take a few minutes, and when it is all combined, the batter will taste sort of "foamy" not thick like a regular cake batter. If it does not seem sort of foamy or fluffy, you have mixed it too hard and have flattened out all of the air you whipped into the eggs. That airy ness is what gives it the different texture, so you really want to mix it gently.
Spread batter into the pan Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, don't overbake it or it will be really dry. When it bakes it might not all look even and pretty, but that it okay because that side goes on the inside when it is filled. The under part will be all smooth and pretty so it will look fine.
While the cake is baking, tear off about 5 sheets of paper towels (keep them all connected) sift a light layer of powdered sugar onto the paper towels. When you take the cake out of the oven, loosen the edges with a knife and then immediately turn it out onto the paper towels. Roll the cake up in the paper towels and let it cool for at least an hour. Un roll the cake and use whatever flavor of ice cream to spread evenly across the whole cake, then roll it back up (obviously it is not a super tight roll) then put it in the freezer to freeze for at least an hour. You can also use whipped cream and berries in the middle, although ice cream is the best.

BYU Mint Brownies

These brownies need no introduction.  BYU Magazine posted the recipe few years ago.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Nutrition Information:  I'm not going to bother calculating the calories for this one.  Don't even make them if you are watching your figure because you won't be able to control yourself. :)

 

Rating: ***** Five Stars!!!

Sinfully Rich Chocolate Truffle Pie

I made this pie for Thanksgiving dinner last year and it was amazingly easy and so delicious!

12 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

1 T Vanilla

1 (9-inch) Prepared Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust (or make your own using 1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs and 1/4 cup melted butter)

1. In microwave dish combine chocolate chips and 1/2 of the cream. Cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Stir in sugar & vanilla. Set aside.

2. In small bowl, beat the rest of the cream until soft peaks form. Beat in chocolate mixture on high speed 1/3 at a time. mix well and spoon into crust.

3. Refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired.

Enjoy!

Rating:  ***** Five Stars for sure!  My thighs couldn't handle me making this recipe every week, but it will definitely be my go-to recipe when I need a pie!