Tag Archives: brownies

Weekend Baking: Bittersweet Brownies with Orange Creme Frosting

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I wasn’t planning to use creamy, sweet and tart Orange Creme to frost brownies. With a small bowl of the creme remaining after a couple of practice runs making Cherries Jubilee to prepare for the dinner to raise funds for Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji, I knew I couldn’t just toss it away.

I debated about how to use the orange creme. I thought about making some almond-flavored shortbread cookies, piping a star of orange creme on top of each one. But, I just finished the last of the Orange Shortbread Bites that I posted recently and was ready for something new. And, something that wouldn’t take a lot of time to prepare.

Finally, the idea of brownies came to mind. Chocolate and orange partner well. I dug out one of my favorite brownie recipes. It’s a recipe that fills a square baking dish with chewy, dense brownies covered with a thin, crunchy crust. They are quite delicious eaten as is, completely unadorned. But, this time, I added a bit of grated orange zest to the batter, adding its bright flavor to the bittersweet brownies.  A slather of orange creme over the top of the decadent chocolate squares puts them right over the top.

Someone I know ate the orange creme with a spoon and a Bittersweet Brownie on the side. I won’t say who.

I will say these brownies are a perfect weekend treat.

Bittersweet Brownies with Orange Creme Frosting

  • Melted butter for greasing
  • 4 oz good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cubed
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • â…” cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Orange Creme Frosting:

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Grated zest of 2 oranges

Line a 9-inch square glass baking dish with parchment, using a large enough piece so that there is a couple of inches of overhang on all sides. Brush the bottom and sides of the parchment paper lined dish with melted butter. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Stir the mixture until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. Beat eggs and sugar together with electric mixer. Add vanilla and orange zest and blend. Pour in cooled butter and chocolate mixture. Beat together. Stir in sifted dry ingredients until all flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared parchment-lined baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes. When ready to be removed from oven, sides of brownies will have pulled away from the sides and top will be covered by a thin, shiny crust. Watch closely. Over-baking will produce dry brownies. Remove from oven. Allow brownies to cool completely in baking dish. When brownies are completely cool, grab sides of parchment paper and pull out of dish. Frost brownies with Orange Creme Frosting. Cut brownies into 8 or 16 pieces, depending on how large you want them to be.

To make Orange Creme Frosting, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and orange zest and beat until fluffy.

Easy Valentine Brownies with a surprise inside

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I’ve pulled out my heart-shaped muffin tins, cake tins, springform pan, ramekins, cookie cutters, lollipop molds, waffle irons and pancake forms. I’ve stocked up on chocolate. I’ve begun my February baking.

These easy-to-make brownies are made with a recipe I’ve used ever since my two sons were in grade school. A woman who had children going to the same school shared her recipe. It’s the kind of brownie that delivers a slight crunch as you bite through to the moist, chewy inside. It’s my kind of brownie.

The filling, though, is a new twist. When I was doing my Christmas baking last December, I made some chocolate thumbprint cookies with a dab of coconut-pecan filling in the middle of each. I had some filling still remaining after making the cookies, so I put it in a small, tightly sealed container and stored it in the freezer for another time. I thought it would be a nice filling for these brownies.

The layer of coconut-pecan filling gives the brownies a touch of elegance. The filling can be made a day or two before making the brownies. Store it in the refrigerator.

I spooned the same chocolate mixture over these brownies that I used as one of the layers in Chocolate and Raspberry Cream Tarts.

I baked the batter in 1/3-cup capacity heart-shaped muffin tins. And, I used some of the batter to bake a Valentine to share in a heart-shaped ramekin, as you see in the photo at the top of this post. My husband and I shared it the other night. We added a big puff of whipped cream to the plate and dipped every forkful of coconut-pecan brownie before it went into our mouths. Decadent!

The brownies can be frosted with your favorite frosting or just dusted with powdered sugar. Make them now and eat them, or freeze them until you’re ready to start sharing with everyone you love.

Valentine Brownies with Coconut-Pecan Filling

  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Coconut-Pecan Filling

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten
  • 3/4 cup coconut
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Make coconut-pecan filling by combining sugar, evaporated milk, 1/4 cup butter, vanilla and egg yolk in saucepan. Blend well. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease heart-shaped muffin tins.

Sift cocoa, flour and salt into a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend well. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix just until they disappear into the batter. Spoon brownie batter into prepared cupcake tins, filling 1/3 of the way to top. Flatten a heaping tablespoon of cooled coconut-pecan filling and layer over brownie batter. Cover completely with more brownie batter, filling just about to the top of each cup. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until done. Allow to cool slightly in pan. Remove brownies and cool completely on wire rack.

Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting or make a rich chocolate topping by melting 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels with 3 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until chocolate is melted. Allow to cool slightly. Spoon over brownies. It will get firm at room temperature.

If you’d rather not frost the brownies, just dust with powdered sugar and nestle a scoop of premium ice cream over the top at serving time.

Makes 9 brownies when using 1/3-cup capacity cupcake tins.

Shamefully Rich Chambord Brownies

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When my friend, Ann, discovered I was making raspberry brownies, she quickly sent me a recipe for one of her favorite raspberry-spiked brownies. They have a layer of creamy raspberry-flavored butter frosting sandwiched between moist chocolate brownies and a rich, fudge-like topping.

These brownies have an interesting history.

According to Ann, this recipe originally came from R. Marie Jones, a sister to John Carlson, both originally from Fargo.  John is no longer living, but the ice coliseum in north Fargo is named after him.  Marie, who was very instrumental in Trollwood and the presence of Altrusa’s concession stand there, passed away in July of 2006.

Apparently, many years ago the sweet and lovely Marie brought the Chambord brownies as a treat to a needlepoint class Ann was teaching. Since that sinfully delicious introduction, Chambord brownies have become a favorite of Ann and her husband, Pat.

Ann describes these brownies as “a melt-in-your-mouth indulgence.” She’s absolutely right!

The brownies are moist and not too sweet. The creamy pink middle layer offers just a hint of raspberry, produced by a small amount of Chambord, a raspberry liqueur that is a little spendy. I find it very nice to sip on, though:) The chocolate topping is thick, rich and chocolaty.

Who could ask for anything more? Chambord brownies are shamefully rich and decadent. They are chocolate. They are to die for.

Thanks Ann. And, thank you, sweet Marie.

Chambord Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9- x 13-inch pan and set aside.

Layer one:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup or 1 1/2 cups
  • 1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugar until light. Add salt, eggs and chocolate syrup. Blend together well. Add flour and mix just until incorporated into the chocolate mixture. pour into greased 9″ x 13″ pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool in pan.

Layer two:

  • 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 2 tablespoons Chambord liqueur (product of France)
  • Dash of red food coloring

Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  Spread over cooled brownies.

Layer three:

  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt chips and butter. Cool slightly.  Spoon over Chambord topping and spread evenly to cover.

When chocolate topping is firm, cut brownies into 1″ squares.

Tips from the cook

I put the chocolate-topped brownies in the refrigerator just until the chocolate was firm. After that, I stored the brownies tightly covered at room temperature.

I have a habit of lining the brownie-baking pan with foil, allowing the edges to come up over the sides of the pan. I butter the foil before pouring in the batter. This way, I can easily lift the cooled and frosted brownies from the pan before cutting. Producing pretty squares of dessert is so easy using this technique. No funny-looking first serving from the pan.

Coffee and Cream Fudge Bites – a little bit of Irish

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Ever since I was in grade school, St. Patrick’s’ Day has been a day when I wish I was at least a little bit Irish. The teachers at my school instructed their Irish students to wear something green on St. Patrick’s Day. The rest of us — orange. So, while many of my friends came to school wrapped in green sweaters, donning fuzzy green shamrocks on their shirt, or wearing green socks, I would come with an orange headband in my hair. I would have preferred green.

As a young baker, though, I made sure our family had shamrock-shaped sugar cookies frosted in green on St. Patrick’s Day. I never told my teachers.

To this day, I don’t wear a bit of green on St. Patrick’s Day — my teachers taught me well. But, I don’t wear orange, either. I just sneak a little bit of Irish into the foods I eat on that special day.

This year, I developed a pie with a fudge brownie crust, filled with Irish Cream pudding and topped with Irish Cream-spiked whipped cream.  I discovered the brownie crust batter can be dropped onto baking sheets to create chocolatey rich cookies.

One bite and you’ll think you’ve discovered the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But, wait. There’s more. Creamy frosting made with coffee, chcolate and Irish cream is swirled over the top of each cookie.

I topped each frosted cookie with one tiny Chocolate Crunchy Bit. I first experienced these cute candies a few months ago at Meritage, a restaurant located downtown St. Paul. After an exquisite meal, I studied their dessert menu. One of the desserts listed was described as being served with chocolate rice krispies. In my mind, I pictured chocolate-flavored crunchy rice cereal and I could not  imagine why on earth a restaurant serving such wonderful food would include dessert with cereal sprinkled over the top. I ordered it out of curiousity.

It turned out the chocolate rice krispies were not cereal. They were crunchy little chocolate balls. On that same trip to the Twin Cities, I found a bag of the cute chocolate rounds at Cooks of Crocus Hill. They’re the perfect adornment for Coffee and Irish Cream Fudge Bites.

The fudgy cookies are just a little bit Irish in a non-traditional kind of way. But they will be all I need to sneak a streak of Irish into my house on St. Patrick’s Day.

Oh, if you feel like a pie with a fudge brownie crust and a filling that’s a bit Irish along with a topping of cream, just click here.

Coffee and (Irish) Cream Fudge Bites

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
  • 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons brewed coffee or Irish whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter, unsweetened chocolate and semisweet chocolate into a 4-cup glass measure. Microwave at 50% to 60% power. Stir after each minute until mixture is melted and smooth. This will take just a couple of minutes. Stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, coffee or whiskey and vanilla extract and mix well. Add flour and salt and mix just until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours or overnight. At baking time, drop dough, about a heaping teaspoon per cookie, onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

When cookies are completely cool, frost with Irish Coffee Frosting.

  • Irish Coffee Frosting
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons strong, hot coffee
  • 1 tablespoon Bailey’s Irish Cream
  • 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • Chocolate Crunchy Bits, for garnish

In a medium bowl, combine cocoa with hot coffee and Irish Cream. Add butter, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat with electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scoop frosting into a sandwich-size plastic bag. Twist the top of the bag, moving the frosting toward one corner of the bag. Use scissors to cut a small piece from one tip of the bag. Squeeze the bag to pipe frosting onto the top of each cookie. Garnish with chocolate crunchy bits, if desired.