America has her own kitchen?

Can you believe I've I had never even heard of America's Test Kitchen? Who knew America had her own test kitchen!? (You know I'm joking, right?). Well that was the past, as I'm now a definite fan of America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Illustrated, and the like. My mom bought me their Holiday Cookie edition, and my oh my, are those recipes amazing. Btw, if you're wondering why I'm posting something from a holiday cookbook now, in the spring time, well, that's how good they are!

While flipping through the recipe booklet, the cream cheese brownie immediately caught my eye. Actually, the recipe was for a raspberry cream cheese brownie, but I had to omit the raspberry since I had none of hand :( But what caught my eye was having the cream cheese in a layer, rather than marbled into the batter. From the top they look like an ordinary brownie, but from the side...they're awesome!!

Cream Cheese Brownies
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies
Ingredients:
For the cream cheese mixture
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For the brownie:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a 8 x 8 inch pan with foil. Spray foil with pam.
2. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a microwaveable bowl, microwave butter and chocolate until melted
5. Add in egg, vanilla, and sugar, stirring until smooth.
6. Add in the flour mixture, and fold until combined
7. Place half of the batter in to the pan. Smooth out, and then top with the cream cheese mixture. Smooth out, then pour the remaining batter on top.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes
9. Enjoy!

What's tangy and sweet with a tender buttery crust?

I have to say, although the Fat Witch Co. specializes in brownies, their lemon bar recipe is out of this world. It produces a tangy, delicious, and sweet-but-not-too-sweet lemon bar. Er, actually I didn't have any lemon juice on hand so I substituted lime juice, so I actually made lime bars. Also, I may have used a wee bit too much lime juice. They were a tad on the tangy side, but I loved them. My friends especially went crazy for the crust. Yes, the shortbread crust was great! Soft, slightly buttery, and tender, yet strong enough to hold the filling and not crumble apart when eaten. I know what you're thinking. How can that be? A brownie company with a recipe book containing lemon bars...that have a tasty shortbread crust? Well it's all true. 


I know the picture doesn't look too appetizing, but they actually look a lot better in real life. I just have no photography skills....But don't let the unappealing photo stop you from trying these bars!

 Lime Bars
Adapted from The Fat Witch

For crust:

1 cup unbleached flour

½ cup confectioners sugar

½ tsp salt

1 stick butter, slightly cold

For Filling:

3 large egg

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup lime juice

3 Tbs unbleached flour

pinch salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease a 9x9 pan

2. Sift together flour, confectioners sugar, and salt. Use a fork or your fingers to mix in the butter.

3. Pat the mixture in to the prepared baking pan and bake for 15 minutes or until golden

4. Beat the eggs until frothy. Slowly add the granulated sugar. Beat in the lime juice.

5. Sift the flour and salt in to the filling mixture. Pour in to the baked crust and bake for an additional 15 minutes

6. Cool for 1 hour. Cut before serving

Fat Witch Brownie!

When you read these words: Fat Witch, what do you think of? Something fat? A witch? A fat witch? How about the brownies from NY's Fat Witch Bakery? No? Well, after trying these brownies, you definitely will. 

I've actually never been to the bakery (hopefully I will soon), so I have not tried their original brownie. However that didn't stop me from borrowing their cookbook from the library. (I like to borrow my books to see if I like them before buying them-this book definitely passed the test!) So far, I've made four of their recipes and loved all of them! But first, you have to start with the original, right?  

If you like slightly cake-y, not too rich/dark brownies, than I bet you would call these brownies "perfect". And not so surprisingly, many people love those types of brownies. I brought them to school, and before lunch my container was empty!

All of the recipes are made for a 9x9 pan, but I only had a 8x8, and rather than over filling the pan, I made mini bite-sized brownies! My mom called these the perfect diet desserts, as they are already portioned, but decadent enough to feel like you're indulging. I, on the other hand, prefer a large square of brownie with a glass of milk, or even better, a bowl of vanilla ice cream!

Original Fat Witch Brownie

Ingredients:

14 Tbs butter

½ cup plus 2 Tbs bittersweet chocolate

1 ¼ cup gran sugar

4 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs unbleached flour

pinch salt

Directions:

1. Grease 9x9 and preheat oven to 350˚F (Or grease an 8x8 and line 9 mini muffin tins with baking cups)

2. Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave.

3. Cream together eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate mixture.

4. In a separate bowl sift together flour and salt.

5. Fold in to the chocolate mixture

6. Pour in to prepared pan and bake for 33 minutes

Apricot + Fig + Pecans + Nuts = Granola Bars :)

I absolutely love granola bars. Not only are they portable, but they are also delicious. Sometimes despite the colorful packaging claiming to be "healthy" or "low sugar" granola bars are not always the healthiest. How clever the marketing industry is, as they deceive innocent people in to believing they are making a healthy and good decision when buying a granola bar. There are a few truly healthy bars, but why not just make your own? It's fun, easy, and you can choose exactly what you want to put in.

Apricot and Fig Nut Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup dried apricot
1 cup dried fig
1/3 cup almond
1/3 pecan
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 egg
1/4 cup apple sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325˚F and line a 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper
2. In a food processor pulse dried figs and apricot until uniform in size (large crumbs). Set aside
3. Toast almonds and pecans, then roughly chop.
4. In a bowl combine egg and apple sauce. Mix in oats, nuts, and dried fruit.
5. Press in to pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Caramel cuts...dense chewy pure heaven

I rarely make the same thing twice, that is unless I'm trying to find "The One". Remember those snickerdoodles? (Snickerdoodle #: 1 2 3 4). Well, I've finally found the perfect caramel cut. Dense, chewy, with a powerful punch of caramel-y goodness. These bars are perfect for a picnic, afterschool snack, or actually anytime of the day. But with 2 cups of sugar, maybe it's not meant for breakfast...that is unless you have a sweet tooth like mine :) (A tall glass of milk and one of these babies makes a sweet breakfast!)

I've always wondered why these are called "caramel cuts". Why not caramel bars? I guess people would think of caramel in bar form. Well then how about calling them brunettes? They have blondies and brownies, why not brunettes? It could be the next big thing! Instead of, "Would you like a blondie", people would say, "Would you like a brunette?". Or, if you're not a big fan of hair colors as food names, then how about Pure Heaven Bars or Dream Bars or Dense, Chewy, Deliciousness. Okay, maybe I'm not the most creative.

What would you call these bars? I'd love to hear some new names!

Caramel Cuts
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease an 8x8 pan
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved and similar to a very thick caramel
3. Remove from heat.
4. In a small bowl beat together eggs and vanilla.
5. Slowly add the egg mixture to the caramel mixture, being careful not to cook the eggs. If the mixture is still too hot, wait to add the eggs. (We don't want caramel and scrambled egg bars!)
6. Sift the flour in to the mixture. Stir until combined
7. Pour in to prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Vegan Brownies #2...

After making my first batch of vegan brownies, I was excited to try another recipe, but this time without the espresso powder. (Maybe this was what made them a wee bit too dark for some?) I found a delicious sounding cocoa brownie in the Vegan Cookie cookbook,  but it called for firm tofu, which I did not have on hand. But no fear, there is always the internet, right? So I looked up 'vegan brownie', and one of the first results was this recipe, from All Recipes. I'm not sure if it was me, but for some reason there was something quite off about these brownies. I had my mom try them, and well, let's just say her face spoke for her. I found them quite dry (I don't think I over baked them, as I took it out a several minutes early), and devoid of a chocolate flavor. I think next time I'll just bike to the store for some firm tofu!

If you would like to see the recipe, it's from here.

Oatmeal + Butter + Chocolate = ???

Oatmeal + Butter = An amazing crust.

Oatmeal + Butter + Chocolate = Delicious oatmeal fudge bars.

Plus, because these bars have oatmeal in them I can call it a breakfast food, right? So each time I take a bite of the buttery crunchy crust and rich chocolate filling, I can say I'm actually being "healthy" because it's only breakfast, right? Definitely. Unless you think of chocolate and butter as non breakfast ingredients, but who does? Okay, maybe I do occasionally, but don't worry, its all about moderation. One of these bars for breakfast and a big bowl of three grain edamame salad for lunch. Yup, those just about balanced each other out. ;)

The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookie booklet. I know what you're thinking, it's kind of late to be making holiday recipes in spring, but these are definitely year round bars. Plus, using one recipe for both the bottom layer and the top crumble part makes these bars quick and easy to make.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

From America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies 2010

Ingredients:

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup flour 

8 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar2 teaspoons instant espresso

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F and line an 8 x 8 pan with foil. Grease foil

2. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, and baking soda

3. Add in melted butter and stir until combined.

4. Reserve 3/4 cup mixture for topping. Evenly spread the remaining mixture in to the prepared pan. Press into an even layer. Bake for about 12 minutes. Allow to cool, but keep oven on.

5. In a bowl combine flour, brown sugar, and espresso

6. Microwave butter and chocolate until melted. Stir in egg. Stir in flour mixture and whisk together.

7. Evenly spread chocolate mixture over crust and sprinkle with remaining oatmeal mixture.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!

Rich, Dark, Fudge-like Brownies. And they're VEGAN!

If you love rich, dark,  fudge-like brownies that are also vegan, these are the brownies for you. The recipe comes from Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar, and is a great recipe for vegans and non-vegans alike.

 The brownie was thinner than a typical brownie, and was quite chewy. I brought these to my Environmental Vegetarian Club (no, I'm not a vegetarian, just in the club. Strange, right? But more on that in a little bit). Some people said the brownies were too dark, but some people absolutely loved them. I found the ones who loved the brownies loved dark chocolate, while the people who disliked them loved milk chocolate, hence their aversion to these very dark brownies.

 Why did I bring vegan brownies to an environmental and vegetarian club, you ask? Well, if you think about it, pretty much all desserts are meat free, and so the club leader asked me to make vegan desserts (no animal products at all. not even honey! O.O). It was quite a challenge at first, how do you make cookies without eggs, or butter?! But not to worry, as I've found several great books and blog who have tons of great (vegan!) recipes. 

Nom, nom, nom. :)

Espresso Fudge Brownies
from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar
Ingredients:
3 oz semisweet chocolate
5 Tbs margarine, nonhydrogenated
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup soy milk
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbs cocoa powder
Pinch salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease a 8x8 pan
2. Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave
3. Whisk together soy milk, cornstarch, espresso, and vanilla until foamy.
4. Combine with chocolate mixture
5. Sift in flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder, and salt
6. Fold until moistened
7. Pour in to prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes

Heaven in a bar

Yum. That's all I have to say. There are no other words to describe these moist, chewy, and soft peanut butter blondies with white chocolate chips. Surprisingly, these bars aren't too sweet like I initially predicted. Considering there's a pound of brown sugar (yes, you read correctly, one entire pound of brown sugar), I was pleasantly surprised.

I found the recipe on Bakerella's blog, and I was fascinated by the name, Congo bars. Why Congo? Are these from Congo? Don't you find it quite interesting? Okay, maybe I'm more interested in the dessert itself, but still, history's fun....right?
Side note: Be careful not to overbake!

Look at the chewy, fudgy, soft peanut butter blondie studded with white chocolate chips.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Blondies
Adapted from Bakerella
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package white chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth and creamy)

Directions:
1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears.
3. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg. Stir in peanut butter.
4. Add vanilla and chocolate chips. Mix well.
5. Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.
6. Coat a 13 x9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Have a blondie!

Simple and delicious. That's how I would describe these decadent candy laced blondies. They're similar to caramel cuts, but more chewy and soft. They were so soft I had to place the entire pan in the freezer for thirty minutes just to cut these bars! But it was worth the wait, as they were perfect. Can you say a blondie is fudgy? It just doesn't sound right since there's no chocolate (not counting the candy bars), but yes, imagine a fudgy blondie.

Candy Blondies
from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup your favorite candy bars, chopped (I used milky way, three musketeers, and reeses)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease an 8x8 pan
2. In a bowl combine butter and brown sugar. Add in egg and vanilla
3. Mix in salt and flour. Add in candy.
4. Pour in to pan and bake for 20-25 minutes

Study study study!

 I really should be at my desk and not in the kitchen. This week is final's week, (Scary music:Dun dun duuunnn!) and I definitely should be studying right now. But instead I'm in the kitchen making something sweet. Brains need food to function, and can't that food be something tasty? Of course, since I'm a teeny bit short on time, I made no bake peanut butter bars that can be whipped up in a jiffy. Ha, jiffy, get it? My lame attempt at a pun. These bars were perfect for what I was craving. And who doesn't get a peanut butter and chocolate craving every once in a while? The chocolate layer was a little thick, but maybe that's because I accidentally double, oh wait tripled the chocolate layer. Of course it wasn't on purpose, right?

 Don't they just look scrumptious? Well, now I'm off to study for my exams! :( Wish me luck!


Scotcheroos
From Brown Eyed Baker
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup smooth peanut butter (like jiffy!)
6 cups Rice Krispy cereal
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

1. Grease a 13×9-inch pan; set aside.
2. Place sugar and corn syrup into a 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in peanut butter until melted and combined. Add the cereal; stir well until well coated.
4. Press the mixture into the prepared pan using a piece of wax paper
5. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let sit until firm

Graham Crackers

Wow, I can't believe it's already December. December is always such a hectic, but fun month. It also means it's baking season! Woo hoo :0 Hawaii isn't the most ideal place to bake considering it's so hot, but in December I can bake all I want without having to turn on the a/c. It's great! I know it isn't as cold as the east coast, but it's still pretty cold here. A freezing 72˚F!

This is my first Christmas as a baker. Actually that's not true. It's my first Christmas as a baker blogging about the stuff she bakes. Uh, did that make any sense? But what I'm basically trying to say is that I'll probably post the recipes after the holiday season. I still have so many recipes to post from the fall season! Like these graham crackers. Actually, I think these would be good for Christmas too. Just wrap is up in a little package, tie a bow, and ta dah!, cute little homemade gifts! These graham crackers were soooo good. I'm not usually a fan of graham crackers (boxed ones *cough cough), but now I am a graham cracker cookie lover! They are crunchy little bites of cinnamon-y sugar-y crunchy goodness!

Graham Crackers
from smitten kitchen
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (176 grams) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt (4 grams)
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup (114 grams) mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons (77 grams) milk,
2 tablespoons (27 grams) pure vanilla extract


1. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and dust it lightly with flour, then turn the dough out onto it and pat it into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Wrap it, then chill it until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

3. Roll out dough until 1/8 inch thick, cut as desired. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350˚F. Cool and enjoy!

Maple Cinnamon Biscotti

My hand hurts. I just spent the last two hours hunched over my kanji book, scribbling kanji in to the super tiny boxes. Oh, how much fun that was (in a sarcastic voice). I have no idea why anybody would need three different types of writing. I mean, katakana is for "borrowed" words, hiragana is for, I guess non-borrowed words, and kanji, well kanji is just annoying. I mean, really? Do you really need to have another type of writing for words that be already written in a plainer form? Okay, maybe it looks a lot nicer and shortens words. Wait, no not always, sometimes there's about 15 strokes for one kanji, and the reading is just one syllable! Such a waste of my hand cramping!

Now moving onto other important matters besides my Japanese homework...these maple cinnamon biscotti! Biscotti are one of my favorite cookies. Mainly because they're so crunchy, and (well at least the ones I make) don't have any butter! Yea, I know some biscotti do, but I think the butter-free ones are better. They're crunchier! I combined two of my favorite fall flavors, maple and cinnamon, in to this crispy little twice baked cookies. They make the house smell delicious, and super fall-y? Uh, fall-y? is that a real word? Hm, maybe not, but basically these cookies are good.

Maple Cinnamon Biscotti  
Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a cookie sheet with a silpat baking sheet
2. In a bowl mix sugar and eggs.
3. Gradually add in flour cinnamon and maple syrup.
4. Half the dough, shaping each in to a log on the cookie sheet
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned
6. Remove from oven, and being very careful, cut in to long slices about 1/2 inch thick
7. Turn each slice sideways and bake for 10 more minutes
8. Remove from oven, turn on to opposite side, bake for 10 more minutes
9. Remove pan from oven and cool
10. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Brownie

Cream cheese brownies. Wow, just those three little words would make anyone smile, especially my friends. They went crazy for these! The same day I made these babies, I made chocolate chip cookies. Guess which ones they ate first?! Yup, they choose these delicious squares of chocolate-y creamy goodness.

I've always been a little scared of making anything with two different batters. Maybe it's because it seems like double the work for only one dessert. Wait, no that would make me just lazy. Maybe I am lazy? Hmmm....that's a question I'll answer later...But don't worry, these brownies are totally worth making two different batters.

Cream Cheese Brownies 
Cream Cheese:
Adapted from epicurious
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownie:
Adapted from the Baked Cookbook
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

11 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces 

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar 

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 

5 large eggs, at room temperature 

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
3. Put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.
4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. 
5. Fold the flour mixture into the chocolate.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan
7. In a clean bowl beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy, add in sugar, flour, and extract. Continue beating until smooth. Evenly spread over brownie.
8. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.