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!

Maple mousse and an edible container (not pictured) for Daring Bakers

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at The Daring Kitchen!

So, I know the bowl in the picture doesn't look edible (it's not), but what's simpler than eating it with a spoon, or even your fingers. :) Actually, I forgot to take a picture, and the above picture is just some of the leftover maple mousse in a bowl. I used an animal crust as my edible container, and filled it with the maple mousse. It was yummy! You should really check out some of the other bloggers (most of which were a TON more creative than me-maple bacon donuts?! Yes please!).

Recipes can be found on Evelyne's site

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

Bread in five minutes a day...say what?!

Do you remember back at the beginning of the year when I said my new years resolution was to bake bread? No? Well, I didn't either, at least it was until I found this recipe. Not only is it the easiest bread recipe ever, the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Which means hearty homemade bread every night. Or at least until we become sick of bread!

Doesn't that loaf look amazing? The recipe comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and is the easiest, and tastiest, dough I've tried. Above, and below, is their master recipe. This recipe can be halved, doubled, tripled, etc. for as many loaves as you need. What's also great about their recipe is that the ingredients together at the same time (say the weekend) and left to rise for a couple hours, then stored in the refrigerator for later use (say the rest of the week!). Sound simple? It is! And, all you have to do when you want to eat some bread is tear of a chunk, "cloak" it, let it rest for about 45 minutes, do the cool flour-knife-slash, bake, and enjoy!

But as a side note, do remember that the bread will expand even after you put it in the fridge. I forgot this crucial piece of information, stuck the dough in a container, shoved it in the fridge, and then uh oh, a few hours later I open the fridge draw to where a "bread bomb" seemed to have gone off. Oops! If you're short on space, try using ziploc freezer bags. Just don't put all the dough in one bag! I would divide the dough in to two pieces, maybe even three.

Master Recipe: Boule
Yield: Four 1 lb loaves
Ingredients:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour, (scoop and sweet method)

1. Warm water slightly
2. Add yeast and salt
3. Mix in flour (Kneading is unnecessary!)
4. Allow to rise for 2 hours, then put in the refrigerator

Note: Do not put dough in mason jars, or sealed bags/containers as the dough might cause the container to explode .... as in my case.

On baking day:
1. cloak the the bread by first shaping the dough in to a sphere and then pushing the sides around the ball, and then in to the center
2. Allow to rise for 40 minutes, doesn't need to be covered
3. Preheat oven to 450˚F.
4. Twenty minutes before baking place a boiler tray and pizza stone
5. Dust loaves with flour, then slash
6. Place loaves in the oven and pour 1 cup of water in to boiler tray bake for 30 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch
Note: Dough can be stored for up to two weeks!

Oops, I forgot my blogs birthday.

Oops, as you can see from this post's title, I seem to have forgotten my blog's birthday. As of April 2, this blog turned one. I'm sorry blog, will you ever forgive me? What if I made you a cake? And not just any cake, but a three layer neapolitan cake with strawberry buttercream? All right, you say? Great!

This cake was spectacular, and a definite! Three layers of moist cake encased in smooth strawberry butter cream. Yum! Who would say no? Instead of sandwiching the layers with buttercream, I stacked each layer and then covered the entire cake. My family is not a frosting fan (I never said I wasn't!), so the small amount of ice was just enough for them. The recipe comes from sweetapolita's blog, and just be warned that if you make all the recipes for the cake without halving them, you'll end up with two about four inch tall cakes! I would double the frosting recipe or half the cake batter recipes if you want a good amount of frosting between the layers. Enjoy!

P.S. The Sweetest Kitchen Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge entries are up! Don't forget to vote! (Maybe for something lemony?) :)

For the recipe, check out sweetapolita's blog. Recently she made an inside out neapolitan cake!