brownies in review

Here is the first of the brownie recipes I've tried. They were a big hit at the baby shower and I got a request for the recipe, which came from Jessica. They are definitely worth a try. Thanks for sharing!

Best Brownies – Jessica

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

2 c. sugar

1/3 c. cocoa

1 ½ c. flour

¼ t. salt

2 t. vanilla

4 eggs

1 ½ c. chopped nuts (optional)

Melt butter. Add sugar and cocoa and mix. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Put in greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Frost.

Frosting:

½ c (1 stick) butter

1/3 c. cocoa

2 ½ c. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Melt butter. Combine remaining ingredients and spread over brownies.

Don't you just want to eat them up?

treats on Tuesday

I made these brownies for Sunday dessert this week. They are not my favorite brownie, but they are chocolate so they're worth making. And sometimes I would just rather have these than the gooey chewy kind. Sunday was one of those days. I like to cut them really small and eat 12 bite-sized pieces instead of 2 or 3 big ones.

Brownies

beat together:

2 sticks butter or margarine, melted

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

add to:

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cups cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when done.

treats on Tuesday

Sure, go ahead and believe that we only have treats on Tuesdays at our house.

Today's post is rich, delicious, and pretty easy. I can usually eat an endless amount of treats, no matter how rich, but I can only get through two or three of these before I am way done. They are so good though. If you like peanut butter these are worth a try. The title sometimes makes me think of pb&j cookies, which don't sound super appetizing to me, but these are really just like peanut butter oreos. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

from Taste of Home

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

5-6 Tbsp milk

1. In large mixing bowl, cream butter or margarine, peanut butter, and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.

2. Shape into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. (It says not to grease them, but I usually do anyway.) Flatten with fork. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Coll on wire racks.

3. For filling, beat peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and three tablespoons of miilk in large mixing bowl. Add more milk one tablespoon at a time and continue to beat until spreading consistency. Spread on half of the cookies and top each frosted cookie with another.

d is for dessert

D is almost always for dessert at our house. I love treats. I love making them, eating them, and giving them away. I love to make pretty food, and this almost always means something sweet to me. Last night we had a family over for dinner and I decided to make a fruit pizza. I have made this lots of times and several different ways and I almost always get asked for the recipe. I just combined a few different recipes to make up this one. It's really versatile and really tasty. Last night I made one big pizza and actually baked it on my pizza stone. It worked great. I had to take something to a baby shower once and decided to make individual size pizzas to take for that. I did those little ones again for our young women at New Beginnings this year. I made it once to take to a friend and used my spring form pan for a mini size pizza. They all worked great. You could make some cute ones with flower shaped cookie cutters. Hmm... I may have to try that soon.

Crust: (use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, here's one of mine)

1/2 butter

1 cup sugar

2 3/4 cups flour

1 beaten egg

Blend butter and sugar thorougly. Add flour and beat thoroughly. Add beaten egg and blend.

Shape and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

(Does anyone else LOVE how few ingredients there are in sugar cookies??)

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese (feel free to use light, or fat free)

2/3 cups sugar

juice of 1 orange (you could use 3 Tbsp. or so of oj from concentrate too)

You just bake the crust as you want (one large crust, a few smaller pizzas, or cookie size) and let it cool. Then top it with the frosting and decorate with fresh fruit and berries as you like. It's delicious and nutritious!