Oatmeal Brownie Bars

I made these delicious bars to take to the last Staff Meeting of term as my team was on snacks. They went down really well and are a lovely variation on a brownie.

Oatmeal Brownie Bars (from The Sweet's Life)

For the oat layers
155g cups plain flour
90g rolled oats
200g packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
75g cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

For the brownie layer
40g butter
85g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
125g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
250g caster sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 23 x 33 cm baking pan with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter and rub with fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside one third of the mixture and press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake crust for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly while you make the brownies.

Heat a pan of boiling water. Add the butter and chocolate to a bowl and put the bowl on top if the pan, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Leave the mixture to melt, stirring occasionally until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, water, and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the chocolate/butter mixture and continue beating to combine.

Using a metal spoon, add the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Spread the brownie batter over oat crust, using a spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over brownie layer. Bake for 18-20 mins, until the edges are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Raw Brownies

Ok, so, there has been a lot of stuff on the interwebs recently about "clean eating", eating a mostly plant based diet and avoiding processed food and sugar, which to some extent I buy into. We all know it's good for us to eat more veg and eat less processed food. As this blog shows I make pretty much all my food from scratch but I still have my weaknesses, I love cake and chocolate, but I also know that I cannot eat those things everyday and still be healthy.

What I balk at, especially with this recipe, is the high price of ingredients to make something that, although the article in The Telegraph says it does, doesn't taste anything like a brownie. I quote "they still taste identical to normal brownies with the same perfectly squishy, melt-in-your-mouth texture." Either Ella Woodward hasn't eaten a brownie in so long that she has no idea what a brownie tastes like or she's well, lying. They taste like what they are, ground up dried fruit and nuts. If you go in with that starting point, not expecting miracles, they are fine. But dried fruit still has a lot of sugar in it, as does maple syrup, so healthier? I'm not so sure. Yes you're eating nuts and fruits which has, to some extent, got to be better for you that a mars bar, but it's still sugar.

They are also not cheap to make. The cacao powder comes in at £7.20 for 200g, the dates were actually on offer at £2.99 for 500g at my local Turkish supermarket but in Sainsburys they are about the same price for 200g. The pecans were £3.30 for 200g and maple syrup ain't cheap either! I suspect that this is a middle class fad. I can now afford to splurge occasionally, 2 years ago this would have been completely beyond me, and now I've spent so much money on the cacao powder I'll have a go at making a couple more fake brownie recipes. I am reliably informed that Ella's Sweet Potato Brownies are better!

I think I'll stick with my Mum's philosophy - Everything in moderation - rather than trying to keep up with the latest fad.

Raw Brownies (from The Telegraph)
(Makes 10)

2 cups medjool dates
1 cup pecans
2-3 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup

Put the pecans into a food processor until they form a crumbly mixture, then add the dates and blend again before adding the cacao and maple syrup.

Place the mixture into a baking tray and either refrigerate for three to four hours or freeze for one hour to allow them to set.

Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

I was looking through my Mum's cookbooks vaguely thinking about things I could do with loganberries and this recipe popped out at me. I had given her some loganberries which she had frozen on a tray and then packed into bags. Perfect for baking. I really enjoyed these brownies and loved the addition of the fresh fruit.

Chocolate Loganberry Brownies (adapted from Leiths Baking Bible)
(Makes 9ish)

2 eggs
200g caster sugar
115g butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla essence
55g self raising flour
45g cocoa powder
115g fresh loganberries

For the icing
85g plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
15g butter

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8in square tin.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then beat in the cooled butter and vanilla essence.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together into the bowl and fold into the egg mixture with a metal spoon. Fold in half the loganberries.

Spread the brownie mixture into the tin then scatter the remaining brownies over the top.

Bake for 30-35 mins until risen and set. A skewer should come out slightly sticky. Allow to cool.

Make the icing: place the chocolate and butter unto a small bowl set over a pan of boiling water. Melt and stir together. Spread over the cooled brownies.

Chill until required and cut into pieces.

Graham Cracker Brownies

I have a box of graham crackers that I brought back from the States and I was looking for something I could make with them that I could take to work and hand out for my birthday. These were perfect and they were gorgeous, so lovely and squidgy. I suspect that it wouldn't work with digestive biscuits, in the same way that they don't work for a pie crust.

Graham Cracker Brownies (from Multiply Goodness)

 22 graham cracker squares (11 rectangles)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180C. 

Place the graham crackers in a large ziploc bag, pressing out any extra air, then sealing the bag. Use a rolling pin to crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs.

Transfer the graham cracker crumbs into a medium-size mixing bowl, then add the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips. Stir thoroughly until everything is well combined.

Pour the mixture into a well-greased 20cm x 20cm baking pan, then bake in the preheated oven for 25 mins.

Remove the brownies from the oven and let them cool for 30 mins, then cut and remove from the pan.

Mint Chocolate Chip Courgette Brownie

I am trying to use up my stash of chocolate chips and I went for mint chocolate chip brownies. I'm also trying to use up things that I froze from last summer, such as grated courgette and they went together to make a lovely "healthy" brownie!

Mint Chocolate Chip Courgette Brownie (from Two Peas and Their Pod)
(Makes 16 Brownies)

340g granulated sugar
125ml sunflower oil
250g all purpose flour
4 tbsp cocoa
3 courgettes, grated
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
150g mint chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease an 20cm x 28cm brownie pan, set aside.

Mix together the sugar, oil, and flour, combine until mixture resembles wet sand. 

Add the cocoa, courgette, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Mix until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the brownie batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean and the brownies are set.

Cool on a wire rack. Cut brownies into squares and serve.

Coffee Meringue Brownie

I went to my parents house for the weekend and on Friday night my sister, godmother and her husband came over too. We had a lovely chicken casserole and then for dessery my Mum made a Coffee Meringue Brownie, it was delicious., the brownie lovely and fudgy and the meringue adding that mallowy squishiness. Probably one of the best things I've eaten in a while, nothing could stop me from going back for seconds!

Coffee Meringue Brownie
(Serves 8)

For the brownie
200g dark chocolate chopped
250g butter
150g caster sugar
175g brown sugar
4 eggs
200g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp coffee liqueur/Kahlua

For the meringue
4 egg whites
220g caster sugar
1 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp coffee liqueur/Kahlua

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Place the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over a low heat, stir until smooth and then allow to cool slightly.

Place the caster sugar, brown sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa powder and liqueur into a bowl with the cocolate misture and mix well.

Pour into a lighly greased 11cm x 34cm tin and bake for 25-30 mins. Allow to cool.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the egg whites into a mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and whisk until thick and glossy. Then add the cornflour, vinegar and liqueur and mix until well combined.

Spoon the meringue over the brownie and grill for 1 min until golden. Serve drizzled with coffee liqueur.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

I made these for my last Mad Hatters where we ate lots of cake and watched Dr Who! One of the Year 9 girls made lemon cupcakes which were so so good. So good they deserved a picture and a mention!

I made these half cookie half brownie. They were supposed to have cookie dough on top but because I was little bit frightened of children that were not my own uncooked batter, so I stuck it in the oven again for about 10-15 mins, so that it was just cooked on top. Nonetheless, it was delicous, the girls loved it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies (from Brown Eyed Baker)
(Makes 32)

For the brownie
115g dark chocolate, finely chopped
225g butter
400g light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the cookie dough
170g unsalted butter
150g light brown sugar
150g granulated sugar
3 tbsp milk
1½ tsp vanilla extract
190g self-raising flour
200g mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line a 23cm x 33cm pan

 

In a medium glass bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

 

In a large  bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in the melted chocolate until combined. Sieve in the flour and fold in with a metal spoon. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 25 to 35 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.

 

Next make the cookie dough. Cream together the butter and both sugars. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Sieve in the flour and fold in with a metal spoon. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the cookie dough over the cooled brownies. and put into the fridge for about an hour until the dough is firm. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Chip and Butterscotch Blondies

I made these for Mad Hatters last week and they went down a storm, Apparently they are on a par with Crunchie Rocky Road. Which is funny because I made double the mixture and at first after the cooking time I just ended up with cooked a little round the edges and raw cake batter and then it burnt on top! But hey. I cut the burnt bits off and no-one noticed! So, were I to make them again with twice the mixture, I would increase the cooking time.

Chocolate Chip and Butterscotch Blondies (adapted from Bits and Breadcrumbs)

215g light brown sugar
57g  butter, melted
1 egg
2 tbsp vanilla extract
125g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
grind of salt
75g chocolate chips
100g butterscotch pieces

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a  20cm x 20cm square pan and set aside. 

Put the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until combined. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt, into the butter mixture and fold in with a spoon. Mix in the chocolate chips and butterscotch pieces until well combined.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 20-22 mins, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Daring Cooks October 2013: Courgette Brownies

In a "celebration" of past Daring Cooks and Daring Bakers challenges, Lisa challenged all of us to search through the Daring Kitchen archives and pick any one we'd like! The REAL challenge was picking which delicious recipe(s) to try!

 

I couldn't pick!! So I made three! I'm going to post them over the next few days, the first were these courgette brownies. They come from the hidden veggies Daring Bakers from March 2013. Having made all manner of things out of courgettes over the summer, I'd never thought of brownies and although this was a weird recipe, they were really tasty. I did at one point think I was never going to get a proper batter the mixture was so dry, but the addition of the courgettes really turned things around and their moisture gave a lovely fudgy brownie mixture. I'm so excited to be able to try the Daring Bakers recipes as well as the Daring Cooks ones.

 

 



 

Courgette Brownies (from Corner Cottage Bakery)

120ml vegetable oil
200g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1½  tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
250g courgette, coarsely grated
75g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 23sm square cake tin.

Mix the vegetable oil together with the sugars and the vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. The batter will be very dry, don't worry.

Stir in the courgette and chocolate chunks and stir really well until all the courgette is well covered and the mixture looks much more like a normal brownie batter if a little dry. 

Spread the brownie mixture evenly in the tin and bake for 25 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin, slice and serve. 

Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

These brownies were a total fail. The top burnt after about 15 mins in the oven and they never really cooked in the middle. Although this is usually not a bad thing with brownie these ended up kinda grainy. But, anyway, I'd used ingredients to make them and I hate throwing things in the bin, so I scraped off the burntness and slathered them in cream cheese frosting. The book group girls didn't seem to mind though and they disappeared quickly!

Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from Southern Living)
(Makes at least 16)

115g dark chocolate

85g butter

450g sugar

4 large eggs
187g plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 small bottle red liquid food coloring

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

For the frosting

225g soft cheese

3 tbsp butter, softened

187g icing sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line and grease a 22cm square brownie tin.

 

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in flour, baking powder and salt and then add the food colouring and vanilla. Pour mixture into the tin.

Bake for 44 to 48 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack, then gently lift the brownies of the the tin.

To make the frosting; beat soft cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla.

Spread the frosting on top of brownies, and cut into 16 squares.

187g plain flour

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 small bottle red liquid food colouring

 

For the frosting

225g soft cheese

Click to see savings

3 tbsp butter, softened

187g powdered sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line and grease a 22cm square brownie tin.

 

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. Take off the heat and whisk in sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, whisking just until blended after each addition. Gently stir in flour, salt and baking powder, then add in the vanilla and food colouring. Pour the mixture into the tin.

Bake for 44 to 48 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centre comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack then lift out of the pan.

Lift brownies from pan, using foil sides as handles; gently remove foil.

To make the frosting beat the cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla and spread over the brownies. Cut into 16 squares.