Project Brownies: S'mores... the Finale

I saved the best for last. 

For all three brownie projects I tried to  "up" the level of the add-ins each time. The Nutella was pretty subtle, the raspberries definitely changed the flavor of the whole brownie.. but these... these are a whole different story. These brownies up the ante. 

Regular Ingredients: Brownie Mix, Water, Eggs, Vegetable Oil

Special Guests: Graham Cracker Crust, Milk Chocolate Chips, Marshmallows

This brownie took a bit of thought before I dove in. I wasn't quite sure exactly how things would work since I was mixing different types of textures and substances together. It sounds a bit like a science project but, in a way, baking is very scientific. 

I decided to start with a graham cracker crust. I used 2 cups of pre-smashed graham crackers +  4 tablespoons of melted butter + 1 tablespoon of sugar for good measure. Mix it all up in a bowl & press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake it for about 10 minutes. 

After you bake the crust, add the regular brownie mix on top. I decided that the brownies alone were not enough "chocolate" for the chocolate layer in a s'more so I poured 1/2 the batter in... then added an entire bag of chocolate chips on top... then added the rest of the brownie batter on top of that. Then I put it in to bake. Note that the baking time for these brownies is going to be a bit longer than the standard 25 minutes. The brownies are not getting the heat from the bottom of the pan the way they would if the crust wasn't there so you'll have to bake it a bit longer. I would suggest to start with 30 minutes and then check it every 3-5 minutes until it is done. 

Eeeeeee! Now the best part!!!!

Once the brownies are done baking, take the pan out of the oven and switch it from "baking" to  "broiler."

Dump about 3/4 of a bag (or more) on top of your brownies and then place the pan under the broiler until your marshmallows are toasted. 

Seriously... this is the most important part. It is what elevates the brownies from good to unreal. The mallows get that caramelized flavor that only fire can provide. They become sweet and chewy and have just an amazing texture. So good.

The tricky part now is getting them cut and out of the pan. I decided to wait until they were completely cooled to try to cut them. It was not easy. The mallows like to stick to everything.... which is what makes them mallows. Anyway - I just powered through and tried to cut slow as to not pull off all the topping. Another suggestion would be to heat up your knife so it melts the marshmallows a bit before cutting - note, you'll probably need to rinse your knife a few times. Another way would be to lightly grease your knife (Pam, or something similar, works well) before cutting. Again, you'll probably have to rinse your knife a few times in the process. 

When all of the cutting is done you are left with a stupendous treat - S'More Brownies. 

Not to sound lame, but you'll definitely want s'more!

(Ok.. I knew it was going to be lame, and it is... but there had to be a s'more joke in there somewhere!!)

Cheers to the Cook!

S'more Brownies

1 box of brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker)

Ingredients for this mix:

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tbsp white sugar

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 bag mini marshmallows

Grease a glass 9x13 pan; heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter & sugar together in a medium bowl. Press into the bottom of your greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix brownie ingredients together in a large bowl with beaters until well combined. Once graham cracker crust has finished baking, empty half of the brownie mix onto the crust.  

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Add the remaining half of the brownie mixture on top.

Bake for abut 30-40 minutes in the oven. Start with 30 minutes and check every 3-5 minutes for doneness. Brownies should be a bit firm to the touch but still quite moist when you take them out of the oven. 

Switch oven from Bake to Broil. Sprinkle marshmallows on top of brownies. Place under the broiler until mallows have achieved desired color. (This is like camp - some people like them barely brown. Some of us like them 2 small steps away from charcoal. Do what you like!)

Leave in the pan to cool.

Cut into desired size using a lightly greased knife & serve warm. Or store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Remember not to stack on top of each other or the mallows will all stick together and you'll have one really big s'more brownie... which is... really... bad... because then you'd have to eat... all of it... by yourself.. horrible.. 

Project Brownies: Raspberry

Project Brownies: Raspberry

Part 2 of my social experiment had me adding fresh raspberries and chocolate chips to our brownie mix. 

 Again, gathered the usual suspects: Mix, Eggs, Water, Vegetable Oil

Added Special Guests: Fresh Raspberries & Chocolate Chips

 Hello, Raspberries!

 Now we will mash you!!

 You could also put them in a blender/chopper.. but I like a little texture so I opted just to mash them up.  Yum!

 I poured half the brownie mix in the greased pan - I opted for placing the fruit in the middle of the brownies so it would stay moist and not get too dried out by the heat of the oven.

 Then, as if raspberries were not enough, I sprinkled some chocolate chips around before spreading the rest of the brownie batter on top. 

 Off to bake!

 Beautiful! One note - I suggest baking these a few minutes longer than you would if you were making plain brownies. For the Nutella Brownies, I think I baked them for abut 25 minutes. For these - I would say at least 27-28 minutes. The fruit adds a bit of extra moisture to the batter and I think it could definitely stand to bake just a touch longer. Mine were pretty gooey... but still delicious... no complaints!

You can actually SEE the raspberries in this bite. Just saying.

Cheers to the Cook!

Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

1 box of brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker)

Ingredients for this mix:

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 package of fresh raspberries

1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but milk chocolate or white chocolate would be amazing, too!)

Grease a glass 9x13 pan; heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all above ingredients together in a large bowl with beaters until well combined. 

Empty half of the brownie mix into your greased pan. 

Mash fresh raspberries up with potato masher until they are pretty broken up and spreadable. Carefully spread them on top of brownie mix in the baking pan. Sprinkle 1 cup of chocolate chips on top.

Add the remaining half of the brownie mixture on top.

Bake for abut 27-28 minutes in the oven. Brownies should be a bit firm to the touch but still quite moist when you take them out of the oven. Leave in the pan to cool.

Cut into desired size & serve warm. Or store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. 

Project Brownies: Nutella

I decided to run a social experiment using brownies. My undergrad degree is in Sociology and are few things I like more than doing social experiments. Ok, that's not true... but they are fun! And what makes them more fun? Brownies, of course!

I will admit for this project I went with box brownies... I am a die-hard "from scratch" kind of person but since the focus of this project wasn't so much the brownie base but the end result I decided to save myself the hassle and just go with a box mix. Don't tell anyone.

Gathering all of the complex ingredients: Mix, Eggs (in one of my new cute bowls!), Water, Vegetable Oil

And today's guest ingredient: Nutella 

Basically I made the brownies as the box directed and before I popped them in the oven, I swirled some Nutella onto the top. 

This is the end result - super delish, hazelnutty brownies. 

And easy-peasy. 

If you're wondering why I am doing this experiment it is because I am curious about a few things: 

1) If people really like brownies with stuff in them - or are most people more prone to like just plain brownies?

2) If they do like additions, what level of additions to they like - this is why this is a 3-part project

3) How many brownies can the people in my office eat before they get sick of them? Just kidding. That could never happen. Who gets sick of brownies?!

Since you're dying to know, the reaction to these brownies was fairly good. People liked the subtle hint of hazelnut that the Nutella added. A few people thought they were really sweet, which they were, but still managed to force them down (wink, wink) so I think they must have been ok. 

Cheers to the Cook!

Nutella Brownies

1 box of brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker)

Ingredients for this mix:

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup of Nutella

Grease a glass 9x13 pan; heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all above ingredients together in a large bowl with beaters until well combined. 

Empty contents of bowl into your greased pan. 

Measure Nutella into a small bowl. Heat in microwave for about 10-15 seconds on half-power (no higher than level 5). Stir and then drop into small spoonfuls around the top of the brownie mixture. 

Using a knife or spatula, swirl Nutella through brownies by doing a zig-zag pattern with the tip of the spatula the whole length of the pan. 

Bake for abut 25 minutes in the oven. Brownies should be a bit firm to the touch but still quite moist when you take them out of the oven. Leave in the pan to cool.

Cut into desired size & serve warm. Or store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. 

I did it all for the Gnocchi

Ha.. get it? Any children of the 90s out there? Hello? 

Gnocchi. Probably one of my all-time favorite Italian foods. I am happy with the packaged ones from Trader Joe's but I am even more happy with fresh, homemade gnocchi. I have made them before with minor success. They were eatable but really sticky and difficult to work with. I came across a different recipe, tried it a few times, and am convinced these are the best. They are pretty easy - but definitely a time commitment. But, my friends, SO worth it! 

This could be your dinner!

 To make a full-batch you start with just 2 basic Russet potatoes. I like to bake mine versus microwaving them. I think it gives a better texture and flavor. Not sure why but I think it does.

 Peel and cut the potatoes up into quarters and push them through a ricer. If you don't have a ricer.. go get one. Ikea has them for like $9. But if you really don't want to make that type of commitment, you can use a cheese grater or potato masher as well - it's just a bit harder to get all the clumps out with a masher and you really don't want too many lumps in your gnocchi. I've done it both ways... go with the ricer!

In a separate bowl, mix together the egg & salt. 

I am making just plain gnocchi here but if you wanted to add a bit of flare, at this point you could also toss in some dried herbs, pepper, a bit of Parmesan cheese. But today we stay purist.

Mix everything together well.

Add in your flour and mix until it comes together enough to dump it out on a hard surface to knead. Flour a hard surface (counter, cutting board, etc) and turn out your dough. You will want to knead your dough, adding flour as necessary as you go, until it is not sticky - aka does not stick to your surface or your hands. Add flour in small amounts until it reaches this point. Remember, it is always easier to add flour than try to take it out. (I'm pretty sure it's impossible to take it out.)

Once your dough is ready, place it back in your bowl & keep any un-used portion covered by a damp paper towel. This will help it from drying out. 

Portion your dough into roughly baseball-sized pieces. Using one at a time, roll each dough ball into a long snake (or "rope" for our reptile-phobic friend) that is roughly 3/4" thick.

 Once your snake/rope is rolled out evenly, take a knife and cut into 3/4" pieces. 

 To make the gnocchi the proper shape, take each piece and mold to the back-side of a fork. You don't want to mash it through the tines but you do want it to get slight grooves (they are important!). Try to keep the width of the dough equal to the width of the fork. This will help your gnocchi stay a consistent size.

 Roll your gnocchi off from the bottom to top of fork to create a little taco-shaped dumpling. You should be able to see the little grooves left by the fork. 

Place your gnocchi with seams down onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet. It doesn't hurt to add a bit of flour to the paper either. But don't go overboard - then you get a bit floury, gluey mess. Eww!

I like to let my gnocchi sit for a bit and dry out just a touch - maybe 30-60 minutes tops. It is best if you eat these pretty much right away... but if you don't plan on it, place them in an air-tight container for no more than 12 hours. Stack them with parchment between layers. Don't leave these in your fridge for too long. I did once and they turned into this really goopy mess that turned sort of brown. Just eat them!

So, when you're finally ready to eat these little lovelies, place them in boiling, heavily-salted water. They really only need to cook for about 3-5 minutes. You'll know they're ready when they start to float. Spoon them into a bowl and serve immediately with your favorite sauce. 

And this is what you get for dinner. 

So good.

Cheers to the Cook!

Gnocchi - serves 4

(recipe adapted from Prep Kitchen Essentials)

2 Large Russet Potatoes, 

2 Eggs, beaten

2 tsp Salt

2 cups Flour + more for kneading

1. Bake potatoes in a 350-degree oven until a knife can be inserted with little resistance through the middle of the potatoes, about an hour.

2. Peel potatoes and run through a ricer into a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a small bowl, mix eggs & salt. Add mixture to potatoes & stir with rubber spatula until well incorporated.

4. Sprinkle the flour into the potatoes and fold in using the rubber spatula, forming a dough

5. Dust a work surface and dump potato mixture out. Knead potato mixture adding flour as necessary just until it not sticky to the touch.

6. Split the dough into about 6 baseball-sized portions. Leave unused portions in a bowl covered by a damp paper towel to keep from drying out. 

7. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into a long rope about 3/4" thick. Cut gnocchi about 3/4" long.

8. Press the gnocchi into the back of a fork with your thumb, using the tines to leave vertical grooves . Roll gnocchi off fork into U-shape. Set on a parchment-covered sheet, seams down

9. Let gnocchi sit for about 30 minutes. Proceed to cooking or cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. 

10. To cook, bring a large pot of heavily-salted water to boil. Boil the gnocchi until it floats - about 5 minutes. Remove gnocchi with a strainer. Add sauce of your choice and enjoy!