Food for Thought - Five Layer Brownies

The other night I had this huge craving to bake something. I had no idea what to bake so I asked Ryan what he'd like me to make and showed him all the desserts I've pinned. After three pins of letting him down - we didn't have the ingredients - I went to the kitchen to figure it out myself. I started by pulling out EVERYTHING baking related from my pantry. Literally, everything.

After deciding I wanted to make some sinful brownies, I ended up using the following:'

Brownies Layer

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

4 (heaping) tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Cookie Layer

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chopped)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 stick of butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp water

Additional

1/2 cup chopped pretzels

1/4 cup toffee bits

Here's how I concocted it...

Step 1. I started with the cookie layer to make sure it would all be ready by the time the brownie mix was set to go. I mixed the egg, oil, and vanilla together until they were well combined.

Step 2. Add in your dry ingredients (minus the chocolate pieces) and mix until you have the basic cookie dough. 

Step 3. Fold in your two ounces of chopped chocolate into your dough and then set aside. Try not to eat too much. 

Step 4. Preheat your oven to 350° F. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, and cocoa powder for the brownies. Mix well until fully combined.

Step 5. Add in the remaining dry ingredients for the brownies, mixing well. 

Step 6. In a foil-line 9" x 13" pan, pour half of the brownie mixture and spread until you have an even layer.

Step 7. Carefully, layer all the cookie dough on top of the brownie layer. Press down slightly, but not so that the brownie goes on top of the cookie dough.

Step 8. Take the remaining brownie batter and mix in the chopped pretzels, folding until the pretzels are evenly distributed. Pour the batter on top of the cookie dough layer. 

Step 9. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Checking the center with a toothpick.

Step 10. While your brownies are baking, soften one stick of butter and add it to a bowl with the peanut butter. Using an electric mixer beat the two together until well combined. Add in your water and powdered sugar until it has a smooth consistency. 

Step 11. Allow your brownies to cool overnight (or a few hours). Store your frosting in the fridge if you do. Layer on your frosting and then finish off with toffee bits (your fifth layer).

The good thing about baking your brownies in foil is that you can just lift it out of the pan, making it incredibly easier to cut. You may have to beat back the masses from these. They're fantastic and go quick. It's not hard to imagine why.

I know, I need a new camera. I've been using the one on my phone.What do you use? What would you recommend?

Food for Thought...Nutella Frosting

A few years ago, while I was still with GE, I was nominated to attend a leadership development workshop at the famous Crotonville. Crotonville is like university for the folks at the heart of GE. The company invests about $2.0 billion a year in the center on courses and innovative learning. It's no wonder the campus looks like this:

Yea, it's pretty sweet. The hotel located on the campus can hold over 400 folks and has stocked kitchens with ready-to-eat sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, snack, and Haagen Dazs ice cream. It's like heaven there. Oh, and there's five star meals from the on campus executive chef. They really spare no cost. This is the place to make connections across the company and up the ladder. 

The campus also has two places to hang out, the Green House and the White House. The Green House is self-sustainable and off the grid (hence the "Green"). The fully open bar, pool tables, and darts offer ways to interact and network with folks. If that's not your speed, the completely redesigned White House, is a coffee shop with professional baristas and the most delicious thing on this entire planet. The Nutella Hot Chocolate.

Up until that point in my life, I had never had nutella. Ever. I'm not quite sure where my life was headed before this magical drink but I certainly knew that my life was going to have a whole lot more nutella in it afterwards.

Which brings me to today's recipe. Nutella Frosting. Since my glorious discovery of the delicious hazelnut spread, I've tried to incorporate it into everything. Today, I bring you frosting. Here's what you need:

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup nutella

1/4 cup milk

1 cup powered sugar

Step 1. Soften butter in microwave but be sure not to melt. You don't want to wait to spread this on your cupcake. 

Step 2. Beat together butter and nutella until well combined and there are no butter lumps. (Sorry, no pictures. I was making this up as I went.)

Step 3. Add in milk and powdered sugar. Beat on high until all ingredients are well combined and fluffy.

Step 4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes as your cupcakes are cooling. (This step is NOT required.)

Step 5. Layer this delicious-ness on your cupcake (I made vanilla) and try not to eat one right then and there. 

I sprinkled toffee bits on top of these to make them just a little bit more heavenly. Ryan couldn't wait for these to come out of the oven. Or for them to be frosted for that matter. 

On another note, I truly hate, hate, hate my kitchen lighting. It's dull and gross. Someday I'll switch to nice bulbs. Maybe even LED, you know, after I hit the lottery.

Food for Thought...Pulled Pork Sliders

Ryan's been on a kick lately. A pulled pork kick. If we go out and it's on the menu, he'll order it. I shouldn't have been so surprised when I took a pork roast out to defrost and he wanted to make pulled pork. But I was. Namely because we don't have barbecue sauce in the house. Where was I even supposed to start? With gentle guidance and a request for sweetness, I made some pretty fantastic sandwiches that my husband told me he, "literally just want[s] to keep eating the pulled pork. Every day." Today, I'm sharing it with you. Here's what you need to keep 'em drooling:

2 lb pork roast (untrimmed)

3 (generous) cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup cider vinegar

Drizzle of mustard sauce

Step 1. Mix all your rub ingredients (garlic, paprika, salt, onion powder, pepper, and ground mustard) together in a bowl. Combine well. 

Step 2. Rub the mixture all over the roast. Top, bottom, sides, front and top. Toss it in your slow cooker.

Step 3. Mix together your sauce (brown sugar, ketchup, and cider vinegar) until well combined and soupy. 

Step 4. Pour the sauce over your pork in the slow cooker. Rotate the pork so that it's fully coated. 

not gonna lie, this looks a little bit like a heart

Step 5. Set your slow cooker for low (eight hours) and walk away for three. 

Step 6. After three hours, flip the roast, and drizzle your mustard on top of the roast. Walk away and let cook for another three hours.

Step 7. If you're feeling ambitious, bake some rolls to enjoy your, almost done!, pulled pork.

Step 8. After you get bothered by your husband to get on making the sandwiches, pull apart the roast. It should fall apart fairly easily with not much effort. 

Step 9. Place about a half a cup on your roll and try to stop drooling as your shovel down a few or four. Seriously, I hope you enjoy these. Don't they just look like heaven?

Food for thought...Best Damn Stuffing Ever

I feel like this is sacrilege. This recipe is worth a gold mine and I'm publishing it for free. For all the world to read and use. But truly, it would be a disservice if you went without this recipe before Thanksgiving. Because once you've tasted this, you won't make another type of stuffing. EVER. AGAIN. I used to be an extremely picky eater (like creamy peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread everyday for lunch for my entire school career) and I never liked stuffing. Then my mother-in-law made this and the hubbs insisted I try it. I did. And then, then I was hooked.

Here's what you need to impress everyone you'll serve it to:

3 medium russet potatoes
1 large loaf of white bread (a few days old and stale)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (diced)
6-7 stalks of celery (diced)
1 pepper (green, pablano, what have you - diced)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1+ can chicken stock (if you're having turkey, use turkey broth!)
3 Tbsp Bell's Seasoning

Ready to start this? I am...and I just had it.

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Wash down your potatoes to remove any dirt left on them. Then cut them into 1 inch cubes and set to boil on medium heat. No peeling required.

Step 2. While the potatoes are boiling, cut up all your veggies if you haven't already. In a large pan, add garlic, onion, celery, and  peppers along with that stick o' butter. Let the butter melt down and simmer veggies on medium heat.

Step 3. Step away from the stove and rip up that whole loaf of white bread. Put the pieces into a large mixing bowl. Take one can of chicken broth (or turkey!) and pour it over the bread. Fold the combo until there is no broth at the bottom of the bowl. The bread will reduce down a lot.

Step 4. At this point your potatoes and vegetables should be ready. If you celery is still a little crunchy, no worries, it's great in the stuffing. Drain the potatoes and remove to a medium mixing bowl. Turn off the vegetables and add these to the potatoes.

the pan should still have butter at the bottom make sure to remove that to your mixing bowl

Step 5. Mash those all together! You're basically making an incredibly chunky mashed potato. Be careful because this is extremely hot, especially if you're using a mixing bowl that's as thick as a stocking.

Step 6. Add your mashed potatoes to the larger mixing bowl with the bread. Fold the mixture until well combined.

Step 7. Add the Bell's seasoning and mix again until well blended. Add more chicken stock until the mixture resembles a pudding texture. Then we're ready to bake.

Step 8. Remove stuffing to a large casserole dish. Add more chicken stock on the top to form a "puddle." Cook uncovered for 60 minutes.

Step 9. The stuffing should be a nice crusty brown. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool before serving. Then enjoy. I won't even stop you when you throw away all your other recipes.

Just as a side note, this is best with the actual drippings from the turkey. But when it's not Thanksgiving, you make do with what you have.

Do you have any recipes that you swear by? What's your favorite recipe when you have a dinner get together?

Food for thought...Oreo Truffles

These are probably the easiest dessert ever and are absolutely fantastic. Me, the hater of cream cheese, I love them! I had them once at my mother-in-law’s and then I was hooked. Literally, you can’t just have one. Then you’re standing next to the bowl and it’s half gone because they pop so easily into your mouth. It’s almost a sickness. When I asked one of my good friends if I could bring anything to her son’s baptism get-together she replied almost instantaneously with those “oreo evil things.” Once you make them, you’ll understand why.

Here’s what you need:

1 pkg regular oreos (double stuffed not required)

1 8oz pkg philadelphia cream cheese

9+ squares of almond bark (this is key)

Step 1 . Take out the cream cheese and let it soften while you make the oreos into crumbs. This will help out with step 2. Take each sleeve of cookies and pop it into your food processor (no need to de-cream). Turn it on until they resemble coarse crumbs. Remove crumbs to a large mixing bowl. Repeat for the two remaining sleeves.

Step 2. Add the (now) softened cream cheese to the mixing bowl with oreo crumbs. Fold with a spatula (or dig right in with freshly washed hands) to combine oreos and cream cheese. The mixture should be slightly sticky with no loose crumbs.

Step 3. Get out a large cookie sheet (feel free to line it with parchment paper if you like). Scoop out approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Place these on the cookie sheet. You should be able to make about 3 dozen. Place the cookie sheet into the freezer for at least one hour to harden the “dough.” I did mine overnight because I started late in the day.

Step 4. When ready to coat, break apart 9 squares of almond bark (I like to use white because it’s a nice contrast but the hubbs likes the brown because it’s so delicious). You can either heat them in a tiny crockpot or in a microwaveable bowl. If you go the microwave route, heat for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat until the bark is melted and smooth. Be careful not to over cook! If you do you’ll end up with gross bark that’s not useable.

Step 5. When the bark is melted, remove the oreos from the freezer. Using a toothpick dip each ball into the melted bark and roll around until covered as desired. I’m lazy a fan of leaving a little at the top showing so I don’t coat it completely. Remove the now dipped ball back to the same cookie sheet. Repeat 35 more times

Step 6. Place the now dipped truffles back into the freezer for an additional hour to firm up.

Step 7. Serve the truffles in a large bowl and then stand far away, lest you gain twelve pounds by standing there devouring the whole bowl.

These are probably already in your recipe deck. But I want to make sure everyone knows about these habit forming snacks desserts. What do you think about them? Tasty?

Food for thought...Danish Apple Pastry Bars

A couple weeks ago I bought a half a peck of apples from the local orchard at our farmer's market. My original intention was for fruit for lunches. Well...some how that didn't happen and I needed to use these apples. So I searched the interwebs until I found a new recipe online and made it my own. Here's what you need to make these wonderful fall treats:

Pastry

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup milk (approximately)

Filling

6 medium apples

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract (if desired)

Icing

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp milk

There's no ingredient picture because I was throwing everything together late. Please forgive me. There's plenty of pictures for the steps though!

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 375 F. Peel, core, and slice your apples thinly. Place in a large mixing bowl. To prevent apples from browning before you move to the next step feel free to add a dash of lemon juice. Give them a little toss to coat evenly. 

Step 2. Add packed brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla (if desired) to the mixing bowl. Make sure your hands are clean and then give those babies a toss. Set the bowl aside until ready to fill dough.

Step 3. To make the dough, add flour, salt, and tabs of cold butter to your food processor. It is a thousand times easier than using a pastry blender or fork. Add one stick of butter's worth at a time. Pulse until the mixture resembles course crumbs. 

Step 4. In a liquid measuring cup, add the egg yolk. Beat it slightly and then add milk (~1/2 cup) until the measure reads 2/3 cup. Add the mixture to food processor slowly until the dough is slightly sticky. 

Step 5. On a lightly heavily floured surface, roll out about 2/3 of dough. Fold several times and roll it out. Roll out to about 16x20. If the dough sticks to your surface (like it did with mine) roll it up in your hands and work in some extra flour. Then roll out.

Step 6. Fold dough in half and press into bottom and sides (about 3/4" up) of an ungreased 13x9 pan. Take your delicious apple mixture and pour that in. Make sure to drizzle the juices at the bottom on top of it all. 

Step 7. Roll out the remaining dough to 13x9. Press onto the top of your pan. Slice holes in the crust so it doesn't explode the steam can escape. I made mine into an argyle type pattern. Make sure you pinch together the bottom and top crust.

Step 8. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Please don't judge my dirty oven window. Now I won't lie, the recipe I was following said to bake for 25 minutes THEN add the foil. It was just about the worst instruction ever. I mean, have you ever tried to put foil on a 375 degree pan?! It's rough and hot. Burning sensations WILL occur. So add it first then take it off.

Step 9. Remove foil from dish to allow it to brown. Bake for an additional 25 minutes until golden brown. Then remove from oven and let cool. 

Step 10. While the bake is cooling. Put powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of milk in a liquid measuring cup. Mix together until well blended. I also added about 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the icing as well. You don't need to do that though. Then...drizzle, and drizzle, and drizzle.

Step 11. Allow bake to cool completely before cutting into 18-24 squares (depending on your portion size). Or if you can't help but try one before it's completely cool, make sure it's not steaming or boiling still. I waited about 45 minutes until I couldn't stand it any longer. 

Step 12. Enjoy! I think these would pair perfectly with apple cider ice cream. Now, I'll just have to figure out how to make that.

Let me know if you try this recipe and how they turned out for you. I'd love to see some pictures of these delicious treats! Especially considering I made mine yesterday and there are four left...