Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies

Sometimes I have a hard time controlling myself around baked goods. I know I don’t need that second cookie (or third, or sometimes fourth), but my god do I want it. It sings its sugary siren song, and I find myself devouring a handful of cookies for breakfast. There are days when I fuel myself with little more than sugar and caffeine, risking diabetic shock for just one more bite.

These brownies fall right within that line. I lose all semblance of self-control around these brownies. I’ve made them twice. And eaten the entire pan—by myself. Twice. I’ve finished one piece and headed immediately back for another. It’s no exaggeration when I say I can’t get enough of them.

I’d wake up in the morning and grab one for breakfast. I’d get home from work and immediately grab one for a snack. They were the first thing I stuffed in my face after a soggy, waterlogged camping trip. I mourned them after polishing off the last piece. They’re that good.

They’re intensely fudgy and thick, studded with pockets of dulce de leche within and swirls across the top. A sprinkle of sea salt ups the flavor game, making these babies completely irresistible.

And the best news--they’re not that much more involved than a box mix. No chopping and melting chocolate. Because they’re made with nothing but cocoa powder, the only thing we’re melting here is butter. Easy peasy. Which makes these brownies 1000 times more dangerous. Minimal effort with most of the ingredients already in my cupboard? It’s going to be tough to break my brownie addiction.

Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

It’s Oscar Night! Glitz and glam and golden statues honoring the best movies of the year. Every year, I get excited about the Oscars, until I realize I haven’t seen the majority of the films nominated. This year is no exception. There are over 40 different movies nominated for various awards. Of those, I’ve seen 3. Sure there are some that I’d like to see, but to be completely honest, the movies I typically watch generally aren’t Oscar worthy. Kevin Smith, teenage wizards and sparkly vampires, and Bruce Willis just don’t hold a lot of weight with the Academy. But even though I haven’t seen the movies, I’ll tune in tonight to see who takes home the top honors. (Or really, what everyone is wearing. Because that’s the most important part.) And I’ll be munching on some brownies while I watch.

With the idea of a black and white swirl of brownie and cheesecake, I planned on calling these “Tuxedo Brownies”, perfect for an Oscar party. Too bad the final result didn’t end up looking anything like the picture.

What the brownies were supposed to look like. From Food Network.

The recipe, which had an accompanying photo of a gorgeous black and white swirled brownie, made barely enough cheesecake to even coat the top of the brownie mixture in a thin layer, let alone give a beautiful thick swirl throughout. I used Baked’s brownie recipe, which had been such a hit before, but there was so much brownie batter (because silly me didn’t cut the recipe down to fit an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x13..), what small swirl there was of cheesecake turned a nice golden brown during the hour it took for the center of the brownies to actually cook. So much for that tuxedo look. The brownie itself, while still incredibly delicious, was so thick, at nearly an inch and a half tall, that it ended up as a dense, almost cake-like brownie instead of the fudgy rich brownie of before. And you can’t even begin to taste the cheesecake in it.

I’ll give these brownies another shot someday. But next time, I’ll be sure to halve the brownie recipe and double the cheesecake part. Maybe then they’ll be worthy of a spot at the Oscar party table, instead of just the Razzies. Now excuse me while I go sit on the couch and be completely judgmental about dresses that cost more than anything I'll ever own in my entire life.

Baked Brownies

I’m a little late to the game. Since they gained fame several years ago from the praises of Oprah, the Today Show, and America’s Test Kitchen, everybody and their brother in the blogosphere has tried the "Baked" Brownie, from NYC's famed bakery, Baked. Except me. While I drooled over the recipe, I was always missing that one elusive ingredient that was supposed to set it over the top—espresso powder. I scoured the aisles in the grocery stores, but to no avail. Why, with so many recipes calling for it lately, was espresso powder so darn hard to find?? I finally stumbled across it at Williams-Sonoma and after laying down a Hamilton for it (is this stuff really worth 10 bucks?) I was ready to finally try this brownie I’d heard so much about.

Brownie Bites. Or Not.

Another snowy day, another chance to play around in the kitchen! Last week, during a trip to the grocery store, I saw these adorable little bite-sized brownies in the bakery section. They looked so moist and fudgy, and totally easy to replicate with a mini-muffin pan in my own kitchen. They became my snowed-in goal today--adorable little Valentine Brownie Bites. Sadly, I failed. Not a complete, utter, epic fail. But a fail nonetheless. It was a bit of a mixed bag with what I got from my batch..

There were some that looked decent. But what was hiding under those perfect tops?

Fudgy Brownies

Although not quite as fierce as the battle over the perfect chocolate chip cookie, brownie lovers have their own fight over the perfect texture of their favorite chocolatey treat. Some, like me, are fans of the fudgy, soft, almost underbaked bar, while others are fond of the more cakelike, thick treat. Some just go for the crunchy corner pieces first, leaving the softer middle behind. Some like nuts in their brownies, and others are completely opposed to the idea. Some like them topped with chocolate or frosting, others like the simplicity of an unadorned bite. But no matter what kind of brownie you enjoy, there’s one thing I think all brownie lovers can agree on—they’re delicious and utterly addicting. If given the chance, I could clean out an entire pan of brownies singlehandedly. But to be completely honest, I’ve never really made brownies from scratch. Other than the Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes, there’s only been one other attempt at making brownies that didn’t come from a box in my lifetime. When one of The Girls, Dani, came back up to visit from Texas again this week, she put in her request for brownies, so it was time to learn how to make them on my own.