Brownie

Dessert is a must in my house.  We are a family who likes our dessert.  This is a super easy brownie recipe that I love to whip up.  The best part about this recipe is it is all ingredients that you would normally have in your pantry.  

Brownie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 9 inch pan with cooking spray
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Combine until you do not see anymore dry ingredients or egg. Pour into prepared baking dish.
3. Baking for 20-25 minutes.  
4. Let cool and serve!

Baby Girl loves to help make this.  I am working on having her measure out the ingredients and mix.  It's a work in progress.  But I am glad she is interested.  

Keep cooking friends!

XOXO

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

When your boss has friends who drop off a bag of fresh home grown zucchini the only choice you got is to bake.  

Isn't this zucchini pretty?  Are vegetables pretty?  Who knows.  Did I mention there is chocolate in this recipe?

The batter is a little thick.  Don't worry about it.  

This recipe is suppose to be for a loaf of bread.  But I didn't feel like baking a bread for an hour.  Plus with covid-19 do we all really want to be cutting a loaf of bread?  Just grab your treat and go.   

Zucchini really does help with moisture.  AND you really CANNOT taste it.  Baby Girl didn't even know there was zucchini in it until she saw the green.  

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.  Spray a muffin pan with oil.  Set aside
2. Please the shredded zucchini on some paper towels to absorb some moisture.  Do not squeeze.  Set aside.  
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, instant coffee, and chocolate chips together.  Set aside.  
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, oil, sour cream, sugar and vanilla together until completely combined.  Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Fold in the zucchini.  
5. Use a ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tin.  Make sure to fill to the top with batter.  Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425F.  Keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 350F and continue to bake for an additional 14-15 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.  

You cannot taste the zucchini in this muffin.  The zucchini is merely a vehicle for moisture.  This was kid tested and approved.   I would say this is a good breakfast for kids.  Chocolate for them and vegetable for the win.  

Keep cooking Friends!

XOXO

Brownie

I have been looking for a home made brownie recipe for a while.  I have been hesitant to try a recipe because they all involve a lot of ingredients.  My friend Linsey sent me this recipe.  

This recipe is super easy.  I had all the items in my pantry and fridge to make this.  Hence I tried it right away.  

I am not a teacher.  I am not a stay at home mom.  So I am bonding with Baby Girl by baking.  This is how we are surviving the pandemic.  

Brownie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 9 inch pan with cooking spray
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Combine until you do not see anymore dry ingredients or egg. Pour into prepared baking dish.
3. Baking for 20-25 minutes.  
4. Let cool and serve!

My brownies were done in my oven in 20 minutes.  Remember all ovens are different and your baking dish matters too.  These brownies are super easy to make that your kids can help too.  I don't think I am ever going to buy another box brownie mix again.  

Keep cooking Friends!

XOXO

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

I recently got a FitBit to track my steps.  I think it's really helping me move more.  10k steps is my goal every day.  I have dropped the pregnancy weight but I still need to drop the "trying to get pregnant" weight.  I totally envy the women who lose weight right after having a baby. 

I made these muffins while El Husbee was giving Baby Girl a bath.  Super easy and fast.  I just took out the eggs and yogurt before we went on our nightly walk.  Then threw everything together when we got back.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup  semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs, large room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F and spray a 12 count pan with non stick spray or line with cupcake liners.  Set aside.
2. Use a couple of paper towels to absorb some moisture from the zucchini.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips together until combined. 
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, vegetable oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract until completely combine.  Make sure the ingredients are room temperature so all the ingredients mix well. 
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula.  Fold in the zucchini. 
6. Use a ice cream scoop to fill the muffin pan. 
7. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425F.  Keep the muffins in the oven and lower the temperature to 350F. and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.

The muffins are super soft and moist.  El Husbee and I ate them for dessert with peanut butter spread on them.  We both also took them to work for breakfast the next day. 

I still have zucchini left so I think I might need to make another batch ... you know, for Baby Girl to take to PoPo's to share.  Duh!


Keep baking friends!
XOXO

S'mores Bars

Oh my gawd!  These are amazing.  Drool worthy.  I am pretty sure this S'mores Bar is better than smore's itself.

So amazing.  It's very rich so a small piece will be very satisfying.  But I won't stop you from washing 3 pieces down with a huge glass of milk.

S'mores Bar
From Wit & Whistle

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cup marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light.
3.  Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
4.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.
5.  Add dry mixture to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
6.  Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
7.  Place chocolate bars over dough.  2 king size Hershey's bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate if necessary to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.
8.  Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.
9.  Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff.
10.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting bars.

Please try to resist from cutting the bars before it cool.  It is worth the wait. 

Let the baking season begin!

XOXO

S'more Brownies

So my mother is really picky with her sweets. As most Asian people will complain that American desserts are too sweet my mother is no different. So this year for her birthday I decided to try to make something she can't complain about. Hence my homemade s'more brownie recipe. Just enough sweetness to satisfy the sweet tooth.


Ingredients:

Crust:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Brownie:8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour

Topping:1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3 to 4 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8x8 inch pan with non stick cooking spray.

2. Prepare crust: In a bowl, mix butter with graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Prepare brownie: Place butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Melt and stir until completely melted. Add sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate and mix together. Add eggs and beat vigorously until you see a thick and glossy batter. Stir in flour and mix just until incorporated. Pour batter over the baked crust. Bake until top is set and toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
4. Remove pan from oven. Turn oven to broil. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked brownie. Add a nice thick layer of marshmallows. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top.

5. Place your pan of brownies back into the oven. Toast under the broiler until golden brown. Keep a close eye on it. 1 to 2 minutes should do the trick.

6. Cool for a few minutes in pan before trying to cut. Use a wet and sharp knife when cutting brownies.


This was a hit with my mom. She found the marshmallow topping not too sweet but just enough. Thank goodness cause she is one picky mom.

Enjoy!

XOXO