Spiced Brownie

This weekend was all about that ever-growing "to make" list. I keep discovering all these delicious looking treats, bookmarking them, and then, well, the cycle repeats. :) But this weekend, not only did one on the list get made, but TWO! That have been languishing for quite some time.

Thie first one comes from Smitten Kitchen, who acquired it from the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook. I really liked the idea of a spicier brownie, but knew that the chipotle would not go over well with my parents. That, and, well, there wasn't any in the spice 'rack'. I did up the cinnamon quantity a wee bit, though.

My dad felt he sould do a taste test... for "quality control," of course. "It's like a cake, but fudgier," was his commentary. Then he wanted another piece. And then another. This is good, though. If I can keep him eating through/despite the chemo, it'll definitely be helpful.

So my thoughts? I'm adoring these. For once, something with cardamom DOESN'T taste citrus-y. It compliments the chocolate and the cinnamon, and it is just fabulous. I'll make these again in the "full" version. (I did a half-batch, just in case.) :)

Oh, and I'm posting the full version, and minusing what I didn't include. So it's easier for my future reference. LOL



Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dark unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cardamom
11 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and cardamom.

Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake at 350F in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, before cutting into squares.

Cinnamon Brownies

For the first of the Master Baker challenges, this month's ingredient was cinnamon. Easy enough, right?

No, Kristen wanted to do something different. After a week of searching for "the perfect recipe," I finally went with one of Dorie Greenspan's Cinnamon Chocolate Squares. For some reason, it didn't work out. When I lifted it from the wire rack to a plate, I discovered that the center part of the bottom, well, collapsed. Back to the drawing board.

I was stuck on the cinnamon/chocolate idea, and wound up using my small-batch brownie recipe with a tweak or two to it.

I think they're a good balance of the two flavors. I was worried at first about how much cinnamon to use, but it worked out. Finally, something worked out today! (Mother Nature impeded on my normal Friday routine. Hmph.) Dave tried one and his only words were, "They're cinnamon-y." LOL Mission accomplished! :D



Ingredients:
½ cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch square pan.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Makes 16 brownies.

Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars (with Oatmeal Cookie Crust)

She's ba-ack! :)

Life is back to normal. Or at least as normal we get around here. We had a nice visit up to Oregon. We even had more snow than we did through the Grapevine down in the LA area. There were some steady flurries through the Mt. Shasta area, which was fun. And I stepped in snow for the first time in five years. (Yeah, it's no big deal to some, but it's been a while for me!) We ate some very yummy breakfast in Ashland at Morning Glory, whose decor and general feel was very inspiring. Their cranberry/walnut french toast was delicious. :)

Anyways, this totally wasn't what I planned on making today. But as I was walking back from the library, I saw the local UPS driver, and that got me thinking. (Background: Used to work in receiving, got to know John, and even though I'm not in receiving anymore, I still live on the route) Long story short, he owes me some oatmeal cookies. Which led to "Could I do a cheesecake bar with an oatmeal cookie crust?"

The Quaker Oats website was my friend today. I found both the crust recipe and a cheesecake recipe that I was able to alter to my liking. The crust isn't as moist as I'd like it to be, but other than that, it's alright. I'm very glad I went with just the half tablespoon of cinnamon extract (found it at Sur La Table) instead of a full tablespoon, otherwise it'd would've been WAAAAY too much cinnamon. Even I have my limits! ;)



Ingredients:
1½ cups oats
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, melted

3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
½ Tbsp. cinnamon extract
¼ tsp. salt
3 eggs
8 oz. sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking soda. Add butter, using a pastry blender or forks to combine. Press onto bottom of pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon extract, and salt, until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Add sour cream. Pour over crust.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until center is set. Let cool completely on wire rack. Cut once cool.

Snickerdoodle Bars

I really enjoy snickerdoodles, but, particularly after Christmas, I'm not the biggest fan of making cookies. Mainly because I eat entirely too much dough. So it came to me the other night, why not try making them in bar form? I also entertained some other ideas, but those haven't panned out yet. But they aren't completely out of the running yet, though.

The dough comes together very easy. My only problem was that the pan I originally wanted to use (the jelly roll pan) was a bit too big. So I had to re-gather all the dough and the only other pan I had available was the 9x9-inch. The 'inside' part sunk a bit and my cinnamon-sugar sprinkling wasn't exactly even, so it's not going to win any beauty pageants.

But could it win Miss Congeniality? Oh, yes. It's a moist, soft, thicker version of the Snickerdoodle cookie and I am SO making these again.

(They're also a bit camera shy [read: rechargable batteries die, too], so no picture of this one. Next time, Gadget.) ;)

Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg

1 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease either a 9x9- or 13x9-inch pan. (Depending on how thick you want them to be)

Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg. Gradually add flour mixture. Spread into pan.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle over dough.

Bake at 350F for 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown (or a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean). Let cool in pan. Cut into bars.

Cinnamon Chai-Spiced Coffee Cake

Knowing that we were going up to Half Moon Bay's Pumpkin Festival today, I decided not to overwhelm Dave with the pumpkin-ness. It was a good trip - traffic was a bit much on Route 92, but I sang along with the Spamalot soundtrack and therefore didn't care so much. :) Sadly, there was no pumpkin fudge this year, which has been a highlight for me every time that I've gone. Even sadder, since we're moving next May/June, I won't be going to the Pumpkin Festival again for a while. I'll either have to make my own or find someplace in New England that makes it.

Also, unfortunately, I can't remember where I found this recipe. I copied it out when the printer was being moody, and failed to write down its source. Oops.

It turned out well. I loved the batter, so light and smooth. I almost feel like there was too much. The edge pieces are a bit big and definitely more than a biteful! If I made this again, I'd add some cinnamon to the batter was well. In contrast to the topping, it seems almost plain. *shrug*



Ingredients:
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. salt
1½ cups flour
½ cup butter, melted

Cake:
1-3/4 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1½ tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Whisk together all crumb toppings except for butter. Gradually add butter. Once incorporated, squeeze small clumps together, varying in size. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Alternately add flour mix and sour cream, until well mixed. Pour into prepared pan. Top with crumbles.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Cut into squares.

Cinnamon Bread

Worry not! I haven't been kidnapped by muffin-obsessed aliens! :D Dave and I went to Reno over the weekend for a bowling tournament that he was in, thus no baking this past Friday.

But I was in the mood last night for something for breakfast, and wound up finding this recipe on Allrecipes. I altered it slightly (cutting down on the oil, and upping the applesauce. I put what I did in the recipe posted). If I make it again, I'll definitely add more spices to it. It's moist and yummy as it is, but I'd like just a little bit more kick. After all, mornings can be rough, and sometimes we all need a kick to get started. ;)

Oh, and at first, I kinda questioned the whole vanilla pudding powder in there, but once mixed - even when still just dry ingredients - it smells so good. It adds almost a smoothness to the flavor, which was a very pleasant surprise.




Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 5.1-oz. package of instant vanilla pudding
½ tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1½ cups milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease two 5x9-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, vegetable oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture, mixing until well blended. Divide batter (relatively) evenly between the two loaf pans.

Bake at 325F for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack.

Brown Sugar Shortbread

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's super easy to make, and it makes the place smell divine. And with six ingredients, how can you go wrong?

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Spray 9-inch fluted tart pan or 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.

Beat the butter and brown sugar together in large bowl until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and salt. Beat on low speed until dough just comes together. Do not overmix. Spread dough into prepared pan, pressing dough to the edges.

Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of dough.

Bake at 325F for about 50 minutes, until firm on edges but still soft in the center. Let cool completely on a wire rack, then cut into wedges or squares.

Apple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Torte

I think the reason I went with this recipe is because I wanted something cheesecake-like, but didn't have enough cream cheese. LOL It tastes very similar to the apple nut cheesecake, just... shorter. :)

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup flour
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups sliced, peeled apples (about 3-4 apples)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Beat butter and 1/3 cup of the sugar in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour; mix well. Spread firmly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the remaining sugar in same bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well-blended. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread evenly over crust.

Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Add to apples in large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange over cream cheese layer.

Bake for 10 minutes at 425F. Reduce temperature to 375F; continue baking for 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool on wire rack. Loosen torte from rim of pan. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours before serving.