Toffee Brownies

This guy had a Blue and Gold Banquet last night for cub scouts.  We had a great time!!  Delicious food and great entertainment :)  I wish I could crop myself out of this picture.  Zac looks so cute and I look...well, tired!!  Oh wait...I was tired!

Anyway(is it anyway or anyways?), we were asked to bring a dessert.  We decided to make brownies. I have made these brownies before, but it has been a few years.  This is a Paula Deen recipe.  These brownies are super simple and SO yummy!!  

Toffee Brownies

Ingredients:

1 family size brownie mix...9x13 size mix(and the ingredients it calls for on the box...water, oil, eggs)

3 Giant(6 oz) Symphony chocolate bars with toffee and almonds...my store only had the XL size(4.25 oz), so I bought 4 and used a little of the the 4th bar

Directions:  Prepare the brownie mix according the package directions.  Line a 9x13" baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil cooking spay.  Spoon in half of the brownie batter and smooth with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon.  Place the candy bars side by side on top of the batter.  Cover with the remaining batter.  Bake according to package directions.  Let cool completely, then lift from the pan using the edges of the foil.  This makes it easy to cut the brownies into squares.  

NOTE:  If you would like the brownie part to be thicker....use an 8x8" or 9x9" inch pan.  Or you could use two brownie mixes for a 9x13".  I used one brownie mix and loved the ratio of brownie to candy bar :)

Six-Layer Brownie Bars

Mmmm...I LOVE brownies!!  I got this recipe from Betty Crocker.  I had to modify the recipe because I didn't have a box of Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix.  I had a Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Family size box of brownie mix.  So....I'll post the original recipe below and then note the changes I made below that :)

Six-Layer Brownie Bars Recipe

Ingredients:

 1 box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg

2/3 cup coconut

2/3 cup toffee bits

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated), from 14 oz can* 

Directions: Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil(I used Parchment paper) on bottom only of pan.) 

In large bowl, stir brownie mix, pouch of chocolate syrup, butter and egg until well blended. Press into pan. Bake 14 minutes (16 minutes for dark pan). 

Top with coconut, toffee bits, chocolate chips and pecans. Drizzle evenly with condensed milk to within 1/2 inch of sides. Bake 35 to 39 minutes longer or until center is set, (37 to 41 minutes for dark pan or until and center is light golden brown). Cool completely, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. 

NOTES:   I used a Pillsbury chocolate fudge family size brownie mix (19.5 oz).  Because it doesn't come with a 'pouch of chocolate syrup', I added a 1/4 cup of hot fudge sauce that I had in the fridge.  I also covered the brownie bars for the first 15 minutes of the '2nd' baking time.  I didn't want the top to brown too much.

 

Lemon Brownies

I LOVE lemons and all things lemon.....

My sister made these for us while we were in Utah.  They are SO yummy!!  Her and her kids came to visit us last week and I told her that we needed to make them again....so she did.  She found the recipe here at Rita's Recipes.


Lemon Brownies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, soft
2 eggs
juice from 1/2 lemon (~1T)
zest from 1/2 lemon (~1t)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in the softened butter.  In another bowl whisk the eggs with the lemon juice and zest.  Add to the larger bowl and mix well.    Pour into prepared 8X8 brownie pan.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  You can double the recipe and bake in a 9X13 pan for 30 minutes.  Remove and let cool, then glaze.

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
additional lemon zest

stir together.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

These brownies are SO good!  I found this recipe at Kevin & Amanda's blog.  These are very good and rich.  I would recommend having some milk or ice cream available when you eat these!! 

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar



Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos
1 Family Size (9×13) Brownie mix
1/4 cup hot fudge topping

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Top with a layer of Oreos. Mix together brownie mix(according to directions on the box), adding an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting — brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set up perfectly once cooled. Enjoy!!

To half this recipe for an 8×8 brownie mix, simply half the chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients.

Brownie Cupcakes

These cupcakes are great!!  I will warn you that most of mine sunk in the middle, but that will just give you a place to fill with more frosting :)  I made the hearts by melting a couple of small candy canes together that I saved from Christmas.  My boys loved the cupcakes and the hearts made them a little more special with Valentine's right around the corner.  I found the recipe at Joy of Baking.com. 

Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Brownie Cupcakes:

4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces(I used salted and then left the salt below out)
1 1/4 cup (250 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (95 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature(I used salted, the frosting was a little salty, but still SO good!)
1 1/3 cups (160 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions: 
Brownie Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 12 muffin tins with paper or foil baking cups.

Melt the chopped chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then stir (can also use a hand mixer) in the sugar. Add the vanilla and then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the flour and salt until well blended.

Evenly divide the batter between the muffin cups. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake has moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, using a large Wilton plain, or open or closed star tip.

Chocolate Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Almond Joy Brownie Bites

I came across this recipe while searching for Paula Deen's Volcano cake recipe.  I found it here at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.  These are seriously SO good!  I can't believe that I didn't get a better picture than this.  I made these for a family dinner that we had a my in-laws on Christmas day.  When I started making them, I thought we had 2 hours until the dinner, but later realized we only had one.  So...I had to rush these babies and they didn't turn out very pretty! 

I told my husband we might be bringing them all home because they looked so bad.  He said he would be happy to bring them all home :)  If you want to see a pretty picture of these, check out the link for the ones on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.  I'm telling you though...even though these aren't pretty, they were SO good and unfortunately we didn't end up bringing them all home.  I had a hard time getting my brownies out of my brownie mini-muffin pan...I think next time, I will line a pan with parchment paper make the brownies and then cut them into small squares or circles and use those instead of the muffin pan.  Maybe I just need a different muffin pan.  Anyways, I will be trying these again soon.

Almond Joy Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

Brownie batter (homemade, from a boxed mix, whatever is your favorite.)
4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
About 4 dozen almonds
Chocolate candy melts or almond bark

Directions:  Preheat your oven according to brownie recipe directions and generously spray two mini muffin pans with nonstick spray. Fill cups about 1/2 full with brownie batter and bake according to directions. When brownies are done, place pans on a cooling rack and remove brownies once cooled completely.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut and sweetened condensed milk. With clean hands, roll coconut mixture into balls and press onto tops of brownie bites(I actually used my small cookie scoop to make the balls). Press an almond into the top of each. Place brownies in the freezer to harden for about 15 minutes.

Melt almond bark or candy melts according to directions. Remove brownies from freezer and dip the tops in the chocolate. Place dipped brownies on a wax paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set.

Depending on what brownie recipe you use, you should get about 36-48 brownie bites.

Heavenly Brownies

My family wanted brownies the other night. I was going to make applesauce brownies, but my oldest son requested Mississippi Mud Cake. I didn't have any marshmallows but I did have some marshmallow creme and then I found this recipe at cooks.com. I can't seem to find this exact recipe on their site this morning, but luckily I had printed it out. Try these brownies they are YUMMY!! I'm sure I could have gotten a prettier picture if I would have had the patience to wait until they were cool to cut into them...:)

Heavenly Brownies

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter (1 c.)
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. nuts (optional)
• 3 T cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 jar marshmallow creme (sm jar)

Directions: Melt together butter and cocoa. Beat eggs and sugar together, and add cocoa mixture alternately with flour. Add nuts and vanilla. Bake in 9 x 13-inch pan at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Spread top with marshmallow creme as soon as it is removed from oven. Let cool and frost with the following.

FROSTING: Melt together 1/2 stick butter and 1 heaping T cocoa. Add 1/2 box Powdered sugar. Beat with 1 T milk. Spread on brownies.

**note...I used salted butter, if you use unsalted butter I would add a little salt to the brownie mix and the frosting. To make the marshmallow creme a little easier to spread, you could melt it a little by placing the jar into a bowl of hot water. I didn't have a box of powdered sugar, I just added until it was the consistency that I wanted.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mallow Bars

I got this recipe from Kraft foods magazine. It is also on Kraftfoods.com. My family really enjoyed these. The boys picked the peanuts off of their pieces, so next time I'd make half with and half with-out the peanuts. Also...my grocery store was out of BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, so I substituted and approx. equivalent of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mallow Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 2/3 cup milk, divided
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
• 1/2 cup PLANTERS Salted Peanuts
• 6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:
HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix dry cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup milk until blended; press 2/3 onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 12 to 14 min. or until center is almost set; cool 3 min. Meanwhile, mix peanut butter and remaining milk.
SPREAD peanut butter mixture onto crust; top with small spoonfuls of the marshmallow creme and remaining cake mixture. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate; press gently into cake mixture.
BAKE 18 min. or just until center is set. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Quick and Simple Brownies

Sorry about the lack of posts!! Things have been busy here! I have about a million projects around here that I am working on or are at least floating around in my brain!! My sister and her family were here visiting from Utah last week and we enjoyed every minute of it!! I have a recipe that she made for us that I will be posting soon!!

Anyways...I LOVE brownies!! I found this recipe here while I was blog hopping one day. The other day, I was out of eggs, and CRAVING something chocolate!! I remembered this recipe and decided to try it! Me and the kids LOVED it! My hubby has been out-of-town and these definitely did not last until he got home, but I'm sure he would have loved them too!! These are quick, simple and delicious!

Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 3.4 oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
• milk, amount indicated in pudding directions
• 1 18 oz box of chocolate cake mix (I used Devils Food Cake)
• 1-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or other mix-in (optional)

Directions: Prepare pudding according to package directions. Stir in cake mix, careful not to overbeat or incorporate too much air. Stir in chocolate chips or other mix-in. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.

Now I'm off to take care of my case of Utah peaches that I have been ignoring for a week. I think I will freeze some for morning fruit shakes and make some into freezer jam....YUM!!

Appplesauce Brownies

I LOVE these brownies!! I love the crust that the sugar forms on top. I didn't have any applesauce when I made these, but I had some apples in the fridge that needed to be used up. I peeled, cored and sliced my apples. Then I boiled them in water until they were soft enough to mash. I think I used 8 small apples to make the 2 cups of applesauce. I thought I had a better picture of these, but I guess I ate them all before I got the picture:) I didn't actually eat all of them, but I did eat most of them:)

Applesauce Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 2 T cocoa
• 2 cups applesauce
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt

Topping

• 2 T sugar
• chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
• chopped nuts (optional, I didn't use)

Directions: Mix ingredients well. Pour into large greased cookie sheet(I used a jelly roll pan). Sprinkle with sugar, chocolate chips and nuts. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

BYU Mint Brownies

I bookmarked this recipe a few years ago, knowing that I would want to try them. I am glad that I FINALLY got around to making these!! The other days my boys wanted to make some brownies, so decided to try these. They were SO yummy!! I am looking forward to making them again soon.

I had my 6 year old and 3 year old helping me with these. While we were making the mint icing, my 6 year old said, "Mom, you are making gum." My 3 year old smelled and said, "mmm, really good gum." :)

BYU Mint Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 2 T. honey
• 4 eggs
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 c. chopped walnuts (I left these out)
• 12 oz. chocolate icing (I used my favorite butter cream frosting(from my mother-in-law) w/a couple T of cocoa added, I'll include the recipe at the end of this post)

Mint Icing

Ingredients:

• 5 T. margarine
• dash of salt
• 3 T. milk
• 1 T. light corn syrup
• 2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. mint extract
• 1-2 drops green food coloring (I used 2)

Directions: Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cube margarine (softened)
• 1/4 c. evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions: Beat margarine until soft and creamy. Add powdered sugar and salt, mix. Add milk a little at a time so it doesn't get too thin. If necessary, add a little more milk to thin or powdered sugar to thicken. Add vanilla.

*I added 2-3 T of cocoa to the powdered sugar before mixing it with the margarine.

Mississippi Mud Cake

I needed to take a dessert to the Scouting Roundtable Opening Social the other night and thought, who doesn't LOVE marshmallows, brownies and chocolate frosting? These brownies are SO yummy!! Unfortunately my camera battery was low and my pictures just don't do justice to this dish!! I got this recipe from a 'free recipe card' that I got in the mail from Gooseberry Patch Country Cooking Recipe Collection. You've got to try this one:)


I like to put the brownies under the broiler after topping them with the marshmallows until they start to toast up a bit. Gives them a roasted marshmallow look and taste. I make them both ways, toasted and not. If you do put them under the broiler, watch them very carefully they toast up REALLY fast and you'd hate to burn them!!

Mississippi Mud Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. baking cocoa
• 1 c. butter or margarine, melted
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine
• 1/3 c. baking cocoa
• 2/3 milk
• 16 oz. box powdered sugar, sifted

Directions: Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Spread batter into a greased 13"x9" pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle hot cake with mini marshmallows.

Combine 1/4 cup butter, 1/3 cup baking cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, and boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar. Immediately pour chocolate mixture over marshmallows. Let cake cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Makes 15 servings.

You can substitute a 19.8 oz package of brownie mix for the cake batter. Prepare mix according to package directions and spoon into 13" x 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes and proceed as directed in recipe.

I usually have extra frosting that I save for a treat with crackers for the kiddos:)