Salty-sweet combinations are just. The best. My favorite involve chocolate; the saltiness really enhances the chocolate flavor!
These Brownies are an absolutely delicious salty-sweet combo. The super chocolately, fudgy brownie is made with Endangered Species Chocolate Almond Spread with Cocoa (and 3 other different kinds of chocolate!) while the crust is make of a deliciously salty pretzel/graham cracker combination.
The Almond Spread adds a different lay of flavor to the brownies. To keep the almond flavor noticeable in the brownies, I also used some almond extract. If you don’t have almond extract, or don’t want as much almond flavor, you can use vanilla extract.
What makes these brownies even more tasty is that the chocolate spread used in the brownies also helps give back: Endangered Species Chocolate donates 10% of net profits annually to 10% GiveBack Partners. In the past three years, Endangered Species Chocolate’s (ESC) 10% GiveBack program has donated more than $1.2 million for its carefully chosen beneficiaries!
ESC recently announced its 2016-2018 partners: Rainforest Trust and Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN). The organizations will receive 10% of ESC’s annual net profits (or a minimum annual donation of $10,000, whichever is greater) to fund projects they deem most important to achieving their conservation goals.
Rainforest Trust has saved more than 11 million acres of tropical forests to-date, but ESC’s 10% GiveBack program will be vital in expediting the organization’s goal of preserving 20 million acres by the year 2020. WCN funds projects in 24 different countries where the 10% GiveBack program will contribute to helping a myriad of at-risk species.
Past 10% GiveBack partners include SEE Turtles, SEEtheWild, Chimp Haven and, most recently, the Xerces Society and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF).
Endangered Species Chocolate was also kind enough to send me some extra jars of their delicious spreads to give away to one I Can Cook That reader! Details after the recipe.
Ingredients:
For crust:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1.5 cups crushed pretzels (about 2 cups mini pretzels before crushed)
It’s that time of year again! I signed up for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap again this year and got some great ideas for what to bake for Christmas!
In its third year, the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap helps raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. The swap raised $13,778.40 this year, raised through blogger participants donations and matching donations from OXO, Dixie Crystals, Gold Medal, and Grandma’s Molasses. The goal was $10,000, so to get nearly $4,000 more in donations is amazing!
So here’s how the actual swapping part of this works: I was assigned three food bloggers and made one dozen cookies for each of them. In return, I received three different boxes of cookies from other bloggers.
Last year, I received a batch of hot cocoa cookies that were SO good I was craving them again this year. So I decided to make some myself! The chocolate cookies are topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and a touch of grated chocolate. I based my recipe off of Rachel Ray’s Hot Cocoa Cookies recipe.
There are some people who are in your life that just make your days a little bit better. I’m talking about the people you see for maybe just one minute a day: a person at a coffee shop, someone you pass in the hall, or in my case, one of the guys who works at my SEPTA station. I always look forward to a smile and a wave from him. So I was pretty bummed when he told me he was moving to another station. Sigh.
I wanted to find a way to thank him for making my day a little bit better, and I honestly don’t know any other way to thank someone besides with food (this is something I may need to work on…) So I decided to make him cupcakes! And who doesn’t like chocolate peanut butter cupcakes?
I found this recipe on Food Network and thought it was perfect. It even incorporated coffee into the recipe (one of my favorite tricks) to heighten the chocolately flavor. I decided to try to make my own peanut butter icing though, to make it more my own.
Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Icing:
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 package (8 oz) low fat cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup (or 1/2 a container) of smooth peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter, granulated and brown sugars to a large bowl and beat on high for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla, mixing well each time.
In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.
In a third bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
Add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately to the large bowl, mixing with a hand mixer in between the addition of each mixture, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. (I poured half of the buttermilk mixture in, beat the mixture on medium, adding half the flour mixture, and beating on medium. I then repeated this until just combined).
Add the mixture to a cupcake pan lined with paper liners. The recipe randomly made 18 cupcakes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans.
To make the icing, combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl using a hand mixer.
Add the frosting to the cupcakes once completely cooled.
If desired, top with crushed peanuts.
Was there even a chance that these would be so-so?
Peanut butter and chocolate are two of the most fantastic, decadent paired ingredients.
The simplest actions can really make your day. Sometimes all you need to turn a day around is a simple pick me up. This hot chocolate is a really easy way to put a smile on your, or your loved ones, face(s). It’s also a perfect Valentine’s Day drink! I found this cute recipe on Martha Stewart.
Ingredients:
(this makes 2 cups)
4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
We recently had a baby shower for one of my co-workers. She’s a big chocolate fan, so I went in search of a super chocolately cupcake that I could make for the shower. Lauren’s Latest had a great recipe that incorporated dark chocolate and cocoa powder, perfect! I used an altered buttercream recipe from my Guinness Cupcakes so that I could have a white icing that I could dye blue. She is having a boy so I went with a duck theme!
Cupcake ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
12 oz dark chocolate
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup low fat sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Buttercream ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
3 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Milk, as needed to get to desired consistency
4-5 drops blue food dye
So I did something that is typically a big no-no in baking. I took Lauren’s recipe and multiplied it by three to make 24 cupcakes. And (thankfully) it turned out a-ok! So feel free to use my multiplied version. Be sure to check out Lauren’s page though to see how beautiful hers came out, especially with that chocolate icing, yum!
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
In a small pot, melt the butter and chocolate over medium low heat, stirring until smooth. When combined, remove from heat and allow to cool.
While the butter and chocolate are melting / cooling, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and flour in a large bowl.
Mix to combine.
In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla.
Make a well in the dry mixture.
Pour the wet ingredients into the well.
Mine overflowed. Oops@
Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients as well as the cooled butter-chocolate mixture until just combined.
Add half of the mixture to the cupcake tins (the recipe makes 24 so you will have enough batter for 24 cupcakes). I use an ice cream scoop to at least attempt to divide the batter evenly.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a middle cupcake comes out clean.
Allow to completely cool before decorating.
To make the icing, use a hand mixer to beat butter until smooth. Add half of the sugar and beat until smooth. Add other half of the sugar and repeat. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit of milk to thin and beat until smooth. (Note: be careful to not add too much, a little bit of milk goes a very long way!)
I added 4-5 drops of blue food coloring to get a light blue color. The icing became water for my ducks.
How cute are these?
I used a pastry bag to add the icing, but you can also put the icing into a plastic zip lock bag and cut off one of the bottom corners to squeeze the icing out. It doesn’t have to be perfect (mine definitely aren’t!), the ducks splashing makes ripples in the water 🙂
I ordered the ducks and the sprinkles from The Bakers Confections, which you can buy on Etsy.
You’re probably thinking, super, they are adorable. But are they tasty?
They sure are! The double chocolate makes it a really nice dense cupcake, fully of chocolately flavor. The sour cream keeps them nice and moist.
My cupcakes were snatched up in minutes, so I think they were a hit!
Thanks to Lauren for posting such a fantastic cupcake recipe!
As I’ve mentioned before, I cannot help myself from making a million desserts in December. There is something about the last month of the year that makes me want to bake my little heart out. Oxo has decided to help my cause by asking me to check out their new and improved Egg Beater. I am a huge fan of Oxo products (bowls, containers, apple corers; you name it, I have it). So I knew that their egg beater would find a happy home in my kitchen. Oxo also sent me an extra egg beater to give away to one of lucky reader. Details will be below!
The egg beater has a non-slip grip handle for ease of use. The beaters are removable and then entire base can be detached and is dishwasher-safe (a must in my kitchen. I’m way too lazy to clean dishes after cooking). The beater itself has managed to improve upon its predecessors by adding a steel bridge at the bottom that can rest on the bottom of the bowl. This allows the beaters to be slightly in the air without causing arm strain.Note: This contest is now closed. Congratulations to Jill J;you have won! Check your e-mail 🙂
Photo courtesy of oxo.com
Their website had a great video that shows all the features so I wanted to include that hereas well.
So I really wanted to test this bad boy. I decided to not only test it’s ease of use, but it’s ease of cleaning by making a recipe that uses the egg beater in more than one step of the process. How about a chocolate souffle topped with a warm fudge sauce and some freshly made whipped cream? (Not going to lie, the whipped cream was an afterthought because my souffle collapsed. Sigh. Still learning…)
Ingredients:
Souffle:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 large egg whites
Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon powered sugar
This recipe requires a bit of oven preparation. Take out the top rack of your oven. Position the other rack as low as possible. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Spray six 8-ounce souffle dishes (or ramekins) with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons (or 1 teaspoon per ramekin) of sugar and set aside.
In a large saute pan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, and the salt over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk or the Oxo egg beater. Add 1 1/4 cups milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes or until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add 3 ounces chocolate, stirring until smooth. Add to a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, add the egg whites (reserve one egg yolk!) and beat using your egg beater until stiff peaks form. This took a good 5 minutes for me.
Once the egg whites are beaten, the chocolate mixture should have cooled. Add the vanilla and egg yolk to the chocolate mixture and stir.Fold in 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture.
Once combined, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
Spoon the mixture into the ramekins. Sharply tap the dishes two or three times on counter to even out each mixture in the ramekin. You want them to be about 3/4 full so that they can puff over the top of the ramekin. If you are making these ahead of time, you can cover the ramekins at this stage and freeze until you’re ready to bake them.
When ready to bake, place them on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven (which is at 425) on the bottom rack. Immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees (keep the souffles in the oven and don’t open the door, the temperature will slowly lower over time). Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the side comes out clean.
The sauce can also be made ahead of time if you so wish. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 tablespoon flour, stirring well with a whisk.
Gradually add 1/2 cup milk stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, continuing to stir. Remove from heat, add 1/2 ounce chocolate and stir until smooth. Spoon over warm souffles.
To make the whipped cream, add the heavy cream to a bowl. Using the egg beater, beat the cream until peaks are just about to form. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar and beat until peaks form. Add a dollop of the fresh whipped cream to the souffle and serve.
So my souffle came out puffy and happy and I was so excited!
But as I started adding the chocolate sauce, it began to deflate. Sigh.
So I topped it off with the fresh whipped cream and called it even.
Souffles are notoriously difficult to make, but I wanted to at least give it a shot. Who honestly cares if it deflated though? It still tasted wonderful! I think even a collapsed souffle still looks pretty darn nice as well, no?
So if you’re still with me, you can win your very own Oxo egg beater to beat and whip until your heart’s content.
Good luck, and feel free to leave me a comment below with any questions, comments, or complaints 🙂
Note: I received both a free egg beater for myself and for the giveaway through Oxo’s Blogger outreach program. All opinions and photos with the exception of the egg beater photo are mine.
With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to test out my recipe for Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting before the big day to make sure it didn’t need any tweaking.
Guinness cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes that use a dark stout to enhance the flavor.
To keep with the theme, I decided to also make Bailey’s frosting.
Ingredients (makes 24 cupcakes)
Guinness Cupcakes:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 12 oz bottle of Guinness (or any other dark stout) – if your bottle is more than this, just measure out 12 oz
1 (4 oz) stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
