Showing posts sorted by relevance for query brownies. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query brownies. Sort by date Show all posts
I wanted to bake a treat for my daughter and her husband to take home after our Friday Thanksgiving dinner and I wanted it to be something they both would enjoy. My son in law can be rather fussy when it comes to eating.
There is not a lot he will eat that is out of the ordinary. He is a simple meat and potatoes kind of a guy, and he doesn't even eat a lot of those. My daughter ends up cooking two separate meals most nights.
I thought he might like brownies. He always takes those Little Debbie's kind of cakes to work in his lunch every day. How much better is a homemade brownie than those!
And how much better than a homemade brownie are Mississippi Mud bars! Sinful and indulgent, I cannot think of too many people who would not enjoy Mississippi Mud bars. To do so would be indecent and not human!
Mississippi Mud Bars are decadent fudgy brownies, studded with plenty of toasted pecan nuts and topped with a sweet layer of melted marshmallow and a rich chocolate fudge icing! What's not to like about that!
I made a small batch of a recipe that I found for Mississippi Mud Bars in Southern Living, Comfort Food. This was another one of my cookbooks that I chose to replace here in Canada.
Its a brilliant cookbook, filled to overflowing with fabulously delicious Southern Comfort foods. How everyone down there isn't as wide as a house, I will never know!
Anyways, I thought a full recipe would be far more than my daughter and her husband could cope with, or should cope with so I cut the recipe in half with great success.
Yes I did taste them. A woman's got to do what a woman's got to do. Its a dirty job but somebody's got to do it. I was only too happy to step up to the plate.
After all I wouldn't expect anyone to eat anything I wouldn't eat, right? My only regret is sprinkling milk chocolate chips on top. They came off looking white in the photographs and I can promise you they were not white.
They weren't even actually needed. I was trying to dress them up a bit. Chocolate things can be notoriously difficult to photograph. I thought it would help.
I hope you will forgive me for making something that doesn't look nice in photographs anyways, look even worse! Don't let that deter you from making them. They are gorgeous!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE MISSISSIPPI MUD BARS
Nothing too spectacular. Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way! (That's my motto most of the time!)
For the brownie base and marshmallow topping:
- all purpose flour (plain flour in the UK)
- unsweetened cocoa powder (not chocolate drink mix, they are not the same thing)
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- melted butter
- large free range eggs
- vanilla extract (I always use the pure stuff)
- miniature marshmallows (I like the all white ones)
For the frosting:
- melted butter
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk, you could also use half and half or single cream)
- vanilla extract (again I use pure)
- icing sugar (also known as powdered or confectioner's sugar)
HOW DO YOU MAKE MISSISSIPPI MUD BARS
The hardest part of making these lush bars is keeping your hands off them until everything sets up!
The base for these is essentially a rich fudge brownie. If you can make a brownie then you can make these. The dry ingredients are whisked together and then you whisk in the melted butter, eggs and vanilla, whisking only until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
You then stir in the toasted nuts. I always toast my nuts as you know. It just makes them taste nicer. Toasted nuts taste better. (8 to 10 minutes, spread on a baking sheet in a moderate oven. Let them cool before using.)
You then spread the batter into your prepared pan. I butter the pan and also partially line it with baking paper, so that there is an overhang on two opposite sides.
This just makes it so much easier to lift the finished bars out of the pan. I am all for ease when it comes to things like this. So just spread the batter in the buttered/lined pan and bake.
While they are baking put your frosting together as you will be needing it not too long after your brownie base is baked.
The brownie base is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, with only a few crumbs clinging to it. They should not be gloopy in the least.
Once that happens you just scatter the marshmallows over top and return them to the oven for a minute or two.
You don't want the marshmallows to brown at all. You just want them to melt until they are ooey and gooey.
Once that has happened, take them out (they will be all puffy) and then spread the frosting over top of the warm marshmallow. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
I found the easiest way to do this was to dollop blobs of the frosting over top of the batter here and there, and then just spread it over with the back of a metal spoon. It worked really well.
The frosting is as easy to make as beating the ingredients together with an electric hand whisk until smooth and spreadable.
HINTS AND TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Use cocoa powder and not chocolate drink mix. Chocolate drink mix is considerably sweeter than cocoa powder and has a completely different consistency which just won't bake the same. The two are NOT interchangeable in my opinion.
Sift your cocoa powder. Cocoa powder can be really lumpy and doesn't mix in well, so sift, sift, sift. Nobody wants to bite down on a lump of cocoa powder. It won't taste nice and it will be unsightly.
Always toast your nuts when baking. They just taste better.
Don't overmix your brownie batter. You just want it smooth and homogenous. You don't want to overdevelop the gluten in the flour. This results in a tough brownie.
Sift your icing sugar to get out all of the lumps. Nobody wants to eat a lumpy frosting and it just doesn't look nice.
Don't sweat it if your icing doesn't completely cover the marshmallow. It is okay if a bit of mallow peeks through. That's just the nature of mud. Trust me, they will still be delicious!
Try (if you can) to leave them overnight before cutting into them. You will get much nicer cuts. Lift them out of the pan to cut. In an eight inch square pan, four cuts one way and 3 cups the other will give you 12 nice, decently sized squares.
Trust me, these are so sweet you won't want huge pieces. Break out the milk, because a nice tall glass of cold milk goes really well with these!
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! (And leave off the chocolate chips unless you like really sweet things!)
Mississippi Mud Bars (small batch)
Yield: 12 bars
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 32 MinTotal time: 42 Min
Deep dark, chocolatey and decadent delicious! Oh my goodness!
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 3/4 cup (110g) plain all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 TBS) cocoa powder (Not drinking chocolate)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, melted
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten lightly
- 1/2 TBS vanilla
- 1/2 cup (60g)chopped toasted pecan nuts
- 1 1/2 cups (75g) mini marsmallows
For the frosting: (makes 1 1/4 cups)
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted
- 2 1/2 TBS cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 1/2 TBS evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
- 1 3/4 cup (225g) icing sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking tin. Line it with baking paper, giving yourself an overhang to lift the cooled squares out with.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir everything together until smooth. Stir in the pecan nuts.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and immediately scatter the marshmallows over top and return to the oven for one to two minutes to melt the marshmallows.
- Remove from the oven and carefully spread the frosting over top of the marshmallows. Cool completely and cut into squares.
- To make the frosting beat all of the ingredients together with an electric mixer at medium speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
I am a huge fan of the blondie style of cookie bar. They are right up there with brownies in my estimation! Both have the moreish chewy texture that we all love, but blondies have a really delicious caramel/toffee flavor!
It is the brown sugar in blondies that give them that lovely chewy texture and caramel flavor, whereas in brownies, the flavor comes from the addition of melted chocolate or cocoa powder.
If you are a fan of coconut, then you will fall in love with these delicious bars. The coconut inside the blondie stays all lovely and chewy, almost macaroon-like.
The coconut which is sprinkled on top gets all nutty and toasty! A most wonderful combination of textures and flavors!
I adapted this Blondie recipe from one that I got in an e-mail the other day from Barefoot in the Kitchen. The original recipe made a 9 by 13-inch pan. My version makes an 8-inch square version.
If you are wanting the larger recipe, do check out Mary's page for the full list of ingredients. If you are like me and are a small family, this recipe is more than ample!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE COCONUT COOKIE BARS (SMALL BATCH)
Simple baking ingredients. These bars use things that we all have in our kitchens most of the time anyways!
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted
- 1 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/2 TBS vanilla
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cups (95g) shredded sweetened coconut, divided
- scant cup (170g) dark, bittersweet, or semi-sweet chocolate chips
I just use regular salted butter and actually Mary didn't specify one way or another. There is also only a pinch of salt in the recipe. You do need a little bit as the salt helps to enhance the caramel like sweetness of the blondie.
You can use dark, bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips. I like to buy the best chocolate chips that I can afford. Usually I buy the Kirkland brand. I just think they are really good chocolate chips.
Shredded coconut is long strands of grated coconut. They are still a bit dry, but not as dry as desiccated coconut. I suppose you could use sweetened desiccated coconut for this if that is all you can find, but I really recommend you using coconut with longer strands.
In the UK you can get shredded coconut on Amazon. I found several different kinds. You can also find it at Morrisons.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SWEETENED SHREDDED COCONUT
If you can't find sweetened shredded coconut you can absolutely use the unsweetened with a few additions. Unsweetened coconut is too dry for most sweet baked goods and its not sweet enough. Adding more sugar and honey to the recipe without actually sweetening the coconut itself just does not work.
For one cup (75g) of coconut, measure 4 TBS of water and 4 tsp of sugar into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut. Leave to stand until the sugar syrup has been completely absorbed.
Presto! Once totally cold you have sweetened shredded coconut that you can use in any baking recipe requiring this specific ingredient!
HOW TO MAKE COCONUT COOKIE BARS (SMALL BATCH)
These are one of the easiest cookie bars to make. Everything just gets stirred together and spread in a baking tin! It is important to use the right size tin for perfect results.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking tin and line with baking paper, leaving enough of an over-hang to lift the squares out with when cold.
Combine the melted butter and brown sugar in a bowl, beating well together. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the salt.
Add the flour slowly until all mixed in. Stir in 1 cup (75g) of the coconut and the chocolate chips.
Spread the dough into the prepared baking tin evenly, leveling it off. Sprinkle the remaining coconut over top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, (mine took an extra 5 minutes) or until the bars are golden brown around the edges and set in the center. Leave to cool in the tin before lifting out and cutting into bars.
These coconut cookie bars were incredibly moreish and delicious. Nice and chewy. A bit sweet, but that's why they go so well with milk!
They also freeze beautifully. I wrap each bar individually and then pop them into an airtight zip lock baggie. That way I can take one out whenever I am wanting a little bit of a treat!
Looking for more small batch baking recipes? Why not check out these!
SMALL BATCH CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS - Your favorite cookie in a bar. I bake these in a loaf tin lined with baking paper to remove the finished bars with ease. I cut them into triangles for interest, but they can also be cut into fingers. Crisp, buttery and deliciously loaded with chocolate chips!
SMALL BATCH BAKEWELL BLONDIES - These are my all time favorite cookie bars. With a brown sugar blondie base, studded with white chocolate chips and almond flavors, they are topped with sweet raspberry jam, flaked toasted almonds and a sweet almond glaze. Irresistible!
Yield: 8
Coconut Cookie Bars (small batch)
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min
Semi-sweet chocolate and toast coconut stuffed inside a chewy moreish blondie. These are fabulous with an ice cold glass of milk.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted
- 1 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/2 TBS vanilla
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cups (95g) shredded sweetened coconut, divided
- scant cup (170g) dark, bittersweet, or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking tin and line with baking paper, leaving enough of an over-hang to lift the squares out with when cold.
- Combine the melted butter and brown sugar in a bowl, beating well together. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the salt.
- Add the flour slowly until all mixed in. Stir in 1 cup (75g) of the coconut and the chocolate chips.
- Spread the dough into the prepared baking tin evenly, leveling it off. Sprinkle the remaining coconut over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, (mine took an extra 5 minutes) or until the bars are golden brown around the edges and set in the center. Leave to cool in the tin before lifting out and cutting into bars.
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I am happy to announce that I have finished my latest cookbooklet entitled Just Desserts! I think this is my best one yet. It is certainly one of my largest ones with a total of 42 pages filled to overflowing with lovely dessert recipes, and handy hints and tips from my kitchen to yours.
It's broken down into no less than EIGHT delicious chapters, including . . . "It's only Fruit" . . . (Hot Buttered Cherries, and Stuffed Figs plus more) . . . "Indulgently Creamy" . . . (Chilled Rose Souffle's, Rhubarb Fool and more) . . . "Trifles" . . . ( three very different versions) . . . "Let Them Eat Cake" . . . (Sour Cherry Cake, Pineapple and Macadamia Cake, to name just two) . . . "Pies, Tarts and Crumbles" . . . (Bramble Pie, Plum and Almond Crumble plus more) . . . "Meringues and Clafoutis" . . . (Strawberry Meringue Cake, Chocolate Vacherin, Blackberry Clafoutis and yes, more) . . . "Cookies, Brownies and Bars" . . . (Spicy Aztec Brownies anyone?) . . . "Bits and Bites" . . . (all those finishing recipes for sauces, pastry, curd, etc.) All in all, there are FORTY THREE delicious recipes that are some of my family favourites and are destined to become yours.
Interspersed amongst the recipes are little snippets of art, hints and tips and delightful quotes. Have you always wondered what the secrets are to baking really good cakes? Wonder no more. All of my secrets to success are right here, and it's available to you now for the same low price as all of my others at only £5.
This will be delivered to your e-mail as a downloadable PDF file, ready to print or store on your computer as you desire within 24 hours of your payment clearing. If ordering please make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Reader enabled, and that my e-mail address is in your safe folder! Also as the file is rather large make sure you have enough room to receive it!
Also at this time I would like to offer you the option of buying four out of my cookbooklet collection for the low price of £15. You can choose any four titles you wish. Just be sure to message me on the payment invoice which four you want to purchase! This is a real bargain, giving you one title for free!
Available Titles include . . .
A Very Royal Tea Party
The Great British Picnic
Christmas in the English Kitchen
Recipes to Keep
Spring Into Summer
Any four titles including the latest one for the low price of £15. Please note that all booklets come with my same no quibble refund guarantee if you are not satisfied with your purchase.
Thanks so much for looking and have a super day!
The recipe I have to share with you today creates something almost too dangerous to have in the house . . .
Seriously . . . tis a good thing this is the season of giving . . .
Imagine a chewy, fudgy, buttery blonde brownie . . .
stogged to overflowing with scrummy little bits of rich, sweet white chocolate . . .
and crunchily addictive hunks of macadamia nuts . . .
Now . . . top it with a gooey, sticky caramel toffee topping.
See???? I have created a monster . . .
but what a scrumdiddlyumptious way to go!
*White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Blondies*
Makes one 8 inch square pan, or 16 bars
Printable Recipe
Squidgy blonde brownies stogged full of white chocolate, macadamia nuts and glazed with caramel!
4 ounces softened unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
9 ounces soft light brown sugar (1 1/4 cups packed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large free range eggs
5 ounces plain flour (1 cup)
3 1/2 ounces coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (3/4 cup)
3 to 4 ounces white chocolate, chop coarsely
250g soft toffees (about 1/2 cup packed)
2 fluid ounces water (1/4 cup)
Preheat oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper leaving an overhand to ease in lifting the bars out when done. Butter the pan and the paper lightly.
Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat iin the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour, making sure it is completely incorporated. Fold iin the nuts and chocolate. Spread into the prepared pan. Bake in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Place the toffees in a small saucepan, along with the water. Cook and stir over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the toffees are melted and the mixture is smooth. Using a fork, drizzle the hot caramel glaze over top of the brownies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Morrisons has come up with a new and scrumptious range to their Market Street Cake Shop! From extra chocolatey Brownies to Fresh Cream Strawberry Sundaes, there is sure to be something to please anyone's sweet tooth.
The new and improved range includes Cherry and Raspberry Tarts, Chunky All Butter Shortbreads, Loaded Raspberry and Cream Cake and many more to choose from!
In all over 65 new and improved scrumptious cakes!
I was recently given an assortment to taste including . . .
Fresh Cream Strawberry and Custard Tarts. The Toddster does love a good Custard Tart, and with the addition of strawberries and sweet whipped cream, what's not to like?
Lemon and Raspberry Sponge Tarts . . . tarts filled with raspberry jam topped with a sponge cake filling, along with the addition of lemon curd, whipped cream and white chocolate curls on top. Lemon is my only weakness and these look fabulous. Lemon and jam, and cake in a tart and topped with whipped cream. Scrummy yummy!
The piece de resistance . . . a delicious looking Loaded Raspberry and Cream Cake . . . Raspberry blondie sponge puts a tasty twist on the classic cream cake! It’s baked and hand-finished in store for that deliciously fresh taste. Also available in chocolate caramel brownie.
Mmmm . . . decadent.
There is also a packet of Double Chocolate Brownies, but they'll hold so we're indulging ourselves in them tomorrow.
Whether you’re looking to impress party guests or fancy a nibble to accompany your cuppa, why not head on over to Morrisons cake counter for a tasty treat. Go on spoil yourself. Expert approved, most of these cakes have been in-store baked and hand finished. Just look out for the stamps to find out each one.
And while we are talking sweets . . .
They also have a broad line of retro sweets for you to indulge your sweet tooth in as well . . .
With White or Banoffee Chocolate Eclairs, Giant Strawberries, Fruit Pop Favourites, Jelly Dominoes, Fizzy Pops, Flying Saucers and a really cute assortment of mini jelly characters (Orange Bunnies, Apple Cubs, Black Pups, and a mixed Groovy Gang) to choose from you are really spoilt for choice!
I confess I had never seen a Flying Saucer before and I just had to try one. Interesting. Colorful Sherbet filled Wafer discs. Quite good actually. I liked them! And only 66 calories for a18g pack!
These goodies are all available in 343 Morrisons stores nationwide, excluding M Local stores.
Now if I could only teach the Toddster to carry things home from the grocery store without crushing them. Oh well . . . he's pretty good at lots of other things! I cannot complain about a few crushed cakes!
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