brownies

Classic Fat Witch Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Classic dark chocolate brownies from Chelsea Market’s famed Fat Witch Bakery is a recipe every chocolate brownie lover should have in their “best of” archives.

Several years ago I was in a New York City photo studio above Chelsea Market, art directing a photo shoot with eighties supermodel and raw-food enthusiast Carol Alt. That day she shared how eating a raw diet improved her health and changed her life for the better. I mean, she was so devout she wrote a cookbook about it. She even had her personal chef prepare a gourmet raw food lunch for us. So healthy—and all raw food—but still, pretty good.

And then, as soon as the shoot was finished, I headed directly downstairs to the Chelsea Market food emporium and bought myself a big, chocolate, BAKED Fat Witch brownie.

Brownies vs. raw food. See? For me, it’s always been about balance. continue to the recipe… about Classic Fat Witch Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Swirled Mascarpone Brownies with Hazelnuts

Me and my mom. The love of chocolate runs in our DNA.

Maybe she passed her love of the cacao to me through her umbilical cord. Or maybe she transferred her chocolate loving cravings to me with each chocolate shake we’d get at Arctic Circle with a side of burgers and fries.

Either way, when it comes to dessert, chocolate is our first bite of choice. And it’s just one reason we’re both partial to super rich, fudgey, chocolate loaded brownies.

It all comes down to flavor. While some think the best flavor come from big amounts of big ingredients, it’s really the little guys who coax out the intensity of the flavors behind the scenes. Small wonder, huh?

While chocolate and mascarpone are the big names in this brownie recipe, but the nuance that binds them together is one star ingredient: vanilla.

continue to the recipe… about Swirled Mascarpone Brownies with Hazelnuts

Dark Chocolate Brownies Plus Friday Faves

In my book, there’s just one rule to live by: The more chocolate the better. These Dark Chocolate Brownies leave me praising the Cocoa Goddesses. Hallelujiah.

It’s kind of like kid treat week, where we started off with Stuffed Pizza Rolls (Did you enter? Today is the last day to enter to win the Weelicious Lunches cookbook) then Apple Pie and Oatmeal Rice Krispie Treats.

And now this. This beyond good brownie.

When the editors of Better Homes and Gardens asked me to do a guest spot on their food blog Delish-Dish, there was just one condition: choose something delicious I wanted to make my own.

But which recipe I made ended up not being of my choice. It was all up to Smudge. Luckily, we both share great taste. In chocolate.

continue to the recipe… about Dark Chocolate Brownies Plus Friday Faves

German Chocolate Brownies In a Jar Plus Friday Faves

It’s no secret for anyone who knows me that I am a chocolate girl when it comes to sweets. I have no problem passing up a Sour Patch Kid or Cherry flavored gummi bear. But pass a piece of chocolate in front of my face and it’s all but certain to be gone in a heartbeat. Or a mouth smack.

My favorite birthday cake for years has been German chocolate cake. Each year my mom would pull out the bundt pan and bake up my yearly request. It’s probably the reason I’m such a fan of anything with almonds, nuts and goo. Almond Joys and Snicker bars are my go to selections if I have my druthers.

When I was asked to create a recipe for something served up in a jar Go Bold With Butter, I put myself in my summertime shoes, aka flip flops, and envisioned myself at the beach. What would I most crave besides an ice cold beer and sushi while I sit on my pretend blanket digging my toes into the pretend warm sand.

continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Brownies In a Jar Plus Friday Faves

Stout Chocolate Brownies Plus 20 More Great Stout Recipes

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

As you’ll find out when you ask me over for dinner sometime—which I’m hoping you certainly would consider because on a good night I can be a pretty darn entertaining dinner guest and just might clear the dishes from the table if I’m feeling generous—and you ask me to bring a little something sweet to our potluck dinner—say for instance an Irish celebration that is happening this coming weekend—my dessert of choice usually veers from the frilly and delicate sweet treat variety to something a bit more sturdy and craveable. Macarons? Not. so. much. It will be a long, long time before I try my hand at making a macaron. I’m afraid I don’t have the patience or the skill to pull them off.

Basically, macarons scare me.

No, I’m definitely more of a hearty dessert type of gal, baking up something a bit more forgiving and a tad more freeform. Chocolate Stout Brownies in all of their fudgey glory are right up my dessert alley.

So are you staring at your computer right now thinking to yourself, “What the, whhhhaaat? Why would someone waste a perfectly good beer to ruin brownies, or any other recipe by dumping it into a recipe?”

Oh honey. Hold your horses and let the heads of your brews settle down. I have a selection of 20 great recipe reasons to add beer to your favorite recipes. But first we need to get to the bottom of these brownies.

Whenever I make chocolate brownies I find myself adding that little something extra to deepen the flavor and enhance the taste of the brownies. Most of my brownie making escapades involves the addition of instant espresso powder and kosher salt to add to the chocolateness. This time it’s the stout that does the trick. You won’t taste the beer taste at all, it’s merely a richness that enhances my love of chocolateness.

continue to the recipe… about Stout Chocolate Brownies Plus 20 More Great Stout Recipes