Mascarpone Swirled Brownies

Umm...need I say more?

I didn't think so.


Mascarpone Swirled Brownies
from Shared Sugar

2/3 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, plus one egg yolk
8 ounces mascarpone cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a 9 inch baking pan.  Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.  Melt both chocolates with butter oven low heat in a saucepan.

Once melted, remove from heat and mix in 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla.  Whisk in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Whisk dry ingredients into chocolate mixture until batter is smooth.

In another bowl, mix mascarpone with egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.  Pour half of the batter into the pan.  Spread half of the mascarpone over the batter.  Add other half of batter, then top with remaining mascarpone.  With a knife, swirl batter around to achieve a marbling effect.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.  Brownies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Linked to:  Sweets for a Saturday

Ovaltine Brownies

Talk about a throwback...

As soon as I saw Ovaltine in my sister's pantry, memories started flooding into my brain.  We LOVED this stuff as kids!  I guess my nieces like it now, too.

I haven't had it in ages, and actually kind of forgot about it.  But, I felt compelled to bake something with it, especially after getting our "assignment" for our What's Baking? group this month, which was to bake something that reminds you of your favorite place.  And one of my favorite places is definitely home...more specifically, home when I was a kid.

These brownies were SO good.  Moist and dense, and super tasty.  They were the perfect alternative to the traditional brownie.

Thanks to Joanna from Newlywed and Newly Cooking for a great theme this month!

Ovaltine Brownies
from The Not So Blog's Experimental Mommy

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 AP flour
1 1/2 cups Ovaltine mix
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.

Combine sugar, butter and water in a bowl.  Mix until combined, then stir in eggs and vanilla.  Combine flour, Ovaltine, baking powder and salt in another bowl.  Add it all at once to sugar mixture.  Fold in 1/4 cup of chips.

Spread mixture into baking pan and bake for about 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining chips all over the top.  After 5 minutes, spread chips evenly over brownies with a spatula.  Cool completely, then cut into bars.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispy Treats (Secret Recipe Club)

Happy Monday!  Did you think I forgot about you this morning?  Have no fear - it's a later than normal post because once again, it's Secret Recipe Club reveal day!  Always a fun day of the month :)

My assigned blog this time around was This Chick Cooks.  Katie has some great stuff to choose from, with her recent recipes being more on the healthy side due to a lifestyle change she made.  A few that caught my eye were the Chick Pea Summer Salad and the Summer Squash Soup.  Yum!

But, even though I had a few of the "good" ones bookmarked, I ultimately went with a "bad" one ;)  It wasn't my fault!  Since I made the Baba Au Rhum for my brother-in-law's birthday, I had to come up with a kid-friendly dessert for the little ones...sooooo....

These delicious treats were enjoyed by all!  Thanks for a great recipe, Katie!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

slightly adapted from This Chick Cooks

1 (10 ounce) bag mini marshmallows

6 cups crispy rice cereal

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons half & half 

In a large bowl, melt butter and marshmallows in microwave for about 60-90 seconds.  Stir (spray spoon with cooking spray to avoid a sticky mess!) and pop in a little while longer if need be.  Add peanut butter and stir, then cereal, and stir until evenly distributed.  Pour and press into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

Put chocolate chips and half & half in a microwave safe bowl.  Cook for 30 seconds, stir, then cook another 15-30 seconds, until smooth.  Use a knife to drizzle chocolate over cereal.  Cut into bars and serve.

Linked to:  Sweet Tooth Friday

Lemon-Blueberry Crumb Bars

I know there are people out there who knock down New Jersey.  And I'll assume that those people have never been here...because if they were, they'd know for sure that it's pretty awesome.

The "what exit are you?" jokes, along with the filth/smog/pollution comments, represent a very small part of the state...the part where you're driving a straight line and don't veer off the highway to explore what it's REALLY all about.

The fact that I live just a few miles outside of the greatest city in the world is priceless, without a doubt.  You also have our beautiful beaches and mountains, as well as our farms...farms that produce delicious things like corn, tomatoes and blueberries.

Matter of fact, did you know that the "blueberry capital of the world" is right here in NJ?

My parents were in that capital recently (otherwise known as Hammonton) and brought me an insane amount of blueberries.  I happily stored them in my freezer, waiting for the right recipes to jump out at me.

I found this easy recipe (yep, I used boxed cake mix!) and got rave reviews from my family at a party I brought them to.  They can be thrown together in about 15 minutes, and you probably have most of the ingredients right now!

Jaida from Sweet Beginnings is our What's Baking? host for July, and challenged us to bake with summer fruits, so this is my submission.  Check out her blog at the end of the month for a round-up of what I'm sure will be lots of delicious baked goods!

Oh, and one last thing...we aren't all in the mafia.  Trust me.  Come visit soon!

Lemon-Blueberry Crumb Bars
from Kraft Recipes

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
2 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
juice of one lemon
2 1/2 cups blueberries, washed and picked over

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 pan with foil (make sure it extends over sides).  Mix butter, one egg and cake mix together until combined.  Press 2/3 of mixture onto bottom of pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until well blended.  Add remaining egg, zest and juice and mix well.  Pour over crust, then top with berries.  Pinch small pieces of remaining cake mix mixture between your fingers and sprinkle on top of berries.

Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center of pan.  Cool completely.  Use foil handles to lift out of pan before cutting into bars.  Keep refrigerated until serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pretzel Bars

Both sweet AND salty have always been my thing.  I'm amazed by the people who can answer this question so emphatically - "are you a sweets person or a salty person?"  "Oh, DEFINITELY sweets.  I don't crave salt at all."

Nope, not me.  Totally depends on the day...or even time of day...

So, desserts like this can really come in handy for someone like me.

There are few things in life better than a chocolate covered pretzel, don't you think?  Well then, you'll love these as much as I did.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pretzel Bars
slightly adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
one 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini pretzels, coarsely chopped (use a large Ziploc and pound away - so easy!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.  Set aside.  Beat butter and sugars together in a mixing bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Turn speed to low and beat dry ingredients in until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and pretzels.

Spread batter evenly in pan.  Press down with spatula.  Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven even if center is still gooey - they will set.  Let cool completely.

Loosen bars from pan all around sides with a knife.  Cut in bars and serve.

Linked to: Tastetastic Thursday
                   Sweets for a Saturday

Key Lime Squares

Key lime - one of my favorites.  What's not to love?

It's a big favorite with a few of my close friends, too, as you may remember from my post with my key lime pie recipe.  And speaking of Chach, we had a blast at the Bruce concert Tuesday night (hence the reason I had no post for you yesterday...sorry!).  To all the fellow Bruce fans - make sure you see him this tour - it was a great show (then again, when is it not great?  Um, never!)

Just a little peek to show you how amazing our seats were...be jealous!

It never gets old, even after seeing him...oh, probably close to 40 times :)

So, now I've got two of my favorite things in this post...The Boss, and anything key lime.   These squares are perfect if you're still trying to figure out what to make for Easter dessert.  Give them a try!

Key Lime Squares
slightly adapted from Baked Perfection

2 1/4 cups AP flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
5 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup key lime juice
a few drops of green food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, combine flour, confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.  Cut in butter with 2 knives or pastry cutter until crumbs are formed.  Press evenly into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until slightly browned.

While crust is baking, combine eggs, sugar, lime juice, food coloring, 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.  Pour mixture over hot crust and bake for about 22-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool completely and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Linked to: Sweets for a Saturday
                   Easter Blog Hop

Dessert with a jolt (What's Baking?)

I was searching for the perfect dessert to serve with my eggnog ice cream over the weekend.  Then I remembered I still needed to choose a brownie to bake for our What's Baking? challenge this month.  So, I put on my thinking cap and tried to come up with a flavor that would be a nice compliment.

I had a few in mind, but ultimately I chose this chewy, rich, flavorful, caffeinated deliciousness.

The cappuccino brownie.

Hello, lover.

This really is a "brown"ie...the color is much lighter than its traditional counterpart.  The middle is actually darker, and super rich.  I LOVED this!  And it really was perfect with the eggnog ice cream.

Nicole from Seven Ate Nine chose brownies this month, since, well, December is National Brownie Month :)  I can't wait to see what the other ladies come up with!  Keep an eye out for the roundup that will be on Nicole's blog soon.  And make these for the holidays...you'll make a lot of people very merry!

Cappuccino Brownies
from Blue Eyed Bakers

1 pound (approximately 2 1/4 cups) dark brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter (I used salted...gasp!...and they turned out just fine)
2 tablespoons instant espresso coffee
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 (12 ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini ones, since that's all I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour a 9x13 pan.  Dissolve instant espresso into 1 tablespoon boiling water.  Set aside.

Heat butter and sugar together in microwave until dissolved.  Beat until mixture is smooth.  Add coffee and let mixture cool.  In separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder.

Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture once completely cooled.  Blend well, then stir in flour mixture until blended.  Add chocolate chips, stir until just combined, then turn into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes.  DO NOT overbake.  They taste best slightly underdone.

Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.  According to the original recipe writer, they're also great frozen!

Makes 36 brownies.

Where were you?

If you live in certain areas of the Northeast, remember where you were this past weekend.  Sooner or later, people are bound to ask where you were during the blizzard/Nor'easter/absolute craziness of Halloween Weekend 2011.  Unbelievable!

Snow blowers, hats, generators, falling tree branches, pure darkness, sirens.  This pretty much sums up all we heard and saw this weekend.  IN OCTOBER.  

Much of our area is still without power (we're running by generator) and isn't due to be restored until the middle or end of this week.  Schools have been canceled today, along with trick-or-treating, parades, and other activities that usually take place during clean, crisp Halloween weather.  

On Saturday, the day of the storm, I promised Bella we'd bake after her nap.  She was so excited when she woke up and rushed into the kitchen.  Little did she know, we lost power while she was recharging her little batteries.

A while later we got the generator going, but didn't have much time before bedtime to bake.  It's times like these when I'm glad I keep my emergency stash of cake and brownie mixes in the pantry.  In about 5 minutes, there was a very happy 3 year old watching Mommy put a pan of these in the oven.

What a great October snow day indulgence (sure, go ahead and have it during the REAL winter months, too).  This is also a great last minute dessert to throw together today while juggling the rest of your spooky activities!

Happy Halloween, everyone!


5 Minute Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
from Betty Crocker

For the filling:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the brownies:
1 box brownie mix (enough for 9x9 pan)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom only of 9x9 pan with cooking spray.  Mix all filling ingredients together in a bowl until smooth (by hand or with mixer).  Set aside.

Combine brownie ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Spread 3/4 of batter in pan.  Spoon filling by tablespoons over batter, then spoon remaining brownie batter over that.  Use a knife to swirl for marbled design.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of middle clean.  Cool completely and cut.  Store covered in refrigerator.

Linked to:  Sweets For A Saturday

Where is pumpkin, where is pumpkin...here I am!

Recognize that line?  If you have a 3 year old in preschool right now, you've probably been hearing it repeatedly for the past week.  Bella's been belting it out over and over...well, at least the parts that she knows. It's yet another reminder that it's that time of year.  A very cute reminder :)

Our theme for the latest recipe swap was anything including apples or the mighty pumpkin, and I've been well equipped with both (still working through the mountain of apples we picked last week!), so I was ready to take on whatever was given to me.  Heather's recipe was a nice switch, since it seems as if all the sweets I've been making so far this season have included anything but pumpkin.

These blondies are delicious.  Moist, fluffy and really tasty.  My kitchen smelled amazing.  I think the only thing I'd do differently next time is add more chocolate.  I mean, you can never go wrong with more chocolate. I just felt like it got a little lost and I would've liked to have had it in every bite.  

Bella ate hers in about 2.5 seconds.  Now if only I could get her to tackle broccoli as aggressively...

White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies

slightly adapted from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

2 1/4 cups AP flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar (I used dark because that's all I had)

1 egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup white chocolate chips (like I said, bump it up!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil, leaving some hanging over each side.

Mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.  Set aside.  In a mixing bowl, beat butter, applesauce and sugars together.  Once smooth, add egg and vanilla and mix until combined.  Mix in pumpkin puree.

Slowly add and mix dry ingredients in with the wet, until just combined.  Fold in white chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake for around 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out of center clean.  Let cool completely in pan.  

Lift cake from pan by the foil, then slowly peel foil off.  Cut into squares with a serrated edge knife.

Linked to: Friday Shout-Out
                 Sweet Tooth Friday
                 Sweets for a Saturday

Hey batter, batter

Another favorite flavor of mine - cake batter. Yum. And fun. It always livens up the party, no matter what form it's in.

When I saw this recipe I knew it was the way to go when I needed a quick dessert that was kid friendly. But if you think the adults shied away, think again.

You can't deny the power of cake batter...no matter how old you are. 

Cake Batter Crispy Treats
slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is

3 tablespoons butter
1 (10 oz) bag mini marshmallows
1/4 cup yellow cake mix
6 cups rice krispies cereal
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles, divided

Coat a baking pan (any size you like) with cooking spray. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows, stirring constantly. Continue to stir and add cake mix, little by little, so there are no lumps.

Add the cereal and sit until evenly coated with marshmallow mixture. Stir in half of the sprinkles. Spread mixture into pan evenly and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Spray knife with cooking spray before cutting into squares. Store in airtight container.

Linked to: Sweet Tooth Friday