Truffle Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and I can honestly say, I am still a little obsessed with pumpkin.  I cannot wait for pumpkin pie, I am making my pumpkin soup as I write this, and I am thinking about attempting some sort of pumpkin macaroon (have lots of egg whites on hand).

My Thanksgiving menu is already set and organized and I am not planning on adding to it.  However, my kids are off from school this week and later today, we are meeting friends for a hike.  Our plan is to go out for lunch after the hike, yet I knew everyone is going to end up back at our house to play for a bit.  I wanted to have some snacks on hand.  I whipped up these truffle brownie pumpkin cheesecake bites as I had some left over pumpkin puree in the fridge.  Rather than making them in a 9x9" pan, I opted to make individuals in my silicone baking muffin pans.  These are going to be the perfect compliment to a big bowl of pomegranate seeds and a white bean dip with roasted pita chips.  Maybe, we will skip lunch all together and simply come home for the snacks!

Truffle Brownie + Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

yield: 28 mini bites

ingredients:

brownies:

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 stick of butter, cubed

2 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa

1 Tbls. espresso powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1 cup flour

cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbls. flour

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

instructions:

• preheat oven to 350*

for the brownie layer:

• melt chocolate, butter, cocoa, and espresso powder in a bowl over simmering water.

• remove bowl from the heat and add the sugar, vanilla, and salt.  add the egg and mix until smooth.

• fold in the flour.

• using a small ice cream scoop, scoop batter into individual muffin tins. set aside while you make the cheesecake

for the cheesecake layer:

• in the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

• add the sugar and combine

• add the egg and the vanilla and mix to combine

• mix in the remaining ingredients until fully incorporated.

• using the same ice cream scooper(cleaned, of course), scoop over brownie mixture and fill muffin cups almost to the top.

• using a toothpick or small skewer swirl the cheesecake mixture slightly to form a pattern with the brownie mixture.

• bake 20-25 minutes, rotating pans back to front mid through.  brownie bites are done when the top of the cheesecake feels slightly firm to the touch.

• let cool on a wire rack.  once cool, stick in the fridge for about 45 minutes.  once totally firm, pop the brownie bites out of the muffin cups and enjoy!!

Black Bottom Pecan Praline Bars

We had way too many commitments this past weekend.  Which always means lots of cooking and lots of transporting.  I wanted simple, easy and stuff that I could do in advance.  


I was doing my early morning blog reading, when I was inspired (yet again) from Patricia's post on these lovely bars.  I instantly made a batch before the kids woke up.  The praline mixture was the perfect balance of very, very sweet with salty.  I "accidentally" licked the spatula after I laid the praline mixture over the brownie base.  Oops!  It was a tiny morsel of perfection.  


Another plus to these perfect bars; no mixer required. Happiness all the way around!


Black bottom pecan praline bars
adapted from here
yield 16 pieces

ingredients:
brownie layer
2 oz. (56g)  unsweetened chocolate (I use valhrona)
4 Tbls. (56g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup + 1 Tbls. (112g) caster sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cold large egg
1/4 cup (35g) all purpose flour

praline layer:
1/4 cup (35g) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbls. (56g) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup + 2 Tbls. (70g) packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups (140g) pecans, coarsely chopped

instructions:
• preheat oven to 350* butter an 8" square pan and line the bottom with parchment, leaving an overhang.  butter the parchment.
for the brownie layer:
• place the chocolate and the butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. stir frequently until smooth and the butter has melted.
• remove the bowl from the heat.  stir in the sugar, vanilla, + salt with a spatula.
• add the egg. stir in the flour and beat it until the batter is smooth, glossy, and beginning to come away from the sides of the bowl.
• spread the brownie batter in a thin layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.
for the praline layer:
• mix the flour and baking soda together, set aside
• combine the melted butter, sugar, and slat in a medium bowl. stir in the egg yolk and vanilla, then the flour mixture and finally the nuts.
• drop spoonfuls all over the top of the brownie batter ( the praline mixture will spread).
• bake until the edges and top are well browned and cracked, 20-25 minutes.
• let cool completely in pan on a rack.
• lift the ends of the parchment and transfer to a cutting board.  cut with a warm knife.

Salted Butter Caramel

I can eat this with a spoon.  And happily so.  I have mentioned it before, caramel is one of my favorite foods.  Rolos, Sees scotch kisses and scotch mallows, 100,000.00 dollar bar, sugar babies, and sugar daddy's - just to name a few.

I had some left over brownies ( here ) from last week and although they could stand on their own, I wanted to make some mudslides for the kids and their friends.  I also wanted to deliver jars of caramel to some of my friends ( which I did, with a quart of ice cream).  I like all things David Lebovitz.  I wanted to try his caramel sauce recipe.  This caramel sauce will go down as one of the best ones I have made to date!

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce
adapted from David Lebovitz, The Sweet Life of Paris

ingredients:
2 cups ( 400g) sugar
1 2/3 cups (400g) heavy cream
2 Tbsp. (30g) salted butter
1/4 tsp. fleur de sel or to taste

instructions:
• spread sugar in a heavy duty pan, set over moderate heat and cook without stirring, until the sugar liquefies (at the edges).
• using a wooden spoon, gently stir the mixture, bringing the melted sugar from the edges into the center.  don't forget to stir the sugar from the bottom of the pan.  the mixture will be pebbly, but keep stirring until it turns amber.
• continue to cook until it is deep brown in color. it will start to smoke.  the mixture is ready when it is the color of an aged penny.
• remove from the heat and quickly stir in 1/3 of the cream.  it will bubble.  continue to whisk in the remaining cream, slowly.  when it is all smooth, add the butter and salt.
• the sauce can store for one month in the fridge.  mine won't last that long!

Brownie Perfection

I love reading my friend, Patricia's blog; Technicolor Kitchen.  Her photos are flawless, her recipes are mouth watering and her content is inspiring.  When she posted the "best cocoa brownies"  I immediately ran into the kitchen to make these.  After reading the ingredients, I knew they were going to be perfection so I decided to double the recipe.  I baked them in a 10" x 15 pan rather than an 8" pan.  In my opinion, they were the perfect thickness.  As I was cutting these, they were disappearing.  A single recipe recipe just isn't enough!

Best Cocoa Brownies
inspired by Technicolor Kitchen

ingredients:
10 Tbls. unsalted butter
1 1/4 (250g) cups sugar - we both used vanilla sugar*
3/4 cup + 2 Tbls (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch process)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup (70g) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (74g) pecan pieces (optional)

instructions:
• preheat oven to 325*
• line the bottom and sides of an 8" square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang.  butter the parchment.
• in a medium heatproof bowl, add the butter and set on top of a large sauce pan with barely simmering watter.  melt the butter, then add the sugar and salt, stir until combined.  next, add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test.  remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm.
• stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon.  add the eggs one at at time, stirring vigorously after each one.  when the batter is thick, shiny and well blended add the flour until you cannot see it, then beat vigorously  with a wooden spoon.  if using, stir in the nuts.
• bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out slightly moist with batter.  let cool completely
• once cool, set in fridge for an hour (this makes cutting much easier).  lift up the ends of the parchment and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.  cut into 2" squares on bite size 1" squares.

hide a few and save for a rainy day.

* to make vanilla sugar: fill a small jar with sugar.  scrape the seeds from 1 vanilla bean and stir seeds into the sugar.  add the pod to the sugar and mix in.  seal tightly and store in a cool, dark place.  vanilla sugar can last indefinitely.

Chevre Brownies

Brownies are the perfect picnic food.  I wanted chocolate, I wanted a brownie, but I wanted something a little different.  I thought a cream cheese brownie would be great but didn't have cream cheese.  However, what I did have was some goat cheese.  I thought, what the heck...I am going to experiment.

I used the brownie base for David Lebovitz's ( Ready for Dessert ) cheesecake brownies, but swapped the cream cheese for goat cheese and added a touch more sugar ( to compensate for the tartness in the goat cheese).  I also omitted the chocolate chips from the actual brownie base and instead took a skinny bar of Valrhona and did a rough chop.  After swirling in the cheese mixture, I dotted the top of the brownies with the chocolate chunks. This ended up being a delicious experiment!

Chevre Brownies
adapted from David Lebovitz
yield 16 brownies

ingredients:

brownies
6 Tbls. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa powder ( I use Valrhona )
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate chunks

goat-cheesecake topping
8 oz. mild goat cheese, room temp
1 large egg yolk
6 Tbls. sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

instructions:
• preheat oven to 350*.  spray the inside of a 9" square baking pan w/cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving some overhang.  lightly spray the parchment.
• for the brownies, in a medium saucepan melt the butter, then add the 4 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, melt over low heat until smooth.  remove from heat and stir in the 2/3 cup of sugar, followed by the eggs.  add the rest of the ingredients, minus the chocolate chunks.  using a small off set spatula, spread evenly in the prepared pan.
• for the cheesecake, in a medium bowl, beat all the ingredients until smooth and incorporated. distribute the cheesecake mixture in dollops over top of brownie batter.  with a butter knife, swirl the cheese mixture into the brownie.  don't mix and swirl as you will end up with a muddy mess.  you want it to look streaky.   dot the tops of the brownies with the chopped bittersweet chocolate, distributing evenly.
• bake until brownies are set in the center, about 35 minutes.  let cool completely in the pan before removing.
• I stored these in the fridge.

Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes

This was the one of the three desserts I made for last weeks fund raiser.  I wanted little finger desserts as the food was going to be heavy appetizers.  This was a good trio; mini chocolate mascrapone cheesecakes, mini lemon bundts, and pecan tea tassies.  I have made these cheesecakes in the past (post here) and they are super delicious.  They keep well in the freezer, they are not too sweet and they are the perfect size.

The recipe doesn't call for a baked crust.  I like my cheesecake with a baked crust.  I had some brownie ends in the freezer.  I had just enough crumbs to make 48 mini cheesecakes.  After filling the 48 tart pans, I still had filling.  i decided to take my 8" spring form pan and make mama "G" a cheesecake.  I didn't have any left over crust, so I crumbled up about a 1/2 cup of graham crackers, added a tablespoon of sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter and made that her crust (pre-baked crust at 350* for about 10 minutes).

Delivered all the desserts to the fund raiser, then headed over to the "G's" and gave them their goodies.  I left a few of everything behind, because had I not done so, I probably would have been locked out of the house.

Check out my post from last October to get the recipe for these delicious cheesecakes.

Bite size brownies

I got a call on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. asking me if I could make some stuff for the kids weekend religious school retreat.  I was asked to make dough for 8 challahs (?) as well as "something sweet".  Thank goodness for my frozen cookie doughs in my freezer!  I was able to make 4 1/2 dozen cookies.  Also threw in a fresh batch of bite size brownies.

My Sherry Yard Pastries book was on my  kitchen counter so I decided to just make hers.  I wanted to embellish them, but after making the challah dough, I had to keep it simple.  She calls these "Out-of-this-world-brownies" and although I used only the best ingredients, they were more of an earthly creation (for my taste, not so out-of-this-world).  I saved some of the edges, froze them and will use scraps for a cheesecake crust.

I am sure they were ingested and enjoyed.  I am almost positive I will get no complaints!

ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. flour
1/4/ tsp. salt
4 oz. unsalted butter, chopped
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate-the good stuff, chopped
7 oz. bittersweet chocolate-chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar


directions:
• Preheat oven to 350*.  Line an 8" square baking pan with foil and spray.
• Sift flour & salt.
• Melt butter, unsweetened chocolate, & bittersweet chocolate in glass bowl over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Cool.
• Beat eggs & sugar until fluffy.  Whisk in butter & chocolate mixture.  Add flour.
• Scrape into pan and bake 25-30 minutes until slightly firm.
• Allow to cool before cutting.

Cappuccino Brownies

The baking marathon continues. I was planning on making these mini Reine de Saba's for the chocolate portion of the "break fast" dessert-fest. I had every intention of doing so until I was surfing the net for a recipe for white chocolate ganache. My idea was to dip or drizzle this over the chocolate cakes. However, while searching I found this recipe for Cappuccino Brownies. They looked so good that I scratched the mini idea and decided to make a double batch of these. So glad I did! They were easy and delicious.

A few people asked my friend where she "bought" the brownies from. She happily said, "I didn't buy them anywhere", my friend made them! Hee hee!

What made these unique was the sprinkling of cinnamon on the top. Had I not done that, I personally don't think they would have been as special.

I also whipped up a double batch of my all time favorite ginger molasses cookies (see older blog entries). These are so delicious.

The goodies were a hit. Now I can rest (at least until my next urge to concoct something in the kitchen)!

The Beach and Brownies

Before school ended for the school year, we planned a beach day with Cassidy, Gracie and Jessie G. We scheduled it for the first week of summer.

We packed a picnic, I baked some brownies and we loaded up the car with all the beach gear and set off for a really fun, casual, easy day.

I pulled out my 125 Cookie book and selected a not so complicated brownie recipe. The recipe called for semi-sweet chocolate bits, but I substituted both white chocolate and bittersweet chocolate. These are must for anyone's repertoire!

Ingredients:

6 Tbl. unsalted butter
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 C. plus 2 Tbl. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 C. pus 2 Tbl. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. chocolate chips (your preference)
I used both white and bittersweet chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Butter an 8x8x2-inch pan

2. Put the butter, unsweetened chocolate and 2 Tbl. water in large heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

4. Beat eggs and sugar until lightened in color. Add vanilla. Add chocolate mixture, blending until incorporated. Add the flour mixture. Stir in the chips. Spread the batter, evenly, in the prepared pan.

5. Bake for about 30-35 minutes (mine were perfect at 30 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for about 1 1/2 hours. Cut and enjoy.

These would also be great with nuts!

The weather was perfect, the company was perfect and their was no one on the beach, but us!

The End of An Era

I was born in the house my mom currently lives in. My dad passed away two years ago and there were times that I thought, her living in that house, all by herself could be a little overwhelming.  She had talked about the possibility of moving, but kept saying she wasn't ready.  When her dog, Becky, of 15 years passed in April, she all of a sudden became ready.  She was no longer comfortable living "alone".

My cousin, a realtor in Manhattan Beach, hooked my mom up with a realtor in her neighborhood.  Within one week of the meeting, there was a for sale sign on my mom's lawn and an open house was scheduled for that first weekend.  The house sold in one day.  In this awful economy, none of us were prepared for how much needed to get done over the next 45 days (her escrow period).

We spent lots of time going through the house and all of the memories.  The more we cleaned out and packed up, the more my mom was willing to let go of. 

While I was photographing all of her furniture to put on Craig's list, my kids came in and said, "let's have a garage sale".  I don't really like garage sales.  They are a waste of time.  However, my kids really wanted to do it.  I gave in.  

Then they insisted we have goodies at the garage sale. I couldn't turn down an opportunity to bake.  For something like this, I usually like 3 variety's of baked treats.  I baked the first two and pretty much hit the wall.  

Eli requested Snicker doodles.  I was reading my Maida Heatter's Cookies book and found an Oatmeal Snicker doodle recipe.  I don't make a lot of snicker doodles and I find them a little bland.  The fact that these had oatmeal in them was appealing.  These were shaped more like a mound when baked.  I like a cookie like this that flattens out when baked.  I wasn't crazy about them.  However, everyone else really liked them.  We had so many left over that I packed them up in a huge bag and  sent them to school

with Eli the next day.  His classmates gobbled them up.

I decided to make some brownies to go along with them.   I wanted a recipe that had peanut butter in it. I had three jars of peanut butter in the cupboard all of which had about 1/4 to 1/2 cup each in them.  I found a peanut butter swirl brownie recipe in the Martha Stewart's Cookies.  Perfect!  I was able to make a delicious brownie and clean out my cupboard at the same time.  

The office girls at the kid's elementary school enjoyed the left overs the next day!

BROWNIE BITES

I wanted to bake today (aside from the near 100 degree weather) for my friend.  She has gotten some really lousy news lately and chocolate has the ability to lift ones spirits.

I just got a new book, bite-size desserts by Carole Bloom.  I was tempted to try many of the worthy delectables in the book, however the heat got the best of me.  I decided to try the "wicked brownie bites". Very easy, simple, pantry ingredients.   If you decide to get the book, which I highly recommend, and decide to make these chocolaty treats, check these prior to the suggested time.   She suggests you bake them for 20-25 mins.  However, I would cook them for 18 minutes and keep checking after each minute. They came out a little too hard on the outside.  Don't get they were still really good, moist on the inside, crispy on the outside.  If it were up to my kids, they would have devoured all 36 of them!

Levi got the first one!