A love letter to Katie Blue, and a recipe for the most amazing brownies

Beloved Katie Blue,

I'm amazed at what stands for a brownie these days.  Of course, part of the problem is that the brownies made today almost always come from a box.  You know my feelings about boxes, they are fine but they are never made with the quality of ingredients I like to use and often not in the same amounts I would prefer.  They are aiming for middle ground.  Some people like fudgy brownies, some people like cake-like, etc.  I have been testing brownies for years and I know you prefer the mix you found and that's okay, but the truth is these brownies rock the crowds they've been fed to and some day you might grow up (and I hope I'm still here to hand it to you) but just in case you want it and God has called me home, you'll be able to find it here.

I love you, sweetie,
Momma

The story of amazing brownies started a long time ago.  I'd find one and think it was perfect and then grow tired of it and try another.  This recipe, though, has been with me for a while and I think it might be the one.  Of course, God has given me more time than any of us expected, so who knows if I will change my mind, but for now this is the one.

This recipe is adapted from Ina Gartens recipe "Outrageous Brownies" and you can check it out, but I like my version better, I find the brownies hold together better and withstand being plated one on top of another a little better which is necessary for my ministry work.  You can't plate 2 dozen brownies on several plastic plates and not have to stack them!

The "important" ingredients

Momma's Awesome Brownies

1 pound butter

1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 extra-large eggs

2 tablespoons instant espresso

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped walnuts, fresh toasted and cooled

Directions

Melted chocolate and butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.  (Half sheet pan)

Use a large pot and fill 1/3 way with water, place a large bowl over as a lid and bring the water to a strong simmer.  Place 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in the bowl, stir it occasionally.  While waiting for the chocolate to melt, unwrap four sticks of butter and cut them into slices.  This is not necessary but they will melt quicker than throwing in whole sticks.  Add them to the chocolate and stir until it is all melted.  Remove the bowl and place it on a cooling rack while you are busy doing the next steps.   

In another large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, espresso powder, vanilla, and sugar.  

Combine walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl, sprinkle with a good spoonful of the measured flour and mix to coat these treats. 

In another medium bowl, sift together  cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. 

Why didn't I take a picture of a cut brownie?

Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, add flour mixture and when almost totally combined add want mixture, stir only as long as necessary to combine it all.  Pour into the sheet pan and bake for about 35 minutes, checking with a toothpick at 30 minutes. You do not want to overtake these awesome brownies.  Allow them to cool completely before cutting.  Miss Ina cuts these huge lovelies into 20 brownies.  I get 40 brownies from this recipe.  

Enjoy!

A hint about toasting walnuts:
Walnuts are easy to toast and taste MUCH better in almost every recipe I use them in.  Simply measure them out onto a sheet pan and toast on 300F until you can smell them, 10-15 minutes depending on whether they were fresh or frozen when you started.

Shall we take a trip to the dump? Dump Bars Recipe

We had a crazy weekend last week.   (Um, October is a crazy month for high school marching bands.  Every post I make this month might start with a "crazy weekend" sentence!) Katie Blue was performing at a game on Friday night and then had to be up very early, hair and make-up at least started and get on a bus to make it to the competition site before 9:00.  They had to wait all day to find out the results of the daytime performance and know if they would perform in the finals competition of the evening.  It was Wednesday of last week when I started asking myself what on earth I was going to make for Sunday when I wasn't going to have time on Saturday night to get it done.  (And, if I was out to midnight, would I really want to get up on Sunday morning at 4:30 to do something, let it cool, cut it and plate it for an 8:30 departure time?  Um, no.)

I began searching recipes for things I could do on Saturday morning or even on Friday that would wait patiently for Sunday morning delivery.  It had to be moist but not sticky.  Of course it had to be tasty.  What on earth would I make?  I started thinking about some of the things from my childhood and for whatever reason it lead me to a book I own called "The Church Potluck Supper Cookbook" by Elaine Robinson and started to flip through it.  It makes me laugh because I honestly don't know when or where I got this book and I can't tell you what drew me to it this month, but I promise you I will be using it more in the future.  There were some great dessert recipes and lots of interesting recipes for meals that don't have sugar, chocolate and nuts in them.  

I was able to make these bars early on Saturday morning and leave them cooling while we were at the competition.  I cut and plated them when I got back to the house Saturday evening and went to bed grateful to be able to "sleep in" to 6:00 AM!!  Enjoy!

Dump Bars

2 sticks butter

1 pound brown sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups, plus 1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds in one pan, walnuts in another, both worked.)

1 cup chocolate chips

Set oven to 325 F and grease a 9 x 13" pan.

Melt butter, add sugar and stir to combine.  Add eggs, vanilla and salt.  Mix well.  In a smaller bowl combine flour, baking powder and coconut and add it to the liquids.  Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle the top with nuts and chocolate chips.  Bake 35-40 minutes.  

Back in the 1980's I had a co-worker who had created a triple chocolate cheesecake recipe and after she had done a year of competing (and winning) around the country she gave me a copy of her recipe.  I began making it with much success including winning some local contests.  I haven't made it in in many years, more than 10 I'm sure.  This month I had an event to do several desserts for and decided it was time to dust this memory off.  Unfortunately I looked and looked and couldn't find my copy of her recipe.  Well, it seems she shared it around the world, thank goodness.  I found several sites with this very recipe so I'm going to re-publish it here, especially because I remember it from the good old days of Prince, David Bowie and a much finer waist line, even when enjoying cheesecake!

Women's Day happened to publish this in a list of 15 excellent cheesecakes.  You might want to check it out for  more ideas, I know I will be doing so, after all, they published the triple chocolate cheesecake recipe that I loved.

http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/dessert-recipes/15-heavenly-cheesecakes-12004

triple chocolate cheesecake

Photo Credit: Deborah Ory

Serves: 16

Total Time: 1 hr 30 min

Prep Time: 45 min

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2  stick(s) (4 Tbsp) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup(s) chocolate cookie crumbs (about 27 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers or 20 Oreo cookies, finely crushed)

Filling

• 3   (8 oz each) bricks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
• 1  cup(s) sugar
• 2  tablespoon(s) cornstarch
• 3  large eggs
• 1/2  cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
• 1  tablespoon(s) vanilla extract
• 4  ounce(s) milk chocolate
• 4  ounce(s) white chocolate
• 4  ounce(s) semisweet chocolate

Chocolate Glaze

• 3  ounce(s) bittersweet baking chocolate
• 2  tablespoon(s) stick butter
• 1  tablespoon(s) light corn syrup

Directions

1. Place a sheet of foil on oven rack to catch any drips. Heat oven to 350°F. You'll need an 8 x 3-in. springform pan coated with nonstick spray.
2. In small bowl, rub butter into crumbs until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press firmly over bottom of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes on foil sheet until set. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
3. Beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl several times with a silicone or rubber spatula. With mixer on low speed beat in eggs, one at a time, then sour cream and vanilla just until blended.
4. Divide the batter evenly (about 2 cups each) among 3 medium bowls. Melt the chocolates separately. Stir milk chocolate into 1 bowl of batter, white chocolate into another and semisweet chocolate into third. Spread milk chocolate batter in prepared crust in an even layer. Carefully spoon white chocolate batter over milk chocolate layer to cover; gently smooth with an offset spatula (do not let batters run together). Spoon semisweet chocolate batter over white chocolate layer to cover; smooth with an offset spatula (do not let batters run together).
5. Bake 1 1/4 hours or until set and center still jiggles slightly when shaken (cake should have pulled away from sides of pan; if not, carefully run a thin knife around edge of pan to release cheesecake). Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
6. Combine glaze ingredients in a small saucepan; whisk over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; let cool 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove pan sides; place cheesecake on serving plate. Spread glaze over top of cheesecake, just to the edge (some glaze may drip down side of cake). Refrigerate just until glaze is set or, if chilled longer, let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.