Brownie Bites: A family favorite!

This super easy treat is a favorite of all. They are so easy to make, and a great dessert to serve when all you want to provide is a napkin. I can make a batch in less than an hour (if you want them cute it will take the full hour), but so worth it!

Ingredients:

Betty Crocker Brownie Mix (simply the best - do not use the mix with added chocolate chips). Make the mix according to directions, do not use egg substitute.

Sprinkles (everything is better with sprinkles) or your favorite topping. I have used Heath Bar brickle, coconut (use the extra fine baking coconut for even distribution), cookie crumbs, mini M&M's and graham cracker crumbs with finely chopped marshmallows for smore bites. Be creative, even if they aren't pretty, eat the mistakes. Those are the most fun!

Melted Chocolate/Almond Bark/Candy Melts (Wilton) for dipping. If you are serving these to chocolate addicts, you may want the "real good stuff" and melt high quality chocolate. I use both, but the "flavored" chocolate which is in the bark and melts, is very easy to work with and is very smooth to melt.

Wilton Brownie Pop silicone mold (a must, I have two)

Spray "Pam"  inside the cavity of the mold-make sure all sides are coated well.

Pour the prepared brownie batter into the mold and tap the mold gently to ensure even distribution.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. The time will vary depending upon how full you fill the mold. I fill 2/3 full so that the base of the brownie is flat and sits flush on the serving plate. Always place the mold on a cookie sheet for stability.

Once the brownies are finished, cool in the mold. If you are in a hurry, you can put them in the freezer. This mold is very durable, and can go from the oven to the freezer without any problems. I am not patient and I tend to use my freezer often to quicken the process.

 Turn on the brownie bites onto a clean surface, and make sure they are cool before you attempt to dip them. If you do not cool them completly, they will not dip well.

Melt the chips in a microwave safe bowl. Be careful not to overheat, the chips will be one huge ball of glue if you do not watch the chocolate carefully.
Dip the bites into the mixture, coating a little or a lot. I like to coat 1/2 of the bite.

Shake your favorite topping over the bite to coat. Mix it up and use different sprinkles or toppings for variety. Serve on a pretty cake plate, or seal in a cello bag for a special treat once they are cool.

Note: You can insert sticks into the top of the bites if you desire to make them "pops". Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate, then insert into the brownie. Make sure it is secure, I often freeze them at this point to ensure they are secure and will stay.

For the pops, you will dip the bottom and then coat. They are very cute and a favorite with the kids!

Yummy Zucchini Bread

We were fortunate to have our wonderful friends shower us with homegrown zucchini (and a lots of tomatoes) this summer. They have a wonderful garden that produced a lot of veggies, and we graciously accepted the pesticide free crop. We had zucchini in every form, but my favorite is zucchini bread fresh from the oven. Here is one of the best recipes I have tried:

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups shredded zucchini (12 ounces)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
• "Pam" cooking spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) in a large bowl.
• Combine egg substitute and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl; add sugar, stirring until combined. Add zucchini; stir until well combined. Add flour mixture; stir just until combined. Stir in walnuts.

• Divide batter evenly between 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

I'm on TV!

I was filmed for national news today. It is such an honor to be featured and to include pictures of me baking some of my favorite things. I baked cupcakes and brownie pops, it was quite fun. They took lots of pictures of me baking, then of me blogging my entry.

I met with the nicest people from NBC news, and they are "featuring" me and my baking as part of the interview. They asked me what I loved to do during the initial interview and I said bake. The interview was to discuss my surgery that I had two years ago, but it ended up as a baking adventure. The producers/camera man were very easy to work with and made the adventure fun. The camera man is also the NBC lead camera operator at Stanford football games, I will look for him each week.

 I was chosen because I had such success post surgery and the FDA is in the process of approving the procedure after two years of clinical trials. What a hoot, they made me feel like a star! I was originally going on the Dr. Oz show as a clip of successful surgical patients, but the producers decided to make it a national news show to be shown all over the country, and featured on all links. There is two hours of me baking and being interviewed about the surgery. I am sure there will only be a few minutes (if that) of me in the end, but it is a memory. I will post the link when they send it to me.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: America's Fuel

Chocolate Chip CookiesThis is my very favorite type of cookie and my favorite cookie recipe of all time. I have made countless batches, but my most memorable ones are the ones I made on the first day of the new school year. I had a cookie tradition that I hope my children and their friends will remember.  Every year on the first day of school the kids were greeted with cookies as they stepped in the door. We sat down to share our "cookie chat" about the first day during the first few hours of the big day. I have so many fond memories of home made "first day" cookies. I regret not taking pictures of them sitting around the table with big glasses of milk and a plate of warm cookies.
The tradition started when Matt entered kindergarten. I had made these cookies and when he came home he called them his "first day of school cookies".  On that  day in September of 1986, I decided that I would bake cookies on the first day of every school year to mark this huge yearly event.   Even if it was 100+ degrees outside, I made the cookies to welcome home my children and a new school year. It was very bittersweet the year I baked cookies when Allison was a senior. I remember thinking that I wouldn't have anyone to bake for the following year, and I ended a 19 year tradition of first day cookies.
Whenever I make this recipe I think of the wonderful times shared around the table on the first day, and how lucky I am to share them with three great children.

All-time Best Cookies (or First Day Cookies)

Serves: A lot
It makes A LOT of cookies, but every bite is worth the enormous amount of calories that come along with the sugar and vanilla. You may have to run a few extra miles during your workout, but enjoy every step after eating these yumm-o's.

One pound of butter (yup, use the real stuff)
One box of light or dark brown sugar, your preference. I usually use light
1.5 cups of white sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
3 Eggs
Cream all the above ingredients together.

Add slowly:
5.5 cups of flour
1.5 teaspoons for soda
1.5 teaspoons of salt
Batter will be thick and simply lovely for taste testing.

Then add:
2 bags or 4 cups of semi-sweet chips (the new bags are smaller now, 11 ounces instead of 12, so I would add the full amount so that you have plenty of the rich chocolate goodness in each bite)
Optional: 2.5 cups of chopped nuts

Very important: Use a Silpat! These are wonderful baking sheets that allow ease in removing your cookies. One of the best investments you will ever make. There is no need to grease the sheet, the Silpat is a wonder. There are many brands of baking sheets, I have tried them all. For the most part they are all excellent.

Drop cookies using an ice cream scoop, you will get uniform shaped cookies.

Bake at 275 degrees for 18-20 minutes (the secret, this is why they are so soft and good-slow baking)

Cool slightly before removing from Silpat. They are really best warm with a large glass of cold milk. Bakeries believe that cookies should be eaten within 4-6 hours of taking them out of the oven. That is a big task with this large amount of dough, but they are still good the next day.

Summer Favorites

We had a heat "spell" and I did not bake as I had planned over the past month. Living in Southern California is wonderful, but the summers can be warm and it does not motivate me to cook/bake. Heating the kitchen on a summer day is not appealing, or energy wise with an air conditioner cranking away. But, I am catching up now with a little cool weather and here are a few family favorites.

Hamburger Cookies
There is never a summer barbeque that is not complete without the "Hamburger Cookie". Very simple, but always a crowd pleaser. My children grew up with these annual summer time treats, and their friends would always request them when we had a pool party. 
I made them for the first time (with all the ingredients) the summer before Matt went into kindergarten. He is the inspiration for them and should receive all of the credit. We were playing "chef for the day" one hot summer dayand he was the cook.  (Brian and I were his customers). I remember the day clearly, they were so cute. Matt took a box of vanilla wafers and was cooking them in a large pan. There happened to be a bag of York peppermints nearby, and he opened them adding them to the vanilla wafers. He put them together like a sandwich, and served them on a platter. He created our first family hamburger cookie, we have since added the coconut and sesame seeds. It is such a fond memory of mine. There have been many versions of this cookie that I have seen, but this is my favorite. I keep all of the ingredients on hand and they can be made in less than ten minutes.
                                                                          

                                             

Ingredients:
One box of Vanilla Wafers (use Nabisco, they have the least number for broken cookies and they are just the right size for the mints)
One large bag of York Peppermint Patties (the best because they are thick and are usually perfect coming right out of the wrapper)
Coconut: tinted green with food coloring
Sesame Seeds



Tint the cocount and allow to dry before rolling cookie edges. I always tint a large bag and freeze the leftovers for future use

Vanilla wafers should be smooth with no chips or broken areas and placed face down on a paper towel. I place about 15 in the microwave at a time, be careful not to have them touching. I then place one mint patty on top, directly in the center.

Microwave for a short period of time, I usually microwave 5-10 seconds until the sides of the mint patties shine. Do not do more time, they will explode (I am speaking from experience).

Place another cookie directly on top, flat side down and remove from the microwave.

 Gently roll the sides of the cookie in the prepared coconut, tapping the coconut to secure it to the sides of the cookie. Set aside to ensure that the mints dry.

It is now time to add the sesame seeds for the "bun". In a small bowl, add water, this will be the "glue" to secure the seeds. Dip your finger into the water and place a few drops of water on the top of cookie. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top right away, it will dry almost instantly.

Hamburger cookies, such a fun treat!