Marshmallow Creme Brownies

My grandmother was an amazing woman. And she made amazing brownies. I'm amazed it's taken me this long to make them myself.

I was going to go to the gym. But then I went to the grocery store instead.


You too should go to the grocery store.

Bottom Layer:
6 tbsp cocoa
2 sticks melted margarine
2 c sugar
1½ c flour
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c chopped pecans
Middle Layer:
1 jar marshmallow creme (7 oz)
Top Layer:
½ stick melted margarine
½ c evaporated milk
½ c cocoa
1 box confectioners sugar (approx 4 cups)
½ tsp vanilla

You'll also need a large cookie sheet, and you'll want to grease that cookie sheet.


For the bottom layer...

Melt the margarine, and beat in the cocoa and sugar


Beat in the eggs, then add the flour and vanilla


I chopped up the pecans in my little food chopper






Spread it out on your greased cookie sheet


Bake at 350 for 17 minutes


Then spread the jar of marshmallow creme all over the top


It'll melt a bit, which makes it easier to spread


For the last layer, bring ½ stick of margarine and ½ cup of evaporated milk to a boil


Then add ½ cup cocoa, the confectioners sugar, and ½ tsp vanilla




Pour that over the top, and spread it out


The chocolate might mix a little with the marshmallow creme, and this is fine. You can make a point of marbling it consistently by mixing deeper as you spread (I used the back of a spoon)


Then you'll want to chill the whole thing (perhaps let it cool off a bit before you stick it in the fridge). Then cut the brownies into squares!


Once they're cut up, I store them in the freezer, just like my grandmother, and they're a great frozen treat!


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Toffee Brownies and Blondies

Do you often find yourself with an excess of chocolate toffee bars? No? You should try it sometime.



I purchased some Hershey's Almond and Toffee Symphony bars because of these amazing brownies a lady at my work makes with them. They're ridiculously easy, and ridiculously awesome. All you need is a family size brownie mix and several of the chocolate toffee bars (enough to cover whatever size pan you're using).

They come in different sizes. Bigger and better.


The family size brownie mix will fill a 13 x 9 pan, but you can also use a square pan, your brownies will just come out thicker. Ah, the wonders of science!

Start by following the directions on the back of the box. Then pour half the mix into your (greased) pan of choice, and cover with a layer of toffee bars (depending on your pan size and your bar size, they'll either fit across the pan perfectly, or you'll need to puzzle piece them together a little bit).


Then pour the other half of the mix over the top, and cook the brownies as directed (just check them with a fork or toothpick, they may or may not need a few extra minutes).




Then earlier today I came across a recipe for Heath Bar Brownies. I happened to have a large portion of one of my toffee and almond bars left, so I ran it through my food chopper and determined that I had enough to make this recipe (you could always supplement with chocolate chips...in fact you should probably add some of those anyway).

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped Heath Bars (or in this case, almond and toffee Symphony bars)

Preheat your oven to 350, and start by creaming together the brown sugar and melted butter. Then beat in the egg and vanilla. Next, add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until blended.

Finally, stir in the Heath/Toffee/Whatever bars (or whatever addition you prefer) and pour into a greased 8x8 pan.


Bake for 30-35 minutes.


Let them cool completely, and then cut them up, separating out the best pieces for yourself and eating them before anyone else can.


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Chocolate Chip Muffins

I had a craving chocolate chip cookies, but not all the ingredients. I had also used several pans at dinner, which I didn't feel like cleaning. So instead of chocolate chip cookies, I opted for chocolate chip muffins.

Choosing muffins really only solved my limited pan problem...it didn't change my "missing ingredients" problem. But I didn't let that stop me.

I found this recipe online, from McCormick:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
½ cup unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Some of the ingredients


I didn't have baking powder, but I figured it would be fine with just the baking soda. I also didn't have any milk, because I don't drink milk, and therefore do not stock it. But I did have a packet of condensed milk! I understand that is not meant to be a replacement for regular milk, but I really didn't care, so I used it anyway. And why is everyone so into "semi-sweet" morsels? Why would you want semi-sweet anything? I used milk chocolate morsels because I'm an "all-in" kinda girl. We don't half-ass chocolate in this house.

Other than that I pretty much followed the same directions as the original recipe.

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease or line 12 muffins cups (or 2 mini muffin pans).

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.


In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in melted butter, milk, and vanilla.


Add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.


Here come the morsels!


Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.




Bake for 12-15 minutes (20-22 minutes for regular sized muffins), or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.




Enjoy! Preferably warm.


I don't think the lack of baking powder or use of condensed milk made the recipe any better or worse. I would probably use regular milk if I had it.

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Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos
1 8oz package of cream cheese (block or the round container)
1 tsp of vanilla
1 package of chocolate almond bark
optional: vanilla almond bark
necessary kitchen contraption: food processor

Might as well get double stuffed.


Obliterate in food processor.


Add cream cheese. And a teaspoon of vanilla.


Obliterate some more. At this point I usually stick the mixture in the fridge for a bit so it can cool before you have to stick your hands in it (makes things easier).


Roll into balls. (your hands will get dirty, get over it). Chill in fridge for about a half an hour (or freezer, if your pan fits).


Yay no trans-fat! Yay microwavable!


mmmmmmm


Dip in chocolate...I usually do this by using two forks, and I'll roll the balls back and forth in the bowl of chocolate. Then chill in fridge/freezer again.


To make up for the non-smoothness, I then scribble on them with vanilla almond bark (melt a little block or two in a plastic baggie, and then cut off a corner). And sometimes I add sprinkles!


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