Brownie Points For Perfection

Please excuse the fact I still sometimes use my awful cell's (chocolate touch) camera to take some of the pictures for my blogs. I often misplace my sony dig cam. I did find it this time though.

BROWNIES....

They take time, effort and love.

But you will get in what you put out. My brownies, don't judge me, are semi-GF. Being that I am playing with recipes for "from scratch" brownies (dense fudgy flakey slightly chewy being about the hardest of brownie types to get perfect), I did not feel safe swimming in such deep unfamiliar waters without a life preserver. So I mixed half n half all purpose normal flour with bobs red mill all purpose flour. So consider them...

 "LOW GLUTEN" BROWNIES.

Official name for my creation? Hmmm lets just say...

(REDUCED GLUTEN) DECADENT SALTED BROWNIES

or.... FUDGY FRIDGE BROWNIES

Salted you ask? Yes. In most gourmet recipes, for high quality chocolate treats, often times grey salt or fine sea salt is sprinkles on top to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. My recipe does this to, at the end, but before cooking. This recipe is made up a mostly two recipes, but ideas from researching many. The main two sources were "Williams Sonoma - Hazel Nut Brownies" and "Americas Test Kitchen - Chewy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies". I combined both methods.

Example. One said melt butter with chocolate, one said whip butter until fluffy, I did both, half one half the other. Which was necessary after other alterations were made. Adding the cocoa powder to the melted chocolates was a spur of the moment choice, I was unsure about. It thickened the melted Chocolate mixture to much, so I had to melt half the butter along with it to thin it back out to a deep chocolate frosting texture. (slightly thinner) But required the other half of the butter to be whipped to help soften the sugar I would be adding.

*** slowly melted chocolate will be shiney ***

The eggs were also a compromise. One recipe said "2", one said "3". I did two and one yolk. Odd decision I know but its what I decided on.

With ALL the changes, it resulted in by far the most delicious brownie batter I've ever tasted! Nay, the yummiest of ANY chocolate batter. And I'm not the batter eating type. Though I adore pound cake batter (b4 eggs) but that's really just sugar and butter so who wouldn't?

ANY WAYS! MY RECIPE! LETS SHARE! (before I forget what I did....)

4 oz semi sweet chopped

2 oz unsweetened chopped

3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 whole eggs, 1 yolk

1 cup white sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 stick of unsalted butter, sliced into pats

3/4 cup flour or flour blend (read above)

1 tsp vanilla

pinch or two of table salt

optional:

large pinch or two of fine quality sea salt

nuts, chocolate chips, etc for adding in batter if desire (not me this time)

- preheat over to 350, line your preferred sized pan with foil, I used square 8" pan - metal. Glass cooks longer. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

- set up a double boiler. boil water, then turn off. in bowl add chopped chocolate, both kinds, and stir. add half of the butter and cocoa powder, keep stirring until well mixed and melted. remove from heat. set aside to cool. (another option would be to sift cocoa podwer in with flour and only melt chocolate, or chocolate and butter. Might try that next time, I'm sure theres no differance.)

- beat the rest of the butter pats until fluffy, then add in sugars. beat until see "beads" them keep beating another min until well mixed. add eggs and vanilla. beat for another min.

- flour and salt sifted together. add 1/4 or 1/3 into mixture. beat together. add 1/3 chocolate mixture. beat. continue altering flour mix and chocolate until all mixed in ... WELL.

- Pour batter in greased pan. Spread, then sprinkle option sea salt evenly across top. place in oven 20-25 mins (i did twenty, next time will do twenty five). Do not test with toothpick, this does not work with fudgy brownies.

- remove from oven, cover and let cool for at least an hour. Best if after that hour, you place safely in fridge to "set" and continue cooling. This long period helps not only "set" the brownies, but ensures the likelihood of a nice flaky top. YUM!

TO SERVE, USE FOIL TO PULL OUT OF PAN. REMOVE FOIL, THEN CUT.

(I used big long rocking pizza cutter/slicer)

do not know the cals. But its brownies, so prob 200-300 according to size.
Wrap idividulaay and they will last days in the fridge. weeks in freezer.

Quickie ....

I promised my sexy army hubby when he got home from his drill this weekend I'd make him fried chicken and brownies. No, not in one meal. Brownies for dessert silly.

I wanted to make my mac n cheese with it too, but alas, we are out of some ingridients. If I can get hubby to pick up some of the things I'm missing on his way home I might. Or mash potatos (not suppose to have according to lood type diet, but once in awhile its ok.)

The brownies, from scratch - not box, I will be using my recipe that I created after researching some super fudgey recipes. Though, since I just got a Williams Sonoma cook book (a few actually) with a great chewy fudgey brownie recipe, I might compare mine to it. I adore W S!

Tomorrow I will post pictures, etc, about the brownies. And the fried chicken maybe as well. It will probably be in the afternoon, when hubs is at work. I like to give him my full attention when he is home. I feel like its part of being a good wife.

Anyway, I will keep you posted.

Macaroni N' ... Pleeeeeease

Gluten Free and Blood Type Diet together make mac'n cheesin a bit more difficult than usual. I am known for my version of Fannie Farmers Classic Baked Blue Ribbon Macaroni n' Cheese. I kick it up several notches! But, its harder when My cheeses are soooooo restricted, AND being gluten free.



my baked mac with smoked gouda, cheddar, and cheese-its crust.



NOW, I must share. Share the fantastic news of quino pasta. Oh how yummy. Its got a naturally buttery noodle taste. That and the fact I cheat on cheese with allowing myself to have 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Those two items open the world of baked mac back open for me.

I tested it with much succsess and rave reviews as a stove top version. Still have not tested it with baked but am sure it will turn out. I'll let you know. :)

The cheat secret is using the cream cheese with heavy cream or half n half heat it up, then mix in feta. Do not mix the feta in with the temp tooooooo hot, or it might react badly. medium med-low heat is best. the lowest meltable temp. then you can leave it there or kick it up with salt, red pepper and a pinch of mustard powder.

That sauce will taste alot like cheddar sauce, but with a bit more refined of a pallette. Mix that directly with the noodles, opting to add extra shredded cheese with it of your choice if you'de like. Or you can mix that put it in a dish cover with crumbs and bake. your choice.

Dying to try it! Will let you know. :)

xoxo

ld

GF Chocolate Chip Cookies (Short post)

Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF)

The link above will take you to the originating recipe. Very good recipe. Only changes I made were adding 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin (pectin works also, or agar agar) and used Pamelas Baking and Pancake mix as the gf flour blend. Meaning I had no need to add the xanthan gum, baking soda, or baking powder. I added maybe a tablespoon or so extra brown sugar and a tablespoon scant (less) of white sugar. I used crisco, I don't tend to keep butter around is the only reason. This meant I added a bit extra water as instructed by the containers instructions.

But by all else I pretty much went by the rules. I used Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips. And removed 6 cookies worth of batter for plain cookies (hubby requested). I assure you one bag of chips is quite enough. To much almost, if you remove batter, as I did.

Very very very very VERY good cookies!

Super yum!

I was bad and had 4 the first day and one for breakfast! lol

<3

LD