Outrageously Outrageous Brownies

There's not much to say...

These brownies really live up to their name. I usually eat 2-3 brownies in one sitting, but when it comes to Outrageous Brownies, I can only scarf 1 down. My family has made these so many times - there are at least 12 paper copies of the recipe in our recipe cabinet (seriously).

Once you see the ingredients, you might call these un-figure friendly, but I bet to differ! Sure, there's a pound of butter and sure, there's close to 2 pounds of chocolate. BUT! They are so rich and outrageous that  you won't be able to go back for seconds! :D

I really hope you enjoy them as much as my family has! SO good.

Here's the recipe: (Thanks, Barefoot Contessa!)

1 lb unsalted butter (4 sticks)
1 lb plus 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 T instant coffee powder (really makes the chocolate pop!)
2 T real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour, divided
1 T baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces (so yummy in them, but totally optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees

Grease and flour a 13 x 18 by 1 1/2 in. sheet pan (trust me, you'll need every inch)

Melt together the butter, 1 lb of chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together the 1 cup of flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. (I find it easiest to stir the dry ingredients together in a very large bowl and add the chocolate mixture to the dry.)

In a separate bowl, toss the walnuts (optional) and 2 cups chocolate chips with the remaining 1/4 cup flour to coat. Add to the chocolate batter and pour into a prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap/bang the pan agains the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Cool throughly, refrigerate well (if you can resist that long) and cut into squares. Finish them off with a healthy dusting of powdered sugar, and enjoy!.

omg

Blueberry Crumble Bars: Perfect for "Ice Days"

It's an "Ice Day"!! What?

I've heard of "Fog Delays" and "Snow Days"...but "Ice Days"?? I'm not sure why I'm surprised, considering I live in Indiana - a perfect state for people who love inconsistent and to-the-extreme weather conditions. As I write this I can see the freezing rain hit the windows and hear the trees (covered by a layer of ice) creak as they get tossed in the 40 mph freezing wind. I love Indiana...

Just lovely!

Since it's an "Ice Day" and I didn't have to go into work, I decided to do what any person would do in this situation - bake! I had to move quickly this morning as I wasn't sure how long we would have power at my house. The chosen recipe was Blueberry Crumble Bars! MMM the name just sounds delicious.

I have been stalking www.foodgawker.com lately and came across this recipe. I'm not sure why I was drawn to this one, considering there are multitudes of chocolate dessert recipes on the site and I am a sucker for chocolate. I decided to take a risk (went for it) and it turned out to be worth it - these bars are so light, crisp and refreshing - perfect for an "Ice Day" :-) 

Here's the recipe:

1 cup white sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter 

1 large egg

1/4 tsp. salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch glass baking pan. Optional: For easy removal after done baking, put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan - it's fine if it hangs over the sides of the pan - and spray the parchment.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (fitted with paddle attachment) combine the 1 cup of sugar, flour and baking powder on low speed. Add the salt and lemon zest. Mix until combined. Add the butter (I cut mine into small cubes) and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture.

Add the egg and mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.

In a separate bowl, combine the lemon zest, 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Pour this mixture evenly onto the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes (I left mine in for 50) or until the top is slightly brown. Let cool completely and transfer to the fridge to chill before cutting into squares. Store in a container in the fridge.

I hope you love these as much as I did!