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October 31, 2006

A Double-Double error

This is not a slam on the Detroit Tigers, though it certainly could be. Yesterday, I made a horrible realization. I was perusing the brownie book for a recipe to give Jennifer on Friday, and, in doing so, discovered I had inadvertently only given her half of the Double-Double recipe prepared last week. Turns out there were supposed to be two more layers on it--a "brown sugar frosting" layer, followed by a chocolate glaze. I wondered how the recipe could be called "Double Double" with only two layers, but the pondering stopped there. Now I know why the name was chosen. At the end of the page I had given her, it said "Let cool" and I just figured, given the way the book is generally laid out, that that was the end of the recipe. I now realize the wrongness of my ways.

After revealing this massive gaffe to Jennifer at this morning's reference meeting, we both concurred that they still tasted just fine, and that if I hadn't found the error, none of us would have been any the wiser (except, perhaps, pondering the Double-Double name). I feel it would have just raised Jennifer's PITA rating anyhow, but maybe not.

All of this Double-Double talk makes me want to go to In-N-Out Burger. NOW. Dammit all. As if all the Halloween candy around weren't enough of a distraction (considering I ate not even ONE piece of candy last year while on my diet--an amazing feat of self-control). But I most certainly digress.

Posted by jsterben at 11:45 AM | Comments (1)

October 27, 2006

Week 3: Double-Double Brownies

When I saw this recipe sitting on my keyboard (they mysteriously materialize there on Fridays), I thought 'Wow! Double-Double brownies! We are finally going to get some chocolate!' Well, I was once again to be disappointed.


Coming next week: Trippple [sic] chocolate brownies

Analysis

These brownies are of the layered variety. A bottom layer of chocolate and a top layer of butterscotch (?). I was curious, but a little put off at the same time. It just didn't sound very butterscotch-y and once again, there was only 1/4 cup cocoa in the brownie part. When I am I going to get some CHOCOLATE???

These brownies immediately earned points on the PITA scale. First of all, there were 2 layers, which meant I would have to clean the bowl and beater between the batches. Secondly, there were nuts to chop. (I gave that one to my girls this time around, and they broke the chopper.) As you can imagine my tolerance for this recipe was fading fast.

Then came the instructions for the bottom layer. They called for melting the butter and the 1/4 cup of cocoa together on top of the stove in a pan. Like I was going to mess with that. That part was done in the microwave, thank you very much. Besides, this was the wackiest thing I've heard of. Why not just beat it all together in the Kitchenaid. That's what it is for.

The top layer, or 'butterscotch' layer, came next. The recipe looked less like a brownie recipe and more like the base for chocolate chip cookies, which made me a bit happier, because I absolutely love chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips. This part of the recipe was straight forward, standard creaming of butter and sugar, adding eggs and vanilla (2 TABLESPOONS), and then the dry ingredients and nuts. Beat together and drop on top of chocolate batter in the pan.

Modifications

I can't think of any mods to this other than adding MORE cocoa. I also thought that making a peanut butter layer instead of butterscotch would be yummy.

Improvements

They need chocolate chips in the butterscotch part.

My Rating - scale of 1-10

Posted by jamm at 09:10 AM | Comments (7)

October 19, 2006

Week 2: Malted Milk Brownies

When I saw the title, the first thought, was 'UGH! Whoppers'. And the second thought was 'Where in the world will I find malted milk powder?' (Saline Road Meijer, Aisle 13).

Coming next Friday: Double-Double Brownies

Analysis:

These brownies were definitely a disappointment. I knew something was off when the recipe only called for 1oz. of baking chocolate. Upon further reading, I realized that the recipe was for an 8x8 square pan. Who only makes an 8X8 of brownies??? I had to stop and start doubling the recipe to fit in my standard 9x13. Still, only 2oz. of chocolate? I had my doubts.

They turned out to be well founded. These brownies are devoid of flavor! If it weren't for the pecans (pecans again) in the mix I don't know that I would have tasted anything, especially not chocolate. The frosting had a bit more taste, thanks to the malted milk powder, but overall they were mostly just sweet.

The instructions were also a bit sparse. They called for you to take the brownies out of the oven while they were still moist. Immediately following that instruction they told you to put on the glaze. There were two problems with this. First, the brownies were really HOT, the glaze would have turned to melted butter soup. So I let them cool before frosting. Second, the brownies fell in the middle as they cooled, so there was a large lake of glaze in the middle and not much on the sides. (Sally you should have taken your piece from the middle)

* Prep time: 20 minutes (cake and frosting combined)
* Cooking time: 35 minutes
* Total time (includes cooling and frosting): 2.5 hours


Possible Modifications:


I don't know what I would modify on this recipe. I think it is perfectly yucky the way it is.

Improvements:

MORE CHOCOLATE! Possibly a chocolate malt topping. I still don't think anything would really improve them.


My Rating - scale of 1-10

* Diffculty Rating: 4 (I had to find malted milk powder that wasn't chocolate flavored)
* Recipe Complexity (over a basic no-frills brownie): 2
* Texture: 4 (more like cake than brownie)
* Flavor: 2 (the only reason they get anything is because they were atleast sweet)
* Overall Rating: 3

Posted by jamm at 04:18 PM | Comments (4)

October 13, 2006

Week 1: Mississippi Mud Brownies

This was the first selection. At the last second, it beat out "Chocolate Malt Brownies".

Graciously prepared by Jennifer, who realized the recipe instructions called for pecans when none were listed in the ingredient list (Nice going, copy editor--what exactly did you get paid for anyway?)

Comment away! We're reading!

Coming next Thursday: Chocolate Malt Brownies

Analysis:

This recipe was fairly straightforward, as all good brownie recipes should be. It was a one bowl recipe, my favorite kind, although most of my recipes turn out to be one bowl, despite instructions. It was easy to make. The only drawback was the omission of the pecans from the ingredient list, neccessitating a second trip to Kroger and delaying brownie delivery by one day.

I guessed on the pecan amount and added 1/2 cup chopped pecans. It seemed to work out fine.

Putting on the marshmallow topping was a bit tricky. I suggest using small spoonfuls instead of big glops like I did. It took too long for it to melt.

Possible Modifications:

Next time, I would add more marshmallow. The recipe only called for 7oz of marshmallow fluff, but I probably could have used the whole 13oz jar. You couldn't really taste it over the frosting.

Also, I would cut down on the amount of sugar in the frosting, up the amount of cocoa and butter. It was too sweet and made the whole package a giant sugar bomb, completely covering up the taste of the marshmallow.

Improvements:

I think this would taste great with a thick layer of fudge on top of the marshmallow, or using a fudgier frosting.

John has suggested adding maraschino cherries as a decorative topping.

My Rating - scale of 1-10

Posted by jsterben at 10:55 AM | Comments (5)

The KBAL Brownie Initiative

It all started with a MeLCat request.

Perusing the millions of titles that make up MeLCat, I stumbled upon a book entitled The 55 best brownies in the world. Humph, I said. A brownie is a brownie is a brownie, the only REAL difference being perhaps the type of chocolate it calls for. I decided I needed to see this book, and subsequently requested it. A few days later, it arrived courtesy of the Flushing Branch of the Genesee District Library.

There were a good number of concepts in the book--things I had never thought of. I showed the book to Jennifer, our resident master baker, who suggested making one recipe from the book a week--an idea nobody, especially myself, was going to say "no" to. It was decided there would be "Brownie Fridays" (what an ideal way to start off the weekend), and I would pick the recipe to prepare. For week 1, I selected Mississippi Mud Brownies--a last-second review of the book changing my opinion for this, the start of it all.

Today, in rolling out Brownie Friday for the very first time, Jennifer coined the term "Brownie Initiative", and, while enjoying picking over the crumbs in the pan which was rapidly getting consumed, Jennifer and I talked about blogging this so we could keep track of what had been prepared AND allow for others to make comments on them. Perhaps there would be a staff favorite, which could then be made for staff meetings and other random gatherings. Maybe someone would think of a way to improve these allegedly "best" brownies, or even give them a local flavor. Thus, this blog came into existence.

So enjoy the brownies, and comment away. Your intrepid and fearless moderators and bakers await your thoughts on this, a new Kresge Library tradition.

Posted by jsterben at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)