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January 12, 2007
Week 9: Orange Mocha Brownies
We are entering a new phase of 'Fruit Themed Brownies'. I just hope there are no prunes. Orange and chocolate can't be bad, but I'm not too sure about those Folgers flavor crystals the recipe calls for.
Analysis
This recipe sounded great until I got to the part about the instant coffee. It brought back memories of cold Minnesota mornings and Dad making his cup of Folgers from the jar and of nasty weak coffee. Besides this was one ingredient I didn't have in the house and wasn't even sure they made any more.This recipe sure had a lot of orange in it. Orange Liquer, orange juice, and grated orange rind. Because grating 2 Tablespoons of orange rind was enough to put me over the edge, I decided to create the Orange Mocha Brownie Martini to get me through the rest of the recipe. That part turned out really well.
The recipe was quite simple. The Oranges, sugar, butter and coffee went into a pot to cook. My fire was too hot and the coffee crystals too close to the edge, so they ended up a tiny bit scorched. The hot molten mixture went into a bowl over the chocolate to melt it (a small amount of the chocolate mixture went around the rim of the martini glass).
Eggs were added and then the flour, which was a snap, thanks to these AWESOME bowls from my sister for Christmas. The PourPerfect, especially designed for use with the Kitchen Aid. No more banging the measuring cups on the top of the mixer and having half of the flour end up on the counter. Chopped nuts (ugh!) went in last. It all went into a floured and greased pan (double ugh!) to cook at 325 for 40 minutes (10 minutes longer than called for, must be the air bake pan)
We will have to see how they taste, but the batter was delicious!
- Prep time: 45 minutes
- Cooking time: 40 minutes
- Total time: 1.30 hours
Modifications
None needed. I had everything and after the Martini, I didn't care.
Improvements
It was suggested to leave out the orange juice. It made it too orangy.My Rating - scale of 1-10
- PITA Rating: 2 (Hey, I had the martini)
- Difficulty Rating: 5
- Recipe Complexity (over a basic no-frills brownie): 7 (lots of ingredients and instructions)
- Texture: 8
- Flavor: 8
- Overall Rating: 7
These were YUMMY!!!! Great texture, chewy, moist, awesome flavor. These rival the Trippple Chocolate Brownies made in Week 3. I would definitely make these again.
Posted by jamm at January 12, 2007 09:15 AM
Comments
The second-best recipe tried thus far. Unlike the peppermint brownies of last week, the orange flavor is not "in your face" powerful but added a nice essence. It had the crinkly top. It had the denser texture and rich chocolately flavor. I couldn't taste the mocha, but, as Jennifer pointed out, that could be because of what happened during the preparation of the orange mocha addition.
My score: Easily an 8. More mocha flavor might even up it to an 8.5 (Trippple Chocolate still retain its position as the leader, and this would not tie it).
Posted by: jsterben at January 12, 2007 11:46 AM
These I did try [and am therefore leaving a comment ;-)]. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the flavor orange, and so these were a huge hit to me. They are my favorite ones yet. Thanks!
My score: 10
Posted by: bpietra at January 19, 2007 02:21 PM
Very good--a 6! My only problem was too much orange--I would've left out the orange juice.
Sally
Posted by: sweston at January 26, 2007 03:01 PM
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