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December 21, 2007
Week 39: Bourbon Pecan Brownies
If the recipe calls for 'enough to taste' on the bourbon, it has to be good. This one even got a thumbs up from my kids, although it was probably all the leftover melted chocolate that they got to spread on top that won them over.
Posted by jamm at 07:37 AM | Comments (1)
December 14, 2007
Week 38: Hazelnut Krunch Queen Brownies
As John say, "Anything that has 'krunch' spelled with a 'k' has got to be good". I think that this recipe may actually belong in the book! A layer of fudgie brownie, 'krunchy' caramel hazelnut frosting and a layer of chocolate glaze. What's not to like? Not sure where the 'Queen' part fits in, other than making this thing was a royal pain.
Posted by jamm at 07:41 AM | Comments (6)
December 07, 2007
Ann Arbor's Only Brownie Delivery Service
Ever wonder how the brownies arrive here each Friday morning, bright and early at 7am? Jennifer rides them in on the back of her primary mode of transport, her Cannondale Adventure 400, rattling on the rack in the back all the way down Washington Ave.
The brownie pan is strapped on the back with 2 bungie cords. The pan fits on the rack so perfectly, its like it was designed for this mode of transport! The handles on the lid help to secure the bungies, although the pan and rack to quite a bit of rattling on the ride in. For one of the recipes, all of the nuts that were pressed into the top bounced off and had to be re-seated upon arrival. Luckily, that has been the only major mishap.
The exception to the bike is brownies that have to go in the jelly roll pan, which does not have a lid. Those come by bus.
Happy Riding!
Posted by jamm at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
Week 37: Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
Brownie with a cream cheese, cheesecake-like topping. Sounds yummy, except for the almond extract.
In theory, this brownie sounds kinds yummy. In practice, it was a pain. FOUR separate bowls were required for this recipe, which sent the PITA score off the chart! It didn't help that I was tired, cranky and had a dirty kitchen, so finding 4 bowls was a challenge.
Bowl #1 had butter and chocolate melted in it. I had some help on this from Emily, who has become the master of the microwave. She even stirred it extra smooth, but not before somehow managing to end up with chocolate eye shadow and a brown bindi. Don't ask me how she did it, but she tried to blame me!
Bowl #2 had butter, cream cheese, eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla for the cream cheese topping. This went together pretty easy and I used the hand mixer instead of the Kitchenaid.
Bowl #3 had the brownie base. Eggs, sugar, the cooled chocolate, flour, baking powder, vanilla, chopped pecans and almond extract (ugh!). I really dislike almond extract. It always make me think of eating maraschino cherries.
Bowl #4 had 2 cups of the brownie mixture reserved in it to create the 'swirl' part of the recipe.
The contents of Bowl #3 went into the bottom of the pan, which had to be greased and floured. The contents of Bowl #2 were spread on top and then the contents of Bowl #4 were dropped on top. Since the brownie mix was heavy and the cheese mixture was almost liquid, the swirling part didn't go too well. The blobs of brownie floated around intact through the cheese mix, creating a less than desired effect. After 5 minutes of attempted swirling in different direction, I called it done.
The pan was popped into the oven for 50 minutes, 10 longer than called for. Luckily, there was no frosting, so it went on top of the fridge to cool, while I cleaned up the horrific mess.
Posted by jamm at 10:11 AM | Comments (4)