Have Brownies will Travel

Brownies packed in a tin - all ready for travel

Usually when the eldest visits from the UK or we visit her, I try to send home/bring her some baked goodies. She was a little concerned about luggage weight this time since she was bringing back a bunch of books. I probably should have done cookies because they are lighter, but I decided to make brownies instead. The boyfriend is a big chocolate fan too and I thought these would work. They are just ooey and gooey - the way brownies should be. I hate brownies when they are cakey. If you want cake, eat cake. If you want brownies, they have to be gooey or they just aren't brownies.

I've made this recipe for brownies many times before using peppermint patties as the recipe calls for but I didn't have them. I thought perhaps I would do some chocolate chips. But then I remembered I had some dinner mints and thought those would work.

Peppermint Brownies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 stick butter
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (see note below)
3/4 t salt
3 eggs
1/2 c flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
25 peppermint patties

Preheat oven to 350. Line 8" square pan with foil - making a sling to easily remove brownies from pan.

Place butter and chocolate in saucepan over low flame and heat until melted. Alternatively place butter and chocolate in a bowl in microwave and melt at half power.

Whisk in sugar and salt. Add eggs, vanilla, and chocolate extract. Whisk in flour and cocoa. DO NOT overmix.

Pour 1/3 of batter into foil-lined pan. Place peppermint patties (or in this case dinner mints) over batter leaving a slight border around the outside. Cover peppermint patties with remainder of batter.

Bake for 35 minutes until set and toothpick inserted in middle is moist with some crumb. Cool in pan and then remove brownies by using the sling. Cut into squares when completely cooled.

Unfortunately, they have changed the size of the peppermint patties bag and you need to buy 2 bags now (oh well you will have to make the sacrifice and eat the rest of the second bag).

They came out well but not peppermint enough. I think since the dinner mints are thin, I should've done two layers of mints. Still they were delicious - you know I had to sample them to make sure they were OK before sending them off. I usually line the tin with plastic wrap and the brownies stay fresh for a few days. A rectangular tin does work best - see eating all that peppermint bark around the holidays really paid off. I have enough tins for many, many batches of brownies.

The original recipe does not call for vanilla. I don't know what Martha was thinking? I think the vanilla brings out the chocolate flavor more. Maybe I'm just a vanilla fanatic? But I usually put it in most baked goods even if the recipe doesn't include it.

NOTE: The best chocolate extract that I've tasted so far is from Star Kay White Extract. You can make the brownies without the chocolate extract but the chocolate extract adds just a little bit extra flavor. I generally use a little of the extract in anything that I bake that has chocolate in it. Why is it called "Chocolate Extract #18?" I don't know and what happened to the other 17?

New Kid on the Block

So here's a picture of the new kid on the block. Ain't she a beauty? It's a Blomberg . They are fairly new to the US. They have been around in Europe for quite a while. I really liked the design. I've been dying to have a freezer on the bottom. With the old refrigerator I would constantly lose brain cells by hitting my head on the freezer will poking around in the refrigerator. It really makes sense to have the refrigerator on top - that is where you spend most of your time. When we bought the old one, it was an emergency situation. The prior one was leaking on the floor and was no longer cooling. Fifteen years ago the freezer on the bottom was just starting to get popular but we were in no situation to wait for delivery. We had to take what they had on hand. Now the freezer on the bottom is by no means unique. What is - is this freezer's design. There are 3 compartments in the freezer. I used to have a chest freezer in the basement and everything would get los

Mr. Boston

Since we were discussing cocktails, I thought I would discuss Mr. Boston . The Sous Chef has his father's Mr. Boston and then the girls one year for Christmas got him the new version. They are different enough that you need to keep both of them. We had once thought about working our way through the book but then decided that probably wasn't a good idea. We have found some really tasty treats though. Old Mr. Boston/New Mr. Boston Here is one of them: Banana Foster (from New Mr. Boston) 2 scoops vanilla ice cream 1 1/2 oz spiced rum 1/2 oz banana liqueur 1 medium banana cinnamon Combine ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large glass and sprinkle with cinnamon I guess there is one improvement with the new Mr. Boston - the index is a bit better. In the old version, you cannot look up the drink by name. You can only look it up by liquor - which doesn't really help you out if you don't know what is in say a grasshopper and just want

Almond & Jam Tarts

These are quite impressive looking but very easy to make - especially if you buy ground almonds. The really nice part is that you just press the dough into the tart pans. The only rolling is for the cut outs. Peach Jam Currant Jam Almond & Jam Tarts (Adapted from Bon Appetit ) Makes 2 tarts 7 oz (approx 2 cups) Ground Almonds or Hazelnuts* 4 1/2 c flour 2 1/4 t kosher salt 1 1/2 t baking powder 2 t nutmeg 1 1/2 c sugar 3 sticks butter 6 T heavy cream 3 egg yolks 1 t almond extract 1 Earl Grey tea bag 1 1/2 c apricot jam** 1 1/2 c plum jam** 2 t orange zest 1 egg 1/4 c raw sugar Mix almonds, flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg in a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg yolks, cream, and almond extract. Mix well. Gradually add flour/almond mixture and mix until combined. Divide dough into 3 equal parts, flatten 1 into disk and chill for at least 1 hour. Press the remaining two doughs into tart pans cover and chill.

Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

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