Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
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Wow.
That one word basically sums up these brownies. They are amazing and gooey and crunchy and moist and could easily translate to, “I’m sorry I was a shmuck,” “I love you,” “Will you marry me,” “I think you’re cool and can’t wait until our next date,” or in this case, “I obviously like my coworkers.” Who knew brownies could be so expressive?
Keep in mind, the deliciousness does come at a price–these are a bit time consuming and dirty a lot of bowls, but they are so worth it in the end! What could be better than a brownie topped with marshmallows topped with melted peanut butter and chocolate with Rice Krispies mixed in?
Brownie Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping Ingredients
7 ounces mini marshmallows
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup Jif peanut butter
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 ½ cups Rice Krispies
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate, butter, and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips on medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, place the eggs and whisk thoroughly. Add in the sugar and vanilla. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and even with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.
Remove the brownies from the oven, and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.
While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat, add the cereal,and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so.
Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.
Makes 12 3×3-inch bars. (I cut them a lot smaller and easily got a few dozen bars.)
Recipe from Culinary Concoctions.
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes/Muffins/Cookies
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I would probably call these “Blondies with Chocolate Chips” but who am I to change a recipe title? Don’t let the name fool you–aside from the fact they are baked in cupcake tins, they are nothing like a cupcake–they are buttery and chewy like a blondie. And they are quite delicious. So much in fact, one of my coworkers said these may be his new favorite and ranked them up there with cake balls. I know!
As you can see from the picture, mine are ugly. I omitted the nuts in the topping so I was left with a goopy chocolate chip mixture (which tastes delicious just looks sort of blah). Also, I was out of mini chips so I had to use regular size and I think they are entirely too large for the petite size of the cupcake/muffin/cookie. All that aside, I’d still eat them. In fact, I uh, may have had a few.
Photos of the process here.
Cupcake Ingedients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cupcake Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Line miniature muffin pans and coat with cooking spray.
Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Add egg and beat until blended.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing just until combined.
Spoon about 1 & 1/2 teaspoons batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping Preparation
Beat brown sugar, egg, and salt until blended. Stir in chocolate chips, pecans, and vanilla.
After cupcakes have been baked, spoon topping mixture over each cupcake. Bake for 8-10 more minutes.
Makes about 3 dozen cupcakes.
Recipe from Bake or Break.
Salted Oatmeal Cookies
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My mom is hosting a baby shower on Sunday 
(and a bridal shower tomorrow–two different women and tons of baking for us!) and these cookies are the soon-to-be mom’s favorite. She first told me about them months ago, saying she ate them all the time while living in Virginia but hasn’t seen them out here in California.
Thanks to Google, I found a recipe based on the bakery’s secret cookie. These are so good–easy to make, sweet and salty, and crispy on the outside and chewy (thanks to the brown sugar) on the inside. A near perfect cookie. Why just near perfect? Because if I were baking these for myself, you better believe I’d add chocolate chips.
Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
Sea salt, for sprinkling
Preparation
In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for a few minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, beating until the mixture is well blended. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing until well incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and oats, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary and mixing just until they are incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour before baking.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form the dough into golf ball-size balls and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle sea salt generously on top of each ball of dough, as you would sugar. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 15 minutes or until the cookies are puffed and beginning to turn golden, being careful not to overbake. (The cookies should have a tender interior.) Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yields 18 cookies. (I made mine smaller and got about three dozen cookies.)
Recipe from The Washington Post.
Chocolate Surprise Cookies
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Remember Mallomars? These cookies remind me a little of them, 
except instead of a graham cracker base, they have a chocolate cookie base which is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The marshmallow in the middle is a nice gooey surprise, and the chocolate frosting adds to their richness.
Just some notes: The dough is very thick and fudge-like. I used non-fat milk because that’s what I had in the house and it worked just fine. I originally used a 1 3/4″ cookie scoop but decided on a smaller scoop midway through because my cookies didn’t spread much, they just puffed up. Also, I had a ton of frosting leftover!
Photos of the process here.
Cookie Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
About 15 large marshmallows, halved crosswise (cut in half horizontally)
Frosting Ingredients
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make cookies: Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.
- Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make frosting: Put confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Melt butter with the cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add butter mixture to the confectioners’ sugar. Whisk in the milk and vanilla.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered. Let stand until set, about 10 minutes, Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.
Recipe from The Cookbook Junkie.
Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
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Quick note: Tuesdays With Dorie will resume in a couple weeks, once Passover has ended!
It used to be that if I were to show up to a Passover seder without chocolate chips meringues, I would be forced to sing the Four Questions, in Hebrew, by myself. OK not really, but trust me, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. Then a few years ago I brought matzo brittle (in addition to the meringues and other Passover desserts), and that too, became a holiday must-have. Well, this year I do believe I have found a third recipe that will now be included in every Passover seder, thanks to Deb!
Hmm, I suppose I should have begun this post by explaining that many Passover desserts elicit the following response: It’s good (for a Passover cookie/brownie/cake). Well, I’m happy to report that with these cookies, I heard, These are sooo good! Everyone who tasted them went back for seconds, and said they were oh so yummy! Then again, I guess that’s what happens when you take a regular, flourless recipe and just make it for Passover, go figure.
This cookie is thick, chewy, and slightly crunchy, thanks to the nuts. We made three batches–two with pecans and one with walnuts, and they were all a huge hit. I should note I used regular cocoa powder, not Dutch-process.
Update: For those of you having problems with the cookies being too thin and runny, I noticed this comment from someone in Payard’s test kitchen. The suggestion is to not add all the egg whites at once–begin with two egg whites and check the consistency, it should be brownie batter like, and scoop-able. If it’s still too thick, then add more egg whites.
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar*
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
*Passover Confectioner’s Sugar
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon potato starch
Pulse in a food processor or blender. Makes 1 cup Passover confectioners’ sugar.
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant.
- Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).
- Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe from New York Magazine via Deb.
