German Chocolate Brownie Bars

I was talking to a coworker Friday about Monday treat, and learned that his birthday was earlier in the week. So, I offered to bake this Monday treat in his honor, so we discussed what he wanted. One of the options he liked was German Chocolate Cake, so this weekend I searched for some variations in a brownie or bar. I found one that sparked what has turned out to be an amazing creation! I combined two recipes I already have with a chocolate graham cracker crust. Seriously, this bar is rich and chocolaty and amazing.

Two reams of chocolate graham crackers

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

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1 2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 Tbsp water

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp espresso powder

1/2 cups chopped pecans

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3/4 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 1/3 cup coconut flakes

1 cup chopped pecans

This recipe is done is pieces. First is the chocolate graham cracker crust. Crush or use a food processor to grind two reams of chocolate graham crackers.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave for 20 seconds. Continue to microwave in 10 second intervals until melted. In a medium-size bowl, combine the melted butter, chocolate graham crackers, and sugar. Press mixture into an ungreased 9X13 pan.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 7 minutes. Let it cool, and now get started on the brownies.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and espresso; set aside. In a saucepan, add the unsweetened chocolate, sugar, butter, and water. Melt over low-med heat until chocolate is melted.

Remove from heat, add vanilla and combine. Add eggs one at a time, and stir quickly to incorporate. Add flour, and stir until combined; then add pecans. Pour over the graham cracker crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until set. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out slightly sticky. While brownies are cooling, start on the icing.

Separate eggs and slightly beat yolks, and gather all ingredients. 

In a saucepan, combine sugars, butter, evaporated milk and vanilla over medium heat.

Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly stir a small amount of the hot liquid into the beaten egg yolks. 

Return mixture to the hot mixture in saucepan, and mix well. Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Cool to spreading consistency, beating occasionally. Spread icing over brownies.

Enjoy these amazing treats!

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

If you don't like caramel, rich decadent desserts, then this one isn't for you. I, however, like them very much, so when I saw the recipe while perusing Pinterest one day for Brown Sugar Pound Cake, I knew I had to give it a try. It is very, very good, but the caramel drizzle is so rich and thick that it is not for the faint of heart... or diabetics. Just be warned. lol This recipe is definitely worth a try. Lots of brown sugar, pecans, and toffee bits in this moist cake, but the shining star is definitely that caramel drizzle.

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 – 8 ounce bag of toffee bits
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour. Set aside.

Beat the butter until creamy. Add sugars, beating until fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans.

Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean, 75 to 85 minutes. Cover top of cake with foil to prevent excess browning if necessary. Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Caramel Drizzle

1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.

Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla.

Make sure to drizzle the caramel while it's still hot. When cooled the caramel does somewhat harden.

Easy Homemade Bread

Here's another installment in my homemade bread making quest. I've tried this recipe twice now, and it's quite tasty. I found the original, Simple One Hour Homemade Bread, on Pinterest. It is very straight forward and simple, and the texture of this bread is fantastic. It can be used for sandwiches or just as a side dish, or heck, just eat it warm with some butter like I did! This is a good one to try also if you're new to bread making.

5 1/4 cups white bread flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
2 cups warm water (somewhere between 100 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit)

Add the warm water, yeast, and sugar to your bowl and allow the yeast to activate, about 8 minutes or so.

 

Add oil, salt, and flour. 

Mix for 1 minute and then check the consistency of the dough. The dough should be very sticky. If it is too dry, add more water. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add any more flour after the dough has finished mixing.)

Spray kneading surface with cooking spray and turn dough out onto surface. Knead dough briefly until it has a smooth even consistency (this will only take several turns of the dough to accomplish).

Divide dough into 2 pieces (or more if you wish to have smaller loaves) and shape loaves into desired shapes and place on greased baking sheets. Cover with a large dish towel and let rise for 25 minutes.

While loaves are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When loaves are ready to go into the oven, use a sharp knife (you can lightly spray your knife with cooking spray to prevent dragging) to make several slashes in the top. Make each cut about 1/4-inch deep at a 30 degree angle.

 

I decided to try an experiment the second time I made this bread. While the bread's texture was amazing, I wasn't terribly excited about the exterior of the bread. So, in my experiment, I divided the bread into four loaves, and topped each differently. Here's my results from top left, clockwise: plain as the recipe calls; egg wash, olive oil, butter. Clearly, the oil and butter created a much prettier topping than plain or an egg wash. Point is, try it how you like it, and choose what works for you.

Bake loaves for 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

French Toast

I'm not a huge pancake fan. I'm not a huge waffles fan. French toast, however, I can go crazy with some of that! My family is not a big breakfast bunch. We just don't have an organized, cooked breakfast very often. When I do, it's either toast, eggs and bacon; sausage and biscuits; or French toast. Here is my version of French toast. I think it's pretty dang good. I use vanilla and almond extract and cinnamon and nutmeg to liven this recipe up. Hope you enjoy it!

Bread

4 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1/2 heaping tsp nutmeg

splash of milk (I probably used about a 1/4 cup)

Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Heat several tablespoons of butter in a skillet over med-high heat. Dip the bread in the whisked egg mixture (I whisk mine several times throughout to ensure the spices are distributed). Then quickly turn it over to coat the other side. Place bread into hot butter, and cook for several minutes on both sides until bread is browned and more firm.

Top French toast with a dash of powdered sugar, and top as desired.

Orange Julius Style Orange Juice

In honor of my daddy for Father's Day, I made some of my his special orange juice. He came up with this recipe in the 1980s when we lived in Germany since we couldn't get an Orange Julius whenever we wanted. This recipe is all his. He would make this on Saturday or Sunday mornings as he was prepping breakfast. These mornings are some of my clearest and fondest memories of my dad. I miss you, Daddy. Happy Father's Day.

1 can frozen concentrated orange juice

2 cans of water

4 Tbsps sugar

3 Tbsps Tang

1 egg

splash of milk (about a 1/4 cup or so)

Put ingredients into blender; blend until smooth and frothy.

This orange juice is best if chilled a bit before serving. An hour or two if you can, but it's not absolutely necessary.

Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The past 18 months or so I have been trying out dozens of new recipes. Some of them have been huge hits that I've remade several times, and some of them have been one time only. Through all of that, I've been learning. My Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies are a recipe that I adjusted some, and I was thrilled with the results. Jump forward  a few months. I had a bag of cinnamon chips in by pantry that I really didn't know what I was going to do with. So last weekend, I decided to create my own cookie. I used the knowledge I've gained from all of the different recipes I've been trying, and, if I do say so myself, these are amazing! I took these in for Monday treat, and the response was even better than I hoped. I received lots of requests for seconds, and several people told me they were phenomenal. Frankly, I couldn't be more proud of my first attempt at my very own recipe. Give these a shot; I don't think you will be disappointed!

1 cup butter (softened to room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups oats
12 ounces cinnamon chips
1 cup raisins

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth.

Add eggs and vanilla, and mix until blended.

Add dry ingredients, and mix until all flour is combined. Add oats and mix well.

Add cinnamon chips and raisins, and stir until combined and distributed throughout the dough.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown around the edges. They will continue to cook and set as they cool.

Allow the cookies to rest on the tray for 3-4 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!