Cocoa Brownies

As the old song goes … you had a bad day… You’re taking one down … You sing a sad song just to turn it around … That song was the recurring theme with my loved ones this week. And this song just kept running through my exhausted, anxiety ridden brain over and over again.

We have had relationship difficulties, crossroads in life, upsets with parents, children running amok, worrying, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, jobs being lost, jobs being gotten again, frustrations, ill parents, anxiety, anger. Yikes! And all that before Wednesday! Not enough sleep. Too much bourbon. Too many cigarettes. Too much thinking.

You know the kind of thinking that is more like hamsters running on a wheel inside your head. They don’t stop. Then one tiny hill turns into Mt. Everest. I have named these little anxiety causing rodents Flo & Eddie (hopefully some of you out there remember who Flo & Eddie are).

And the song. The song. That song … Coz you had a bad day … over and over again.

Gotta turn this bad time around and quiet Flo & Eddie.

My idea of turning any bad time around has cooking in it, baking, and definitely has chocolate in it. I am quite sure FLo & Eddie like chocolate.

I already have a favorite brownie recipe, Loveys Brownies, but I have had this Cocoa Brownie recipe torn out of the Bon Appetit December 2012 issue staring at me, and then I saw it on Pinterest. Oh, Pinterest, how you tempt me! So I thought I would try something new.

I may rename these fudgey, cakey, moist gems You Had a Bad Day Brownies. They seem to be quieting all the brains around me roaring out of control. Make sure to completely cool the brownies before you cut into them or they fall apart a bit.

So there Flo & Eddie, take that!

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 3/4 C natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 C all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325°.

Line an 8x8x2 inches glass baking dish with foil, pressing firmly into pan and leaving a 2 inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray; set baking dish aside.

Melt butter in a small sauce-pan over medium heat. Let cool slightly.

Whisk sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl to combine.

Pour butter in a steady stream into dry ingredients, whisking constantly to blend. Whisk in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. Add flour and stir until just combined (do not over mix).

Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake until top begins to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely in pan. Using foil overhang, lift brownie out of pan; transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares

NOTE: So you had a bad day. Flo & Eddie are spinning the wheel. This brownie will make your day better and quiet the rodents. I promise. Worked with my loved ones … and ME!

Dark Chocolate Coconut Cherry Cookies

I love baking. I love baking and having the house smell of freshly baked cookies. The problem is … well, the cookies themselves. There are so many. And, if they’re good, and I baked them so how could they be anything but good, then I eat WAY too many of them. And when I eat too many of them I get fat. When I get fat, my clothes don’t fit and I have to go shopping to buy new, larger clothes. That causes me to be depressed and what helps any girl’s depression? Cookies, and chocolate cookies. And then the circle begins again. I’m making these for folks who are thin. You know, those horrible NATURALLY thin people. And thin as they are, they doesn’t need too many cookies either. Though, truth be known, these are those ANNOYING people who can eat a cookie or two and walk away, a scoop of icecream and be satisfied, a handful of Cheez-Its and walk away (Like, REALLY, who eats a handful of Cheez-Its and walks away).

I think it far simpler to find a recipe on Christina’s lovely site Dessert for Two (remember the Mini New York Cheesecakes?)and bake just enough to satisfy the cookie and chocolate craving. I saw this recipe and knew I had to try it, though I did make a few changes, like using dried cherries instead of coconut and vanilla extract instead of almond extract.

Deep, dark, chocolatey flavor. The espresso just shoots them over the moon. May add a little less espresso powder the next time and perhaps a smidge of cinnamon. Love the cherries with the chocolate. The coconut oil gives a little background flavor that you can’t quite put a finger on. But WOW and yes, they’ll be baked again! Thanks, Christina, for another winner!

Go to her site. If you want to bake just a small batch, she has hundreds of recipes.

• 1/3 C solid coconut oil
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 t vanilla
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 t instant espresso powder (optional)
• 1/4 C cocoa powder
• 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 C dark chocolate morsels
• 1/2 C dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, beat together with an electric mixer the coconut oil, butter, and sugar. Beat for 2 full minutes, until light and fluffy.

Next, add the egg and continue beating. Add the vanilla extract, salt, and espresso powder.

Finally, sprinkle on top the cocoa powder and flour. Beat until dough comes together.

Fold in the dark chocolate morsels and cherries by hand.

Divide the dough into 6 large balls and slightly flatten them with your hand.

Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the sheet half-way through.

Let cool for 1 minute on the sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mini New York Cheesecakes

Okay. I want to make dessert. I want to make a yummy dessert. No, strike that, I want to make a really great, turn someone into putty in your hands, yummy dessert. Wait, but it has to travel well and be easy to make. (Not asking for too much, am I?) The downside? There’s just two of us and how much dessert does anyone really want left over. And throwing away dessert is not an option.

Enter small batch baking and the genius of Christina over at Dessert for Two. She is my go-to site for this sort of thing. These Mini New York Style Cheesecakes were not just good … they were delicious … they were phenomenal. They were so simple to make, they can be thrown together at any short notice.

You know a recipe is successful when someone looks across the table at you, grinning from ear to ear, and the only word that could be mustered is ‘WOW’. And, yes, after that reaction, I will make these for you again and again.

I may experiment a little and instead of the sauce Christina made, cherries, or blueberries, or … well, the possibilities are endless!

This recipe makes 4 mini cheesecakes, using a regular cupcake pan.

• 6 ozs cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 C + 2 T sugar
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/2 t lemon juice
• 4 Nilla wafers (or other small cookies)

For the sauce:

• ¼ C sour cream
• 2 T brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Add 4 paper cupcake liners to a cupcake/muffin pan.

Drop a cookie in each liner, flat side down.

NOTE: I used a cookie and a half. The Nilla wafer doesn’t quite fill the entire bottom, and I’m a crusty kind of gal (no comments). I also thought that a few smashed graham crackers with butter might work.

In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat very well until combined.

NOTE: You are going to look at this batter and think it’s just not going to be enough or too much, but it’s the perfect amount!

Divide the mixture between the cups and bake for 15 minutes.

Let cakes cool completely, then refrigerate at least 4 hours.

NOTE: They’re a bit puffy when they come out, but as they cool they fall a bit.

When ready to serve, stir together the sour cream and brown sugar and pour on top of each cake.

NOTE: I zested a bit of lemon on top of each just to make them look pretty – not that they lasted long enough to be seen as pretty. Also, I removed them from the paper liners before serving. Good thing too! Can’t have anyone sitting at the table LICKING paper cupcake liners!