A Batch of Chewy Chocolate Brownies for Maddie

My big sister Maddie and I have quite a lot in common. One of the most important similarities (which I'm sure she would agree) is that we both LOVE chocolate, and make no secret of it! Usually when we have a family meal at a restaurant and everyone else is stuffed, Maddie and I always channel our inner ability of "second special chocolate stomach" to conquer a third course. They're usually very rich and we'll feel rather podge afterwards, but we'll both agree that it is WORTH IT! As I am doing a little dedication bake for all of my favourite people, I must include my 6 siblings. Yes, six. Relax, we aren't all from the same mum! Maddie is one of my eldest siblings, and although there's an age gap between us, we're still really close and I love her to bits. Maddie's favourite baked treat is a chocolate brownie, so here's the recipe:

You'll need to preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4!

Ingredients (Makes 16 small brownies, or 9 slightly bigger ones):

• 250g/9oz Unsalted butter (or lurpak "Slightly Salted" will do! As I always say, a bit of salt will aid the rise!)
• 200g/7oz of AT LEAST 70% dark chocolate, chopped. Make sure you buy top quality, I like Green & Black's the most.
• 150g/5.5oz of chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts, and pecan nuts (I always love to put nuts in my brownies, don't know about you, so you can leave this out if you like)
• 80g/2.75oz Cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 65g/2.25oz Plain flour
• 350g/12.5oz Caster Sugar
• 1 good plop of vanilla essence
• 4 Large Organic Eggs (Organic are always bigger, and they're from healthier hens!)

Tools:

• 30cm/12" Square baking tin
• Greaseproof paper
• Medium mixing bowl x2
• Large saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Sieve
• Little jug
• Silicone spatula
• Knife
• Whisk

Method:

This recipe is a variation of Jamie Oliver's recipe from his book Cook with Jamie. This is such a quick and easy recipe, and it makes such delicious brownies!

In your bowl over your saucepan of simmering water (simmering should look like the bubbles in your champagne) melt the butter and the chocolate together (Bain-Marie), stirring constantly until it's melted. Take it off immediately when you've melted it, as you don't want to separate the chocolate. If you're adding the nuts, do so now, and gently mix them in until well dispersed. In your other mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder) and then sift them over the top of your chocolate and nuts. We mix it all beforehand so that we can get an even distribution of the dry ingredients in the batter. Now we fold it all together. By now, you'll probably remember to fold lovingly ;) Make sure you mix it well so it's completely combined. You should get a thick consistency. Now in your little jug with your whisk, beat those eggs! When you add the eggs, remember to add a little bit at a time and whisk/beat after every addition until smooth. When you've added all the eggs, you should have a very silky consistency. Bam!

Bake:
Line your baking tin with the greaseproof paper, and then dollop all of the mixture in, making sure you get all the last bits out with the spatula (unless someone's around to lick the bowl!). It should spread and level out itself, but give it a little jiggle to encourage it to the edges of the pan. Make sure it does reach the edges!! Pop them in the oven now for around 25/35 minutes. The trick is that you don't want to overcook them. Remember the clean skewer trick? Big no-no for brownies! It needs to come out covered in brown residue (I know what you're thinking, you dirty mind! Ha!). When you take the brownies out, they should be springy on the outside and still very gooey in the middle, you may even think they're raw, but trust me! Let them cool in the tray completely before taking them out and then put them in the fridge, they will solidify in there as they come out very very gooey. After cooling, it's time to cut them. Do NOT cut them in the tin, you'll scratch the non-stick covering and ruin it! Instead, separate the edges of the brownie from the tin and do the old fliparoo (place a chopping board on the top of the tin, holding it with one hand on the top, and the other on the bottom, then flip it over. Tap the bottom of the tin and the brownies should dislodge themselves.) Cut them evenly into squares, any knife will do as they're easy to cut.

You can heat them up after cutting and enjoy them warm with vanilla ice-cream, but I prefer them cold!

To die for! :D

I hope this recipe has satisfied the chocolate monster within you, it certainly quashes the devil within Maddie and I!

Bea

x x x

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for my Fishboy

He is called Fishboy because he is the only fish in the sea. My fishboy (or my boyfriend), Ahvid has received the benefits of my baking for almost two years now, but in all this time I have failed to deliver him a perfect batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, which he says are his favourite. I've tried once, but I didn't think they were very good, despite him saying they were. I still don't believe him that they were any good. So, here I must make the perfect batch of cookies to serve a perfect batch of boyfriend. He makes me very happy, more happy than even baking can make me. One day with his businessy mind, we'll start a little bakery together. Hopefully! He is the best, and he deserves much more than cookies, but this is how I can appreciate him through the internet among many other ways:

This will make a batch of 30 delicious cookies with a chewy/gooey texture. Great with a glass of milk!! Just to spark it up a little bit, instead of using normal chocolate chips I used Galaxy Counters (Galaxy chocolate is way better in my opinion) and I used some Reeses Pieces candy. Here's the ingredients:

• 150g salted butter, softened
• 100g of crunchy peanut butter (you can also use smooth but I prefer it crunchy to get the bits of peanut in there!)
• 80g light brown muscovado sugar
• 80g granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 225g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• Two bags of Galaxy Counters
• Two (large) bags of Reeses Pieces

Tools:

• Baking tray or sheet
• Non-stick baking paper
• Whisk
• Wooden spoon
• Large mixing bowl
• Little jug
• Sieve
• Measuring spoons
• Ice cream scooper (with the little release button) or teaspoon
• Spatula

The method is very simple and easy, even the least experienced baker could do it!  You'll need to preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5 before we start.

The first bit (if you've followed my other two recipes) will be very familiar to you: you'll need to beat the butter and both sugars together until they're light and creamy in texture. Now, add the peanut butter and again beat until it's very smooth and not stiff. In the little jug, beat the egg and vanilla essence until combined, then as per usual add tiny bits at a time to the butter mixture, beating after every addition until it's perfectly smooth. Remember, don't add it all at once or you risk curdling the mixture! Now for all the dry ingredients: the salt, bicarb, and flour. Sift those all at the same time onto the mixture, and then lovingly fold it in with a careful hand. Lastly add the chocolate and Reeses and the mixture is done . It should be thick, soft, sticky, creamy, and come together like a very soft, plyable dough. 

The bake: You should line your baking tray with the paper and then with your ice cream scooper or spoon dollop the mixture on to the tray, making sure you leave quite a bit of space between each dollop. Do not crowd the tray or you'll end up with one giant square cookie! You may need to bake them in a couple batches if you can't fit them all on your tray. Now bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden and the middles still a bit squishy. 

Once you take them out, they'll look and feel squishy like they're undercooked, but do not put them back in the oven! Cookies come out of the oven being very squishy, and then firm up once you leave them to cool for a little while. So, when you've taken them out, leave them to cool on the tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack with your spatula. You can risk breaking them if you use your hands, so I'd advise to use a very thin spatula to get underneath them and lift them onto the rack. Don't leave them to cool too long though, because they're best when served warm! :D

Enjoy them with a cold glass of milk.

Nom nom nom! :D

I hope these cookies make you feel very American, they certainly evoke that kind of feeling in me! Until next time!

Bea

x x x