Grasshopper Brownies

My childhood friend Julia had a pretty fun house to play when we were young. There was a basement (with a crawlspace!) and she had allllll the Disney movies. From slumber parties over at the Dambaugh's, I realized I didn't like maple syrup and that I absolutely loved grasshopper bars. I looked online for a suitable replica and I found this recipe. Now, it's not going to be the easiest thing that you bake, but it'll be worth it in the end. The key is waiting for the bottom brownie layer to cool adequately before topping with the Creme de Menthe Buttercream and then waiting for that layer to chill before adding the top ganache layer.

Look how pretty!

Oh and yes, Sprout likes Creme de Menthe.

Here's the Blog I got the recipe: The Great Cake Company
GRASSHOPPER BARS   
Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito 
Makes 12 large or 24 small brownies
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FOR THE BROWNIE BASE
3/4 cus all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon unsweetened baking cocoa powder
5 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60 - 72%), coarsely chopped
1/2 cu (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 
3 large eggs, room temperature 
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method 

Preheat the oven to 325-degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal 9-by-13-inch pan. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, and butter the parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder. 

Configure a large size double boiler. Place the chocolate and the butter in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler and add both sugars. Whisk the sugars until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature.

Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over beat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey. 

Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate. Using a spatula (do not use a whisk) fold the dry ingredients into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with an offset spatula, and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. The brownies should be just a tad underdone (not too gooey, but ideally, just 1 minute from being cooked through completely). A toothpick inserted into the brownies at an angle should contain a few loose crumbs. Remove the brownies from the oven and let cool completely while you make the creme de menthe filling.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM 
3/4 cups sugar 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
3/4 cup whole milk 
2 tablespoons heavy cream 
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, softened but still cool, cut into small cubes 
3 tablespoons Creme de Menthe 
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Method 

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until filling is light and fluffy.

Add the Creme de Menthe and peppermint extract and mix until combined. If the filling is too soft, chill slightly in the refrigerator and then mix again until it is the proper consistency.

If the filling is too firm, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and re-mix to proper consistency. Spread the filling evenly across the top of the brownie layer and place the pan in the refrigerator, for a minimum of 45 minutes, while you make the chocolate glaze.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE  
6 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped 
1 teaspoon light corn syrup 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes  

Method 

In a large non-reactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir vigorously for 1 minute to release excess heat.  

Pour the mixture over the chilled Creme de Menthe layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. Place the pan back in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the glaze hardens. 

Remove the pan from the refrigerator, wait about 15 minutes for the glaze to soften slightly, and cut the bars with a warm knife. Cut into squares and serve immediately.

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Candied Pecans

Our grocery store in Texas (HEB!!) had a stellar bulk food section. One of my favorites was the candied pecans....Soooo good. You could munch 'em straight out of the bag or crunch them up and use 'em as a salad topping. Sadly, there's no HEB in Anchorage. So when the candied pecan craving hits, I gotta make my own. This recipe is super easy and the nuts are hard to put down: a good sign if you're looking for a new recipe, a bad sign if you're trying to look cute in your Halloween costume.

Sugar ‘n’ Spiced Pecans

Adapted from Simply Recipes

1/2 c granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg white
1 T water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c pecan halves

Preheat oven to 300ºF and line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly grease aluminum foil with cooking spray or canola oil.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and mix well. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together egg white, water, and vanilla extract until it become foamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add pecans to the egg white mixture and toss until all pecans are coated. Using a slotted spoon, lift coated pecans into the sugar mixture. Use a fork to gently stir the pecans into the sugar mixture until all pecans are coated. Be careful not to over mix or the sugar will begin to flake off of the pecans.

Spread pecans evenly over the lined cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Mix and turn pecans with a fork and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. You may have to break apart some of the pecans, as they may be stuck together with additional sugar.

Store pecans in an airtight container for up to two weeks. After that point, they will begin to soften. 

3 years ago: Mrs. Albright

2 years ago: Emily's Baby Shower

1 year ago: 2 Peas in a Pod

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The Big Three-Ohhh!

This is the story of Ross's birthday.

It started with 7 days of presents leading up to today, March 7th-- the official day of Ross McDonald Huebel. Here's how he chose to celebrate:

Moose's Tooth- of course!

 Half Chipotle Steak, Half Gyro.

Birthday, Beer, and Pizza. 

German Chocolate cupcakes!

The sideview.

Modeling his new jacket.

Roma likes to make wishes too, apparently. 

The festivities are over... on to the next birthday!


German Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 12
Source:  David Lebovitz who adapted from Luscious Coconut Desserts (Chronicle) by Lori Longbotham
For the cupcakes
2 ounces (60 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) boiling water or coffee
8 tablespoons (4 ounces, 115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (150 g) cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (125 ml) buttermilk (see Note), at room temperature
1. Preheat the open to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
2. Pour the boiling water or coffee over the chocolate, and stir until melted. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg yolks and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Then mix in the vanilla and the melted chocolate.
5. Whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in half of the dry ingredients, then add the buttermilk or sour cream, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until blended.
6. In a clean, dry bowl, whip the two egg whites until stiff, then fold one-third of them in to the chocolate batter, then the rest. Fold just into there are no streaks of white remaining, but don’t overfold.
7. Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake for about 25 minutes, until the batter feels just set in the center. Remove from the oven, then let cool for a few minutes.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin and let cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

For the German chocolate frosting
3/4 cup (180 ml) evaporated milk (whole milk)
1/4 cup (60 g) packed light brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons (30 g) butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature
2 ounces (55 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups (110 g) sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes, lightly toasted
1 cup (125 g) chopped, toasted pecans
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: Additional toasted coconut, for a garnish
1. Whisk together the evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, and salt in a medium saucepan.
2. Add the butter, then cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula over medium heat, like a custard, until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spatula. Do not let boil.
3. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the chocolate, stirring gently until melted. Then stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla. (If using unsweetened coconut, you can add an additional teaspoon of brown sugar if it’s not sweet enough, to your taste.)
4. Let cool to room temperature, then use the frosting to ice the cupcakes, topping the cupcakes with a bit of toasted coconut as a garnish after you ice them, if you wish.

Note: For those of you who can’t get buttermilk, you can use a similar quantity of whole milk plain yogurt or sour cream, Or mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice with 1/2 cup (125 ml) whole milk and let it sit 10 minutes.

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Dorie's Toffee Bars

I have a sweet tooth. I think we've probably established that. But moreover, I LOVE to bake. It's therapeutic for me. Like one of those stress balls they used to give us at work. Oh, and licking the bowl is my favorite :) Don't get me wrong, massages and pedicures are nice too, but they get expensive.



Anyway, I now have 2 ovens instead of 1. Which means I can a) bake twice as much or b) bake faster. I'm still working on getting the hang of the convection oven but practice makes perfect eh!?!



So in the name of practice, here are Dorie's Carmel Crunch Bars. It was late, so the picture lighting is pretty much horrendous, but it will still taste good I promise! Cinnamony, dark chocolately, toffee crunch deliciousness. Behold...

Caramel Crunch Bars

From Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the base: 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. instant espresso powder or finely ground instant coffee
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:
6 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup Heath toffee bits

Getting
Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line the pan with foil and
butter the foil. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the base: Whisk together the flour, coffee, salt and cinnamon.
Working
with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a
hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until
smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another three
minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla
and turn off the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients, cover the stand
mixer with a kitchen towel (so you and your kitchen don’t get showered
in flour) and pulse the mixer on and off at low speed about 5 times- at
which point a peek at the bowl should reveal that it’s safe to turn the
mixer to low and mix, uncovered, just until the dry ingredients are
almost incorporated. Add the chopped chocolate and mix only until the
dry ingredients disappear. If the chocolate isn’t evenly mixed, finish
the job by hand with a spatula. You’ll have a very heavy, very sticky
dough. Scrape the dough into the buttered pan and, with the spatula and
your fingertips, cajole it into a thin, even layer.

Bake for 20
to 22 minutes, or until the base is bubbly – so bubbly that you can
almost hear it percolating – and puckery. It will look as though it is
struggling to pull away from the side of the pan. Transfer the pan to a
rack and turn off the oven.

To make the topping: Scatter the
chocolate evenly over the top of the hot base and pop the pan back into
the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft.. Remove from
oven and immediately spread chocolate over bars, using offset spatula or
the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and
press them down lightly with your fingertips. Place the baking pan on a
rack to cool to room temperature.

If, by the time the bars are cool, the chocolate has not set, refrigerate them briefly to firm the chocolate.
Carefully
lift out of the pan, using foil edges as handles, and transfer to a
cutting board. Trim the edges if they seem a bit thick. Cut about 54
bars, each about 2 inches by 1 inch, taking care not to cut through the
foil.

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Cookie Duet

When I'm in the mood for baking (which is often) I've found it's much more efficient to do a "two-fer." By making multiple goodies at the same time, measuring cups get dirty once and you only have to pull out the ingredients once, etc. Hmm, let's do the math: TWO for the price of ONE. I love freebies, so I'll take it.

I chose two recipes out of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking, From My Home to Yours": Chocolate Chunkers and Granola Grabbers.

Granola Grabbers

The Oatmeal Grabbers are a crunchy concoction of Granola, raisins, peanuts, coconut, and pecans. I'm not usually a fan of hard, crunchy cookies but these are delicious. Breakfast cookie anyone?

Chocolate Chunkers

The Chocolate Chunkers combine dark chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, pecans, cocoa powder, and... raisins? Yes! The raisins are absolutely necessary in this cookie. You can't see them when you take a bite, so the chewiness comes as a surprise... A delicious surprise in a gooey chocolatey guise. Here's the recipe so you can do your own taste test :)

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Weekend Snapshots

It was a pretty low-key weekend, mainly because Ross has been feeling a bit under the weather. However, we were able to squeeze in an early V-day dinner, a cross country ski, some housework, a mini roadtrip to Wasilla (no Palin, sorry), and some friend time. Here's a couple weekend snapshots...

Still love to have our hand-squeezed margaritas in a Pappasito's pint glass... it just tastes more authentic that way :)

Cake Doctor's "Candy Bars"

This dessert is definitely an easy, 5 ingredient wonder. Here's the recipe:

*************
CANDY BARS from the Cake Mix Doctor

1 pkg (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
8 T (1 stick) butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped candy bar pieces, such as Snicker's, Butterfinger's, and so on

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set aside an ungreased
13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Place the cake mix, brown sugar, melted butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Blend again on low speed for 1 minute. Fold in candy bar pieces until well distributed. Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing it out with rubber spatula so that it reaches all sides. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely, 1 hour.

Makes 24 bars
**************

A blog post is never complete without a picture of Roma in the snow...

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Game Day

Like millions of other Americans, we also tune in to watch the Superbowl in Alaska :) Friend Josh (aka Uncle Josh to Roma) had a little get together at his house. Lots of people, clashing team alliances, an abundance of food & beer, multiple tvs... Let's play!

Look at those pretty ladies-- now look at the guys. Complete focus. Priceless.

 

Best seats in the house

Not too happy with that fumble.

The epitome of superbowl parties...Love the Ross.

I brought these Golden Graham S'mores Bars to the festivity.  These bars are a play on Rice Krispie treats and similarly, are super easy to make. Sometimes chocolate is just necessary. The S'mores seemed to be a hit because they were all GONE by halftime :)

Ross made homemade roasted salsa and red pepper hummus with fresh pita chips. I think that the salsa might have been a tad spicy for the Alaska folks, but I really enjoyed it...

So, workout tomorrow, anyone? :)

On another note, my interior decorator (aka MOM) is coming in March. It's official now that she has a plane ticket. We're pretty excited. To sweeten the deal, Ross kindly offered to foot the bill for a snowboard lesson for her too... However, I'm pretty sure Ross is going to be able to hang onto that $40.
BUT never say never...

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Andes Cream Cheese Mint Softies

Check out these Andes Cream Cheese Mint Soft Cookies, also known as "Ooeey-Gooey-Cream-Cheesy-Minty-Melt-in-your-Mouth-Ness".

Enough Said.

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Roma's Home Improvement

We had to come home from work a bit early (to meet the roof inspector at our house) and this is what we we found in the backyard!

A sleeping puppy girl! I would like to discuss Roma's doghouse. Do you see how she is hanging halfway out of her house? There used to be a fourth wall with a doorway, but Roma did some renovations a couple years ago. Now, it's just got three walls. I think she prefers it on hot days because she can hang out the side and her snoot can catch the breeze (see above). But, Roma wishes she had that fourth wall on cold days... speaking of cold days, Miss Roma is about to have a LOT of those...

She hears us laughing at her. Love her.

On another note, Ross enjoyed Dorie's Sugar-Topped Molasses Cookies in his lunch today...

They remind me of soft ginger snap cookies. 

Look how moist and soft the inside turned out.

Here is the Ross 1-liner: "Those cookies in my lunch were a nice change. They kept their flavor really well." There you have it folks. If you want a flavor-keeper, these are your cookies! :)

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Snickery Squares

What do you get when you top a crumbly sweet crust with a layer of dulce de leche and chopped candied pecans, then top that with melted dark chocolate and more candied pecans? Dorie's Snickery Squares.

In case you didn't see the yum, here's a close up... yep, it's a triple decker.

I highly suggest warming in the microwave to melt the dulce de leche and then topping with vanilla Blue Bell ice cream. Beautiful.

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What's a Brookie?

What happens when you combine a cookie and a brownie? A BROOKIE of course. I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe sooner!

Mom made these for me when I visited Charleston over Easter and they were A*M*A*Z*I*N*G! Hot, cold, al a mode, all of the above = Yum.  Yes, they take a little bit of time to whip up, but it is so worth it. Make 'em in a muffin pan, for a more personal size Brookie.

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Baaaa Baaaa

My friend (and neighbor) Andrea is having her baby next MONDAY!! She is due 3 weeks earlier than the original due date because of how big and well developed Foster already is. We went to college station on Saturday for the BAA BAA BAABY shower. My contribution was a whole herd of sheep. 65 to be exact.

These little guys took me so long! I've never done this type of baking project before so I really learned a lot... For example, how to select frosting tip size, how to make royal icing, how to "flood" the icing, piping technique, mixing food coloring just right....  I was really happy with the way they turned out also. Here's a Ross quote, "These are waaay better than the cookies that you get at the bakery because these actually taste good too." I love him. The cookies were perfect with the rest of the shower decor!

Can you guess what this is?

If you guessed "a bandaged puppy paw" then you are right. (Sorry, no more sheep cookies for correct guesses). Roma has had a rough week and finally had her back left, middle toe nail removed on Friday. We all hope this is the END of this saga. The bandage comes off in a couple hours... we'll see. 

Love her.

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Cook with Liz and Steph: #4

Yep it's that time of the week... Time for some chatting and cooking :) This was our best all around meal yet!

The Menu:
Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce
Awesome Spinach Salad
Buttered Rosemary Rolls
Dorie's Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

The kitchen got all smokey from cooking bacon. Have you had PEPPERED bacon? mmm.

The scene.

"Inside it looks like little brains!"

Cheesecake Crust

Where's that Bacon??

Please make this whole menu. The WHOLE thing. When I start to think the spinach salad was my favorite part, then I think of the rolls. Now, this isn't going to be your healthiest meal of the week, but you can lighten it up. We used butter substitute on the rolls, used minimal bacon fat in the salad dressing (1 versus 3 TB) by using olive oil instead, AND also used Splenda in the dressing. There is some BIG flavor in this meal. Wonderful. Please try it!!!

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