Minty Mountains of Brownie Goodness

I tried my best, I really did. Today was just not my day. I’m a little under the weather today, and to make myself feel better, I planned a long afternoon of my favorite thing: baking!! I found these sinfully sweet bites on Our Best Bites, and they immediately went on my must-bake list. Today, I decided they were just the thing to tempt my appetite into coming back.

I love chocolate and mint together- the perfect marriage of two unique flavors into something fantastically indulgent. These brownies take the best idea the girl scouts ever had (Thin Mints!) and made it even gooier and more scrumptious. I needed them in my life. Pronto.

I got off to a great start; everything was going well. I melted the butter and chocolate into a smooth, chocolaty syrup. Melting chocolate is always a risk: heat it too quickly and it will not melt- just chunk up and burn, too slowly and it will never melt, and remain in unappetizing clumps. I like the Microwave method- heating for 30-second intervals, stirring well between each session. The chocolate will not melt on its own in the microwave, only by stirring will it become creamy and smooth.

Then the sugar and eggs mixed into a frothy batter, ready to combine with the syrup and flour. I poured the syrup into the batter while mixing and watched while the chocolate formed a rich brown ribbon in the egg and sugar mixture. Next comes the core of the brownie, adding the flour to create substance. By spooning the flour mixture in, you avoid making the batter clumpy. Poured it in a pan, and threw it in the oven. So far, so good!

Then oven betrayed me again. It’s my fault this time- one of those fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…Bravo toaster oven, you have shamed me well. I shouldn’t expect too much out of the toaster, it is only a little guy. But I wanted my brownies, and I wanted them NOW, not in 2 months when I have a real oven again. So I crossed my fingers and wished for the best. The oven wished for my brownies to burn. It won. But I do not go down that easy- I cut the edges and burned parts of the top off. It may not be the prettiest brownie on the block, but it would still taste just fine.

I moved on to the frosting stage. Minty and light, creamy and smooth- MmmmmmMmm. I added a few drops of vanilla to the mint frosting, just to round out the flavor. I spread it on, covering up the uneven crumbly edges from operation-pretend-it-didn’t-burn-on-top. All that was left was popping it in the fridge to chill it, then drizzling a layer of chocolate glaze on top.

This is where is really went sideways. And I do mean that literally. The edge of the pan caught the edge of the shelf in the fridge and BAM. My pan of yummy mint brownies went crashing to the floor, falling SPLAT on its edge. Half the brownies fell out, face down on the floor. The other half piled on top of each other, mashed up, upside down, frosting smeared all over the place. Disaster.

But too bad. I am salvaging these brownies no matter what. I scraped the brownies off the floor and tossed them. Don’t worry, none of them made it into the final product, I’m not THAT desperate. The brownies that managed to stay in the pan got spread around, re-frosted as well as they could be, and put on a plate. Instead of flat, neat squares of brownie, I ended up with little mountains of minty chocolate goodness, delightfully gooey. While I would not declare this day a resounding success, the brownie mountains did their duty- I was hungry enough at the end of it to indulge in a whole little chunklet. And enjoyed every bit of it. You regular brownies watch out, this may become a new trend!

Source: Our Best Bites- see link for complete recipe

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls hold a special place in my life. While it has never been my favorite sweet thing, my memories of this delicious treat go back all the way to when my parents were still together. Every Saturday morning, my dad would take my brother to the cinnamon roll store to get four big, sugary rolls the size of my head (not too hard-I was 3, so my head wasn’t THAT big yet), and bring them back to my mom and I at home. I can remember sitting on the back porch as a family, swinging my little legs as I peeled layer by layer off my giant satisfying breakfast.

Years later, cinnamon rolls meant a visit to Grandma’s house on Oahu. Grandma’s house meant a big family Christmas, and Christmas meant Christmas shopping. Growing up on the more rural islands of the Big Island and Maui, we didn’t have all the comforts of big city living like the Cinnabon at the mall. After each shopping trip, we treated ourselves with a hot sticky cinnamon roll from Cinnabon to share between three of us. I loved watching them roll the cinnamony dough into a spiral, my nose pressed tight against the glass. When we got our very own bun and opened the flimsy cardboard top, the smell of utter deliciousness overtook our senses. We took turns cutting into the hot sticky treat, unrolling the layers one by one.

The center of the cinnamon roll is perfectly undercooked, deliciously doughy and the best part of the whole thing. It was the treasure, and we always fought over it. We took turns scraping the last of the sweet icing from the container and only stopped short of licking the box because it just wasn’t dignified to do in public.

I don’t know whether it is because Saturday morning cinnamon rolls are one of my last memories of my family all together, or if later getting them as a once a year treat signified the start of our Christmas celebration, or whether it is just because the buns are so perfectly delectable, but Cinnamon Rolls will always bring back memories of family, happiness, and always can put a smile on my face.

I had about 98 pounds (actually, more like 2) of dough leftover from my failed Rosemary Rolls, so the hardest part of making these mini rolls was over and done with. Now came the fun part, putting them all together! Thanks to my great photographer Andrew, I could focus on all the fun bits- rolling out the dough, spreading melted butter all over- hey, no one said this was health, and covering it all in sugar and cinnamon. I rolled the dough into a spiral length-wise and cut it into 2-inch pieces- I liked the idea of little mini rolls, especially after the burned rosemary roll fiasco.

15 minutes after they went into the oven, out came mini golden cinnamon rolls with crusty sugary tops. After a drizzle of icing over the pan of rolls, we served them up and ate them hot. I only took 2 little mini rolls, ok, 3. We had gone on a 3-hour, mostly uphill hike earlier, so we deserved it!! These were amazing. Each bite was filled with cinnamony, sugary, doughy goodness. Now I have a new cinnamon roll memory to add to my collection- a happy Sunday night with my man, cozy in our makeshift home after a long day of exploring. And they definitely put a smile on my face.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Dough Courtesy of the Pioneer Woman, the rest courtesy of my memories

Dough:

Ingredients

1 quart Whole Milk

1 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast

8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

Preparation Instructions

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

Turning Dough into Rolls

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup melted butter

cinnamon for sprinkling

Icing

4 cups of powdered sugar

3 Tbsp Milk

2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

-Preheat the oven to 375º

-Sprinkle surface with flour.

-Roll out the dough into a thin, long rectangular shape.

-Spread 3/4 cups butter evenly over dough surface.

-Mix the granulated sugar and brown sugar together and sprinkle over the buttery dough.

-Cover surface with a generous layer of cinnamon.

-Roll the dough length-wise, keeping it relatively tight. Pinch the ends of the roll tight.

-Cover the bottom of a round pan with 2 tablespoons of butter.

-Cut the roll into 2-inch sections and place in the pan. Space the rolls to leave a little room for rising.

-Let the rolls rise 20-30 minutes.

-Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

-While they are baking, mix together the icing ingredients. Add more milk or powdered sugar to achieve a thick but pourable liquid.

- Remove rolls from oven and drizzle with icing while they are still warm.

-EAT!!

Cookie Dough Treats

“MMMM.” bite. “This is.” bite. “The Best Thing.” bite. “Ever!” bite bite bite. “Seriously.”

Any food that elicits this type of reaction is worth a post in my book. Cookie dough usually gets a pretty positive response- I mean, it’s all the best ingredients, mixed up into a luscious, sinful dough. It’s rich and sugary, with little bits of chocolate sprinkled through. Best eaten raw (salmonella is just a myth, right?), but if you HAVE to cook them up, they can make a pretty delicious finished baked treat too.

This idea takes every girl’s favorite break-up foods, cookie dough and ice cream, and multiplies their deliciousness by a million and a half.  And the great thing is, it’s just so easy.  These little pots of hot, half-baked cookie dough topped with creamy vanilla ice cream and a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce are perfection. They are great for a dinner party too, since they take basically no prep work or cook time and are guaranteed to delight even your pickiest of eaters.

These little babies are not for those on a diet; even a whiff of the warm dough and half melted chocolate chips will send you to the treadmill for another 10 minutes. Indulge in a whole coffee cup full (like I obviously did), and you may have to hit the gym twice the next day!

The steps are simple. Get some cookie dough. When I actually want the finished baked cookie, I make it from scratch, but when all I want is to treat myself to some dough, I reach for the easy stuff- a roll of Nestle straight from the refrigerated section. Strange? Maybe, but I’m all for easy. Next, put the dough in a coffee cup or ramekin, bake in a 350º oven for 10-12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Add some ice cream and chocolate syrup and indulge yourself while they are still warm. Try not to scrape the dish when you’re done, I dare you. 

Source: Our Best Bites

Sweet Attempts

I have been in the mood for sweets for DAYS, and decided that yesterday was as good of a time as any to satisfy my craving. I enjoy cooking- the smell of garlic and rosemary sizzling in a pan, a bubbling pot of pasta, and of course, the finished delectable meal- but I truly adore baking. Flour, sugar, butter eggs, and a generous splash of vanilla; its amazing how just those few ingredients can create such a diverse array of luscious desserts. Few things are as delicious as cookie dough, or better yet, brownie batter. Yes, I know all about the dangers of Salmonella, but I cannot be stopped. Raw dough and batter must be tested- for quality assurance only, of course.

I found this recipe on one of the most beautiful blogs I have come across, CakeSpy. Based in Seattle, this blog finds everything that is sweet; from bakeries to recipes. Luckily for me, she found these Bonbon cookies.

I was pumped to start these cookies. The original recipe showed these cute little pillows of blue, topped with a thin cap of smooth icing and a few sprinkles of white sugar crystals. From a picture like that, who could resist?? Mine, however, fell short of perfection. The cookies were not light enough, the edges not clean enough, the frosting more a heavy blanket than a light cap. It could have been the accidental addition of 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (it called for 3/4 cup, I used the 1/3 measuring cup and dumped 3 cupfuls in…oops). Or it could have been when I decided the cookies were just not quite yellow enough and threw a few more drops of food coloring in when it was well past the food-coloring-adding stage (thus the orange flecks of color in the dough). I am not 100% happy with this batch, but I’m told the cookies I sent to the hungry consultant’s office disappeared in a matter of seconds. Although I am half convinced I could throw a loaf of stale bread into that office and have the same effect. These cookies will be tried and tested again; I will not stop with them until they are the adorable airy bites that I first saw. At least the cookie dough is delicious!

BonBons

Makes 20-25 cookies.

1/2 cup soft butter 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar 

1 Tbsp Vanilla

Food Coloring

 1/8 tsp. salt

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cream
Food coloring of your choice
1 tsp vanilla

-Heat oven to 350.

-Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and food coloring, until creamy.

-Blend in flour and salt by sifting mixture into dough.  Add 1 to 2 Tbsp. cream if dough is dry.

-Use tablespoon to shape dough into a half dome.  

-Place 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheet and bake 12 to 15 min.
-Mix icing ingredients until creamy.

-When cool, dip tops of cookies in icing and sprinkle with sugar crystals.
These are delicious as is, but to add a little extra punch of flavor, fill with chocolate chips, nuts, fruit, etc before baking.


Source: Adapted from CakeSpy, who adapted it from Mrs. Joseph J. Wallace, Whitehall, Montana