Marbled Nutella and Peanut Butter Brownies

So it's a cold and rainy day here in Memphis...and what better way to beat the blues than to bake! Though really, it's not like I ever need an excuse to bake something. I realized that what makes baking so fun is that I always get excited to bake something; there's never a moment when I dread going into the kitchen and making something tasty. 

With these three ingredients, how can you go wrong really? 

This is the syrup I used in place of the hazelnut extract that I wasn't able to find anywhere.

With that being said, I found this recipe on cookiemadness.net, thus I'm of course giving all credit to Anna who is a baking genius. I, however, did tamper with the recipe just a bit. Instead of using a dark chocolate bar with hazelnuts in it, I bought a package of hazelnuts and toasted them. Then I added 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the Nutella swirl mixture. 

I know that Nutella has a hint of hazelnut flavoring, but I wanted to make it more prominent with the addition of the actual hazelnuts themselves. Plus I thought that the batter might need some hazelnut flavoring as well. I searched two grocery stores for a hazelnut extract and came up empty-handed. On the way home as I was trying to think of an alternative, it hit me that I have some sugarfree hazelnut coffee flavoring syrup. I was weary of how good it might taste in a dessert, but on the bottle it said that it can be used in baking. So I added a tsp. to the peanut butter brownie mixture and it gave it a nice, subtle hint of hazelnut. Yum.

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Brownies

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. hazelnut syrup (regular or sugarfree)

Swirl Mixture

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 tsp. butter

1/4 cup Nutella

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted (toast in a oven at 350 degrees for about 10 min. or until fragrant)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x11 inch pan with aluminum foil.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until slightly crumbly, but able to be smoothed when stirred with a spatula. Beat in vanilla and peanut butter. Add eggs one at a time just until mixed--don't overmix. Add baking powder and salt until well blended. Add flour until it is just incorporated and spread peanut butter mixture into prepared pan.

To make the swirl mixture, place chocolate chips, Nutella, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until smooth (about 1 1/2 min.). Add in hazelnuts. 

Drop spoonfuls of Nutella mixture of peanut butter brownie batter and drag a knife through to make a marbled pattern. Bake on center rack for 30 min. or until brownies begin to pull away from the side of the pan and center seems set. Cool pan on a wire rack. When brownies hit room temperature, chill them for an hour or so. Lift from pan and cut into squares. 

Funfetti Friday!

Funfetti Cookies (I made mine a little large)

You  can use whatever food dye you want in the frosting, but I used pink of course :)

 

Funfetti Cake Balls

This is what they look like all mixed up and about to be put in the refrigerator.

My cat Cinnamon sat patiently watching me while I was baking in the kitchen...but I think he got a little tired from all that staring. 

So if you are one of those people who are stuck with having to bring dessert somewhere and have no time to make anything, here's two good recipes using a Pilsbury Funfetti Cake mix. Yes funfetti is supposed to be a kids cake, but why can't adults enjoy the sprinkles in a white cake too? The cookie recipe came from Pilsbury's official website, and if you wanted to add a special flavor try adding vanilla or coconut extract. The cake balls recipe comes from allrecipes.com, but you can also use any kind of cake to make these. I've made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting from a mix and dipped them into semisweet chocolate. I've had great reviews of those red velvet cake balls too...they almost look like a glorified truffle.

Now if you think that you're too grown up to eat funfetti cake, make it for the kids b/c if it has sprinkles, they're going to be sold on it. I think these would be a great dessert to take to a kids birthday party. For a baby shower you could decorate the cookies with a blue or pink frosting (I used pink of course b/c I'm a girl and will put pink on everything). 

Funfetti Cookies

1 (18.9 oz) Pilsbury Most Supreme Funfetti Cake Mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs 

1/2 (15.6-oz) vanilla frosting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With the bottom of glass, dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness. 

Bake for 6-8 in, or until edges are lightly golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with sprinkles. 

Funfetti Cake Balls

1 (18.9-oz) Pilsbury Most Supreme Funfetti Cake Mix

1 can of vanilla frosting

white or milk chocolate to coat (about a package worth of of chocolate)

Bake cake according to instructions on the box.  Let cake cool slightly and crumble into pieces. Add frosting and form into balls. Let them set in the freezer for about 3 hours. 

Put parchment or wax paper on cookie sheets. Remove cake balls and coat with chocolate; place on cookie sheets. Let set in the refrigerator for chocolate to harden.  

Hawaiian Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for a Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie. After scanning through the ingredients and reviews, I decided to tamper with the ingredients myself. I knew that just adding coconut and almonds to a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe wasn't going to yield enough flavor, so I added coconut and almond extract.  As my mind was ticking of new ways to make this next time, perhaps an addition of coconut milk or mashed banana would be good. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened or at room temperature

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. coconut extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 &1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add almond and coconut extracts.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir in small additions into the creamed mixture until well blended. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, coconut, and almonds. Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-12 min. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 min. before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Death By Chocolate Trifle

This recipe was found off allrecipes.com I tweaked the recipe a little to make it more my own, but it's super easy to make. If you're a chocolate-lover then you're just going to have to try this recipe. If you don't want to use a cake mix, you can also use a brownie mix too.

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 cup chocolate syrup

2 (3.9 ounce) packages instant chocolate pudding mix

8 candy bars (whatever your favorite are)

1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Bake cake in 9x13 inch pan according to the manufacturer's instructions. While the cake is baking, prepare the instant pudding according to instructions on box, set aside to chill.

When the cake comes out of the oven, punch holes in the cake with a fork. Pour the chocolate syrup over the top of the entire cake. Using a fork, crumble the cake into smaller pieces. In a large bowl, put a layer of cake on the bottom, then cover with a layer of pudding. Then spread a layer of whipped topping, then sprinkle some of the crushed candy bars. Repeat the layers to the top of the bowl, ending with the candy bars on top. Refrigerate until serving time. 

Peppermint Brownie Cups

I stumbled upon this recipe on a website at http://bakingblonde.wordpress.com I so happen to have looked in my pantry earlier on today and saw these Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking chips that we've had since Christmas and was wanting to use them up. I tweaked the recipe slightly to make it my own, but also a little more user-friendly. They actually turn out to be a 

nightmare if you use the mini muffin tins like I did...so don't. They stick.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp. butter

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

2 cups Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with liners.

In heat-proof bowl, melt together butter and chocolate in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth. DON'T overcook b/c it will make the chocolate thicken up. Allow to cool for 5 min.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk or beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add eggs and peppermint extract, mixing until combined and smooth. Add to flour mixture and mix until combined. Gently fold in the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups peppermint chips (the other 1/2 cup is used to sprinkle on top).

Carefully pour batter to prepared each muffin liner until about 2/3 full. Sprinkle a few peppermint chips over top of each individual brownie. Bake for 18-23 for both sized muffins.

Cappuccino Chip Muffins

I discovered this recipe off one of my new and favorite websites, http://www.cookiemadness.net It's actually a "celebrity recipe," apparently William Shatner likes these muffins a lot. The espresso powder is slightly hard to find so I suggest going to little Italian shops. I found this specific espresso powder at a place called Luccesi's. The espresso acts like a subtle background to the cake-lake muffins. The coffee also acts as the perfect counteract for the chocolate. I used mini muffins tins in my recipe, so adjust the cooking time to 8 min. Note: make sure the eggs, milk, and butter are all around room temperature, otherwise the muffins won't rise as well or they'll either be too tough. 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. instant espresso powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg (room temperature)

1 cup milk (room temperature)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, and salt. 

In a medium bowl, whisk egg lightly. Whisk in milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in milk mixture. Stir JUST until evenly blended (over stirring will make the muffins tough). Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake 8-15 min. for regular-sized muffin pans, or 7-9 min. for mini-muffins pans. 

Neapolitan Rice Krispie Treats

I found this recipe on a website called cookiemadness.net If you haven't figured it out by now, I love cooking with cereal. These are just a change from the regular Rice Krispie treats. The bottom layer has strawberry NesQuick in it, which I personally wouldn't drink on my own, but it gives the bottom layer a nice hint of strawberry. The second layer has Cocoa Krispies with a little bit of chocolate chips, and the last layer is just the plain Rice Krispies. I added a little more butter, marshmallows, and Cocoa Krispies to mine b/c I of course wanted the chocolate layer to be the largest. 

Ingredients:

Layer 1:

1 1/2 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1 3/4 tsp. strawberry Quik

2-3 drops red food coloring

2 1/4 cups Rice Krispies

Layer 2:

1 1/2 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

2 1/4 cups Cocoa Krispies

Small handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Layer 3:

1 1/2 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

2 1/4 cups Rice Krispies

Directions:

Line a 9x5 inch metal loaf pan with parchment paper on non-stick foil (I used a glass pan with aluminum  foil).

Melt butter in a bowl. Stir in Strawberry Quik and food coloring into melted butter, getting a dark pink hue. Add the marshmallows and stir to coat with pink butter. Microwave marshmallows for 30 seconds; stir until melted and smooth. Add cereal and stir to coat. Empty into loaf pan and press down well.

Rise out bowl and repeat melting procedure with Layer 2--add Cocoa Krispies to melted marshmallows, then stir in chocolate chips. Empty onto strawberry layer and press down as neatly as possible.

Repeat melting procedure with Layer 3. Add Rice Krispies, stir to coat, then layer on top of the chocolate layer. Press flat. At this point, your bars should be at the very top of the loaf pan. 

Let sit for a least 1 hour. 

Lift from pan and set on a big cutting board. Slice a thin layer off each end of the loaf to trim. Slice lengthwise down the center, making to long sections, then slice the loaf cross-wise to make 6 big squares.