Crazy Brownies from The Pioneer Woman

The next time I want to make something deliciously sinful and decadent, this is it!!

I was watching The Pioneer Woman this afternoon and I could not believe it when she was putting these brownies together.  All I can say is look at the ingredients list!

Won't these be a big hit on the dessert table at your next party?

Ingredients

• 1 box Chocolate Cake Mix, 18 To 20 Ounce Box
• 1/3 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1 stick Butter, Melted
• 9 whole Peanut Butter Cups (regular Size, With The Paper Pulled Off)
• 12 whole Rolo Candies
• 1/2 cup Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1/3 cup M&Ms
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Powdered Sugar (for Sprinkling)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Put the dry cake mix in a large bowl and stir in the evaporated milk. (Mixture will still be dry.) Next, pour in the melted butter, stirring gently until the mix just comes together (don't over-mix.)

Divide the mixture in half and press half of it in the bottom of a greased 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Lay the peanut butter cups over the top. Peel the wrappers off of the Rolos and place them in the spaces between the peanut butter cups. Sprinkle nuts into the cracks, followed by M&M's. Finally, sprinkle the salt all over.

Put the other half of the batter on a cutting board and press it into a square a little smaller than the pan. (It will be very sticky.) Transfer it to the pan and lightly press it to cover all the ingredients. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the batter is fully baked. Allow to cool completely, then place the pan in the fridge, covered in foil, for a couple of hours.

Remove the brownies from the pan in one piece, then sprinkle on plenty of powdered sugar. With a sharp serrated knife, cut into small squares.


Source:  The Pioneer Woman

Dulce De Leche Brownies from The Pioneer Woman

This is my favorite recipe from the episode of The Pioneer Woman that I'm currently watching, but you'll need to check out all of the recipes by clicking on the episode link.

It has been a really long time since we have had a wonderful chocolatey dessert and these brownies just reminded me!

Don't they look sinfully delicious?

Recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond
The Food Network
SHOW: The Pioneer Woman
EPISODE: Big Day at the Building



Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Half of a 14-ounce can dulce de leche
• Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan (a square pan will result in thicker brownies).

In a medium-large saucepan, melt the butter with the chocolate over low heat, whisking occasionally until smooth and melted. Sprinkle in the cocoa powder and whisk to combine. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Stir in the granulated sugar and vanilla until just combined. Stir in the eggs. Gently stir in the flour until halfway incorporated. Pour the batter (it will be very thick!) into the prepared pan.

Place the dulce de leche in a glass bowl. Warm it in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds. Drop large dollops of dulce de leche on the surface of the brownie batter. Use a knife to slowly swirl it through the batter. Don't drag the knife sideways through the batter; hold it so the thin side of the knife leads the way.

Bake for 40 minutes, then check the brownies with a toothpick. If they are overly gooey/messy, return to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes (just be careful not to burn the edges). Allow to cool completely (important!), then sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into small squares.

When warm, the brownies will seem overly gooey/soft. As they cool, they will firm up. (Brownies are best several hours after baking, or even the next day!)

Chocolate Caramel Bars

Love the combination of chocolate and caramel!

I'm craving chocolate tonight, so my recipe searches are gravitating towards these type of sinful sweets.  

Don't these look awesome?  The recipe and photo originates from Roxana's Home Baking, one of my favorite food blogs!  You must check it out for more delicious recipes from Roxana.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (56 grams) diced cold butter
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
• 1 cup (80 grams) cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (168 grams) melted butter
• 5 oz (1 small) can evaporated milk
• 14 oz caramels, unwrapped
• 1 1/2 cups (226 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 12-14 extra caramels

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350F.
2. Line a 13X9 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a food processor add the flour and cold diced butter. Pulse a few more times until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and all the butter is cut in. You can also use a pastry blender, a fork or rub the butter and flour with your hands.
4. Add the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk to combine.
5. In a large mixing bowl add the dry ingredients mix and pour the melted butter on top. Add 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk and mix until well combined. The dough it's going to be similar to a light crumby cookie dough.
6. Spread 2/3 of the dough in the prepared baking pan and set aside. Refrigerate the remaining dough until needed.
7. In a small saucepan place the remaining evaporated milk and the unwrapped caramels. Stir continuously over low heat until the caramels are melted. Pour over the cookie dough base.
8. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel layer.
9. Take the remaining cookie dough out of the fridge and crumble it on top of the chocolate chips.
10. Top with the remaining caramels.
11. Bake for 25 minutes.
12. It may seem bubbly and undone but once cooled the caramel and chocolate layers will set.
13. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.

Photo and Recipe Source: Roxana's Home Baking

Roxana's notes about this recipe . . .  After you mix the cake mix with the evaporated milk and melted butter it yields around 3 cups. The recipe suggested to spread half of the dough in the baking pan and the remaining half to be used as a streusel topping. I think it would be better to reserve around 3/4 to 1 cup of dough for the topping to leave room for the caramel and chocolate to ooze out a little bit more. 

A collection of brownie recipes

Top 5 Brownie Recipes from Mr. Food

I love brownies and Mr. Food always has the best recipes! These are his top 5 brownie recipes :)

Layered Brownies Raisin Brownie Bars Shortcut Brownies Peanutty Candy Bar Brownies No Bake Brownies

Brownie Bonbons

Great idea for gifts or entertaining!

Quick and easy semi-homemade . . . 

my favorite kind of recipe :)

A variation I would try is a chocolate

coating instead of  candy canes.

Ingredients

• 1 (19.8-ounce) package brownie mix, batter prepared according to package directions
• 1/2 cup finely crushed candy canes
• 
  

Instructions

1. Bake brownies according to package directions.
    
2. Place crushed candy canes in a shallow dish. Remove brownies from oven and allow to sit 5 minutes. While brownies are still warm, use a small ice cream scoop or a spoon to scoop them out; roll into 1-inch balls.
    
3. Immediately roll in crushed candy canes, coating completely. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Source:  Mr. Food

No time for baking? 

Bakery in a Box from 

Chocolates.com is a great choice!

Decadent Brownies

Anne Thornton of the Food Network is my new favorite chef 

. . . wouldn't you know that she's a pastry chef?  Love her show!

Doesn't everyone need another brownie recipe?  What I like about

this recipe . . . she was trying to come up with a chocolate fudge

recipe and ended up tweaking it a bit for fudgy-type brownies.

She featured brownie pops on the episode Brownie Bonanza using

this brownie recipe.  Click on the link for that recipe and other

goodies like Death By Chocolate.

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for pan

• 1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

For your brownie batter, melt your butter in a medium (or large) heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.

While the butter is melting, whisk the cocoa powder, sea salt and sugar in a separate bowl. (The sugar and salt will work as abrasive agents to get any lumps out of the cocoa.) Whisk the cocoa/sugar/salt combo into the melted butter until the sugar has dissolved fully. The mixture should look like fudge and pull away from the bowl into a ball. Take off the stove and set the pan on a dishtowel on your counter. Allow the fudgy mixture to cool down until it's warm, but not hot anymore.

While that is cooling, line the bottom and sides of your 9 by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil. You want to leave about 4 inches of overhang on the 2 opposite sides. These serve as your handles to remove the brownies from the pan in 1 piece, so make sure that there is enough of the overhang for you to have a solid grip. Grease the parchment or foil well.

Stir in the vanilla into the cooled fudge mixture to loosen it up. Add the eggs into the mixture 1 at a time, adding the second egg after the first egg is fully incorporated. The batter should look shiny and well blended. Add in your flour and stir it until it's fully incorporated. Once it looks fully blended, beat the batter vigorously for at least 45 strokes. This'll not only get out any pent up stress, but it will make the brownies chewy. Fold in your chocolate chips. Spread the very thick and fudgy brownie batter evenly in the lined pan with an offset spatula or your greased hands.

Pop the brownies in the oven and bake until they get a nice crust and your house smells like brownies, 30 to 35 minutes. Let them cool completely on a rack or a dishtowel on your counter.

Oreo Brownies

This recipe comes from my files of newspaper and magazine clippings, swapped recipes from friends and I have no idea of the original origin . . .


1/2 cup butter
3 ounces baking chocolate
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon double acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup Oreo cookies, crushed
2 cups brown sugar

Melt butter and chocolate in the top of a double
broiler. Cool slightly. Beat in remaining ingredients
by hand.

Pour into a greased 8 x 12-inch pan. Bake at
350 degrees F until set, approximately 30 minutes.

Yields 12

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients

1 large roll Pillsbury premixed chocolate chip cookie mix (refrigerator section)
2 (8 oz.) packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with mixer until softened.


Cut cookie mix in half and put 1/2 back in freezer.


Slice dough in 1/4 inch slices and place on bottom of a 9 x 11 inch baking dish.


Blend to cover bottom.


Place cream cheese mix on top of cookie mix.


Take remaining dough and slice in 1/4 inch slices. Place on top of cream cheese mix, leaving spaces between the dough.


Bake 40 minutes.


Cut into 48 brownies when completely cooled.


Refrigerate.



Source:  Foodista

Double Fudge Cream Cheese Brownies

BROWNIES:

1 cup butter or margarine
4 (1-oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips


FILLING:

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. margarine or butter, softened
3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla




Heat oven to 350.

In 2-quart saucepan combine 1 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted
(4-6 minutes).

Stir in remaining brownie ingredients except chocolate chips.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread half of batter into greased 13x9 pan.

In small bowl stir together all filling ingredients. Spread over brownie mixture.

Spoon remaining batter over cream cheese. (Batter will not entirely cover cream cheese mixture).

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan.



Source: Land O'Lakes Butter

S'mores Brownies

Ingredients

Crust:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt

Brownie:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 large cold eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 4 cups large marshmallows

Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

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