Brownies Archives - Cook By Book

Category: Brownies

30
May
2014

Fudgy White Chocolate Lemonies {Lemon Brownies}

categories: Baking, Brownies, Spring, Summer

Lemonies… It sounds so exotic and poetic. Some genius thought of this cool name for lemon brownies, I am not sure who did but genius, nonetheless! A simple reason for not calling them brownies has something to do with their color (They are not brown!!). These are pale yellow beauties adorned with bright yellow zest and white chocolate chips in each bite. They are so fudgy and buttery, dense yet light, just how I like my brownies.

These are the perfect treats for summer (or round the year, who am I kidding!?!) and totally irresistible. The lemon flavor really shines through and pairs wonderfully well with all that white chocolate. Be sure to use a white chocolate bar and not white chocolate chips for the batter. It makes all the difference! And have them chilled, straight from the fridge. You’re welcome. 🙂

Have a fun weekend!
xx

Fudgy White Chocolate Lemonies {Lemon Brownies}

Yields: 12-16 slices | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: about 35 minutes| Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

9-oz block of white chocolate, roughly chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp white chocolate chips, to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180ºF / 350ºC. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan; line base and sides with parchment paper and grease with butter/oil (I used foil).
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter in a microwave for 1-2 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. The mixture should be lump-free and glossy. Rub lemon zest and sugar together with the fingers and whisk in to the chocolate mixture. Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes.
Once chocolate mixture is cooled down, whisk in eggs (one by one) and lemon juice until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour and salt and fold into chocolate mixture with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. Pour the batter in a baking pan, sprinkle chocolate chips on top (optional) and bake for 33-35 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in pan over a cooling rack. (If you’re in a hurry, throw it in a refrigerator or freezer for a while for easy cutting.)
Lift up the ends of parchment or foil liner, transfer the brownies to cutting board and cut into 9 or 12 squares. Store it covered in an air-tight container for a week in refrigerator. It tastes best chilled.

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28
Feb
2014

Oreo Chocolate Brownies

categories: Baking, Brownies, Desserts

2 months into this year and 2014 has been spectacular so far! In the beginning of the year, Amrita (most popular as a bacon jam lady!) & I decided to do a little food exchange. She being a queen of all things yummilicious, I had a hard time deciding what to send. Just around that time, I had re-made these (Fudgiest!) Chocolate Brownies and sneaked in some Oreo cookies in them. They were epic! Oreo + Chocolate lover’s dream. I decided this was it but was still a bit skeptic.

Imagine my relief when she said she totally loved it! She blogged about it too and thanks a ton to her, the recipe became so so popular. I got so many mails and messages from all you lovely people who tried and loved these beauties! I thank all of you beautiful readers who attempted the recipe and reported back. I lou you all. It definitely deserves a spot of its own on the blog so here it is!

Happy Baking! 🙂

Oreo Chocolate Brownies

Makes: 9-12 squares | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: Approximately 35 minutes

Ingredients:

250 gm / 9 oz dark chocolate, roughly sliced
1/2 cup unsalted butter, roughly sliced (approximately 115 gm)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
3 large eggs, cold
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp Rum
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
16 Oreo cookies, plus more for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180ºF / 350ºC. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan; line base and sides with parchment paper (I use foil).
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate, butter and brown sugar in a microwave for 1-2 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. The mixture should be lump-free and glossy. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes.
Once chocolate mixture is cooled down, stir white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and rum into it.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and cocoa powder and fold into chocolate mixture with wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Pour half the batter in a baking pan and arrange whole 16 Oreo cookies on it in a single layer (do not press them down). Pour rest of the batter and sprinkle few pieces of Oreo on top. Bake for 33-36 minutes, until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in pan over a cooling rack. (If you’re in a hurry, throw it in a refrigerator or freezer for a while for easy cutting.)
Lift up the ends of parchment or foil liner, transfer the brownies to cutting board and cut into 9 or 12 squares. Store it in an air-tight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or refrigerate for a week.

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10
Feb
2014

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies ~ From Scratch

categories: Baking, Brownies, Desserts

Hello! Meet the perfect Valentine’s day dessert!

Everyone loves a good brownie and when your regular brownies got a makeover, red velvet brownies were born. They become a thing of out-of-this-world! And they do not come from a box-mix! Yes, these are made 100% from scratch. So earn some extra brownie-points and make them for your Valentine!

These brownies turned out so dang awesome that they were demolished FAST. It’s only 2 of us and with some self-control we made them last 48 hours! Every single piece and each last crumb was devoured with so much happiness. 9 pieces had to be equally divided among the 2 of us, such a difficult task! It was natural that I get an extra piece which I had happily consumed anyway while photographing these beauties. I mean who could resist? 😛

These brownies were supremely moist, fudgy and soft. Browned butter gives a unique depth of flavor. I like to use both white and brown sugar for a perfect brownie. Brown sugar attributes to a caramelized flavor while white sugar contributes to a crisp, shiny top! I’m a plain brownie person so I went plain with mine but you may fold in white chocolate chips and sprinkle some on top before baking for that extra chocolate-kick.

You may decorate these in many ways. I had them plain, with some powdered sugar sprinkling, with Nutella frosting and warm brownie topped with Double Chocolate Ice-cream. You bet I was completely ruining my healthy diet those 2 days and it was absolutely worth it! Sorry to all my Instagram followers for torturing them with all that #foodporn. Now you’ve got the recipe, time to treat yourselves!

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies ~ from Scratch

Yields: 9 pieces | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: 20 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 + 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (or 3 Tbsp milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar)
Red food color
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 180ºC / 350ºF. Line 8×8 inch square baking pan with an aluminium foil and grease it with oil. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir constantly until butter has reached a light brown color and little bits have formed. It will be difficult to see the color of the butter as it foams a bit, so I go by smell– it will be very fragrant.
Pour the butter in your mixing bowl(no need to cool). Add the sugars and cocoa powder and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each addition until almost creamy.
Add the salt, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla extract.
Add the flour and mix well. Batter will be of cupcake consistency.
Spread the batter in baking pan and bake for 19-22 minutes (mine were done in exactly 20 minutes) o until toothpick inserted in a center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into pieces. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, Nutella frosting or warm with a scoop of ice-cream.

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15
Oct
2013

(Fudgiest!) Chocolate Brownies

categories: Bars & Blondies, Brownies, Desserts, Fall

Brownies!

Hmmm.. Where do we even begin…!

Cute, little squares so rich in chocolate that they taste like heaven on your plate. They’re adored pretty much universally. Every chocolate-lover’s dream! At least I’m yet to meet a person who DOESN’T like brownies. Do you know anyone?!! 😛

I’m very particular about the kind of brownies that goes in my tummy. It has to be thick, super-fudgy, moist and decadent. Not crumbly, dry or over-the-top-rich. I also like my brownies plain… Yep! Without any nuts, raisins, sultanas or chocolate-chips. Just plain…

I had posted a recipe for Brownies previously. That was an excellent recipe but a bit thin and more buttery for my liking. So I started testing for my go-to-recipe… And I can say that I have found it! Husband said that these are THE BEST brownies he has eaten in his entire life! Certainly made my day 🙂

This recipe turned out to be everything I want my perfect brownies to be. And they are quite fuss-free. Just 2 bowl required. No need to set-up a double boiler unless you do not own a microwave. Ready in about 45 minutes! Totally perfect to satisfy the chocolate/brownie cravings. So good that I can eat an entire pan by myself! (I haven’t though!) I only made them yesterday and I had to share it with you immediately! So stop drooling and MAKE these right away!! 🙂

(Fudgiest!) Chocolate Brownies

Makes: 9-12 squares | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: Approximately 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

250 gm / 9 oz dark chocolate, roughly sliced
1/2 cup unsalted butter, roughly sliced (approximately 115 gm)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
3 large eggs, cold
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp Rum (optional)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180ºF / 350ºC. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan; line base and sides with parchment paper. (I used foil.)
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate, butter and brown sugar in a microwave for 1-2 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. The mixture should be lump-free and glossy. Set aside and let cool for about 10 minutes.
Once chocolate mixture is cooled down, stir white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and rum into it.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and cocoa powder and fold into chocolate mixture with wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Pour the batter in a baking pan and bake for 30-33 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in pan over a cooling rack. (If you’re in a hurry, throw it in a refrigerator or freezer for a while for easy cutting.)
Lift up the ends of parchment or foil liner, transfer the brownies to cutting board and cut into 9 or 12 squares. Store it in an air-tight container for 3-4 days at room temperature or refrigerate for a week.

*Feel free to add nuts, raisins or chocolate chips if you like. 1/2 cup should be a good amount.

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