Espresso Brownies

Red first introduced me to this yummy adult treats when we first met 2.5 yrs ago. All of his friends always requested him to whip up this treat for parties and get together. One even asked if Red could shipped them through Fed-Ex when he moved to Iowa. We made these a couple of days ago to the delight of our friends, Jill and Sarah who drove 2.5 hrs to see us.

This isn't a kid-friendly recipe since kids don't usually like the coffee flavor in the frosting, but adults love since it adds depth to the chocolate flavor.




Espresso Brownies
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis (Food Network)

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 (19.8-ounce) box brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

Brownie Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
• Whisk 1/3 cup of water, oil, eggs, and 2 tablespoons espresso powder in a large bowl to blend. Add the brownie mix.
• Stir until well blended.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.
• Cool completely.

Frosting Directions

• Meanwhile, dissolve the remaining 2 teaspoons of espresso powder in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl.
• Whisk in the vanilla.
• Add the powdered sugar and butter and whisk until smooth.
• Pour the glaze over the brownies. Refrigerate until the glaze is set.
• Cut into bite-size pieces.
• Arrange the brownies on a platter and serve.

Molten Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
• Whipped Cream or Ice Cream for serving
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin.
• Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined.
• Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
• Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.
• To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Tips:
When they say "generously butter" the muffin tins, you seriously need to do this, or the cakes will not come out from the pans, like mine did.

Courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Orangettes

I was thrilled to run into this recipe on Smitten Kitchen's website. I am not a chocoholic like my husband is, but I do like good quality chocolate treats. Since I first tried this heavenly treat many years ago, I have been searching to find something similar to this everywhere (at the malls, chocolate shops, upscale bakeries, none!) but haven't run into one yet. The ones that I have found on chocolate shops are usually orange gummy bears dipped in chocolate instead of actual orange peels. This also gets my husband motivated to eat two oranges in one sitting!

Thank God for this recipe.

Orangettes

Ingredients

3 large oranges
1 1/2 cups water
4oz semi-sweet chocolate

Directions

Bring a pot of water to a boil (not using the above 1 1/2 cups water) and blanche orange peels for a couple of minutes.

Remove the peels, rinse with cold water, and repeat. Drain well.
Meanwhile, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Carefully add the peels to the saucepan. Allow to return to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour.

Be sure to periodically check on the syrup level - you don’t want the peels to burn.
After an hour, remove the peels from the syrup and let them cool on a rack.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double boiler and when peels are cool, dip them in the chocolate. Let them dry on a piece of parchment paper set on a cookie sheet.

When all have been dipped, move them to the fridge for 20 min or so to allow the chocolate to set up.

Chocolate Truffles

I have been obsessed about trying to make these heavenly treats for the past two weeks. I made Oreo Truffles last week and again this week. But I also have been thinking about these little truffles that I first tried many years ago that were rolled in cocoa powder. The unique part of these truffles is that you can roll them in cocoa powder. So you will then experience the intense cocoa flavor in your first bite, but yet as you dig in deeper, there's this nice welcoming depth of chocolate that melts in your mouth.

I found a recipe that looked delicious on Williams and Sonoma website, and here's my proud result. The only thing that I would probably try to change in the future is trying to add in some liquor flavoring in the truffle.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar or unsweetened
cocoa powder

Directions:

Chop the ingredients
Put the butter on a cutting board. Using a table knife, cut the butter into small chunks. Set aside.
Put the chocolate on the cutting board. Using a serrated knife, chop the chocolate into small, even bits. Set aside.

Warm the cream
Pour the cream into a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and warm until tiny bubbles appear in the cream around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat.

Melt the chocolate
Add the butter and chocolate to the saucepan and stir with a rubber spatula until everything is melted and the mixture is very smooth. If the chocolate does not seem to be melting, turn on the heat to medium and warm for about 20 seconds. Turn off the heat and stir again. Repeat the heating and stirring process, if necessary, until the mixture is smooth. Do not let the mixture get too hot.

Chill the mixture
Let the mixture cool to the touch, about 15 minutes. Using the rubber spatula, stir in the vanilla. Scrape the mixture into a shallow bowl. Cover the chocolate mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is solid, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Scoop the truffles
Using a melon baller, scoop the chocolate mixture to make rough balls the size of a gumball. Place each scoop of truffle mixture onto a cool work surface.

Shape the truffles
Put the confectioners' sugar or the cocoa in another shallow bowl. (The confectioners' sugar will give the truffles an extra layer of sweetness. The cocoa will make the truffles intensely chocolaty.)

Working with 1 truffle scoop at a time, use the palms of your hands to roll it into a smooth, round ball. After rolling, put the balls in the bowl with the coating of your choice.



Coat the truffles
Roll each truffle in the confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder until it is completely coated, then put in a serving dish. Cover and store the truffles in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them. (You can even freeze the truffles for up to 3 months.)

Makes 25 truffles. Note: mine made about 45 truffles because I really wanted them to be bite-size!

Oreo Truffles

I first saw this recipe on Kraft website while I was browsing for ideas. I was floored at how simple the recipe was, and was doubly pleased when I found out how wonderful they tasted! This is a must for any holiday get together. Who doesn't like Oreo and chocolate mixed together?



Ingredients

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions

Mix 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls

Dip balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

From Kraft

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tart

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch tart or pie plus about 1 dozen cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips, (about 12 ounces)
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch pie tin with vegetable-oil cooking spray; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Press 3 cups of this dough into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden and center is almost set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes, and remove from pan. Bake remaining dough as cookies at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.