Pretty Darned Good Chewy Brownies

In all honestly, I don't suppose the web really needs one more picture of brownies, grins.  But I'm thinking that no blog is complete without at least one brownie post so this one is mine.

Back (several!) decades ago when I was took home ec in high school, our teacher gave us a little tri-fold pamphlet from (I think) Hershey's chocolate that maybe had a half a dozen recipes on it.  One of the recipes was the best brownies I've ever eaten in my entire life.  Now, through numerous moves and not realizing what I treasure I really had, I've since lost that recipe, and for whatever reason it's a recipe that Hershey's no longer has available.  And I've looked.  High and low.  Asked on recipe sites.  Bought a old-fashioned Hershey cookbook.  Googled.  It's gone, gone, gone.  I think it's probably because it was a little more work that most brownie recipes; as I recall it asked for both powdered chocolate, as well as melting chocolate squares, and nowadays, who has time for that?  Well, for that recipe, I'd make time.

Anyway, enough grief sharing over lost treasures.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I dislike fudgy brownies.  BIG dislike.  Even bigger than that:  frosted brownies.  No words.  Then again, I'm not a fan of cakey brownies. Not the BIG dislike of their fudgy or frosted cousins but I can give them a pass.  Enter the chewy brownie, that compromise that seems to say, hey, I'm not a wannabe fudge candy or a wannabe cake.  I am my own brownie.

I'm going to keep looking for that elusive perfect brownie recipe from decades ago, but in the meantime, this recipe is pretty darned good.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 stick), melted
2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a 9 inch x 9 inch baking pan and set aside.

Combine sugar, butter and water in a large bowl.  Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.  Combine flour, cocoa and baking powder and salt in medium bowl and add to the wet mixture. Stir in nuts.

Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few sticky crumbs. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Creamy, Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Historically, I didn't make macaroni and cheese.  It's not that I don't like it; it's because I'm pretty particular about it and I wasn't able to make it the way I like it.  I want a creamy mac and cheese, not a lump of dried, curdled pasta and cheese with bread crumbs thrown on top.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, that wasn't happening in my kitchen.  Even recipes that promised creamy didn't deliver.  When I find that the local grocer's makes a better heat-and-serve macaroni and cheese than one I make from scratch, well I know when to concede.  Not everybody is good at everything.

Not good at everything, that is until I saw this posting on Marie Rayner's blog, The English Kitchen.  I've been a fan of Marie's blog like forever, and much of what she posts are recipes similar to what I grew up with and loved, even though we are an ocean apart.  So it came as no surprise to me when I saw her post for this creamy, stove-top macaroni and cheese, I knew I had to give it a try.

This is now my go-to for homemade creamy macaroni and cheese.  It's easy peasy, lemon squeezy, made with typical (to me) pantry items, though a kitchen scale is a handy dandy tool to weigh out the ten ounces of cheese before grating.  If you're a fan of rich and cheesy and creamy, this is a good recipe to try.  And if you absolutely have to have bread crumbs, toast some panko with a little butter in a skillet, grins, and add it to the finished dish.

STOVE TOP, RICH AND CHEESY MACARONI AND CHEESE

8 ounces of dried pasta, prepared according to package directions
2 large eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Tobasco)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
4 tablespoons of butter
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

While the macaroni is cooking, in a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper and dry mustard. 

Once the macaroni is cooked, drain, and add the 4 tablespoons of butter, stirring into the hot pasta until the butter is melted. 

Stir in the egg mixture.

Add the grated cheese and cook over low heat, gently stirring, until the cheese is melted.  Do not rush this part as too high heat will cause the cheese to seize and curdle.

Serve hot.

COOK'S NOTES:  This was excellent the first day.  I was not so much a fan of it the second day.  I did reheat it on the stove top with a little added milk to try and smooth it out a little, but really cannot recommend this as a leftover.

A Platter of Pancakes and Blueberriest Blueberry Syrup

I've eaten a fair number of pancakes along the way, have tried a number of different recipes, and never complained.  It's pancakes, right?  They're all good.  But this recipe is very good.  Good enough to eat without syrup or butter.  Good enough to eat while they're so hot they'll burn your tongue good.  So good, this is my go-to recipe for pancakes.  When I crave pancakes, these are the ones I'm dreaming of.

I guess what makes them so good is they have more sugar than other recipes and less salt, so if you like a sweeter pancake, you'll like these.

However, a little syrup does go so nicely, and I want to share my favorite blueberry syrup of all time.  I've made it for years and have never strayed from it.  I swear, the blueberry flavor in this is so vibrant it's even blueberrier than fresh blueberries.  Doggone it's good!

SWEET, FLUFFY PANCAKES
https://www.graceandgoodeats.com/best-ever-pancake-recipe/

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar
• Melt the butter and combine with the egg and milk in a small bowl.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• Mix together, pulling dry ingredients from the sides to the wet center, until just combined.  A few lumps are perfectly acceptable and expected.
• Allow the batter to rest a bit (giving an opportunity for the baking powder to work its magic and) while your greased pan or griddle is heating over medium high heat.
• Once heated, use a 1/4 cup scoop, measure batter onto the griddle.  (Give the batter a little swirl with the side of your measuring cup, starting from the center, working outward to help shape the your pancake into a more perfect circle, optional, but nice!)
• Cook each side until light golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.

BLUEBERRIEST BLUEBERRY SAUCE

In a small saucepan combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, a good pinch of ground nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.  (That equates to about 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg and even less than that for the salt.)

Stir in 1/2 cup of boiling water.  Cook and stir until mixture becomes clear and thick and bubbly, about two minutes or so.

Add one cup of fresh or frozen blueberries and cook and stir, bringing mixture back to the boil and the blueberries begin to burst.

Remove from heat and add one tablespoon lemon juice and stir.

Serve warm.

COOK'S NOTES:  The first time I made these, I burnt them.  Yep, sure did but they were still good.  I was overzealous with the heat.  It's my thought that since these tend to be a little thicker pancake, they needed to be on a lower heat to give the pancake time enough to cook through.  Even these aren't as quite as golden brown and picture perfect as I would've wished, we loved them anyway.

I've since bought an electric skillet and it has done wonders to improve the appearance of the pancakes; I'm supposing it's because the heat is even, with no hot and cold spots that happen with my griddle on my glass-cooktop stove.

Frost-on-Apples Apple Cider Cake

I had promised myself that I would not become silly over this cake.  I mean it's just a simple breakfast cake after all, right?  It wasn't going to be a big deal.  Until...

I took that first bite and all the scents and aromas and memories of a New England autumn flooded my mouth and I was transported back to a time of golden meadows and golden days, frosty mornings and those first crisp apples.

Our local library used to have an apple cider doughnut and coffee bazaar.  Piles of fresh doughnuts delighted the eye and the warm scents of spices and cider and steaming coffee and hot chocolate filled the air.  Community members would gather 'round to exchange pleasantries while stuffing their mouths with big mouthfuls of doughnuts and hot drink.

So, I found this keeper recipe on a blog I have been following for years, The Circle B Kitchen, and have made several of her recipes and once again her recipe did not disappoint.  I followed it as she wrote it, and I would not change a thing.  Well I did change the name of it, because when I looked mine and I was admiring the simple sugar coating, all I became wistful and thought, geesh, that looks like the old apple orchard we had after the first frost.

There's a few steps to this, none of them difficult, but read through so that those ingredients that need to be at room temperature are ready and waiting for you.  Take the time to enjoy the experience, maybe enjoy the luxury of a little reminiscence.  Reward awaits.

APPLE CIDER CAKE


1 large apple (or 2 small), about 8 ounces total, peeled, cored, diced
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup milk (at room temperature)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

CINNAMON SUGAR COATING

6 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt

Position rack to middle of oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease Bundt pan well, making sure to get all the crevices and the middle tube.

In a medium-sized saucepan add the apple cider and chopped apples and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce heat a notch to medium and allow mixture to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the apples are easily mashable with a fork.  Letting this cook about few minutes longer (say five to eight minutes) will deepen the apple flavors.

Remove from heat and allow to cool in the pan.  Once cool enough to process, puree with a stick blender or mini food processor if you want something smooth.  I used a regular ole pastry fork and gave it a good mash up.  Measure out 1 1/4 cups of the puree and combine with the milk; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and mace; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the 1/2 cup softened butter with the two sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Decrease mixer speed to low, and slowly add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the apple puree mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Use a rubber spatula as necessary to scrape down batter to ensure it's all combined.  Increase mixer speed to  medium and beat until just combined, about 20 seconds.  Add vanilla and beat about 10 seconds, just to combine.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit 35 to 45 minutes, rotating cake midway during baking, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Transfer cake to cooling rack and allow to rest for about ten minutes before inverting directly on the cooling rack.  Coat the cake with the sugar coating while cake is still warm.

For the cinnamon sugar coating, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  I used a pastry brush to gently work the coating over the entire cake, and once the cake was covered, any remainder was generously sprinkled over the top.

COOK'S NOTES:  This cake keeps well for several days if well covered and flavors only get better.
I rarely have unsalted butter in the house so I use 3/4 teaspoon salt with the difference being made up more or less in the butter.  If you don't have mace, you can just increase the amount of nutmeg used.  I happen to have it in my cabinet, so used it plus the higher amount of nutmeg and don't regret it, grins.