Zucchini Brownies

Whose going to all that zucchini eat it?? Not me! Can I have a brownie?
Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
From skinnychef.com
Serves 9

5 ounces bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites (I used one egg.)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cups all-purpose flour or oat flour, plus 1 tablespoon for flouring the pan
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, (about 1 large zucchini)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray and sprinkle with the one tablespoon of flour. Shake the pan until the flour evenly coats the inside of the pan. Place chocolate in an ovenproof dish and place in the oven, 5-6 minutes until just melted. Or place chocolate in microwave (30 seconds to 1 minute) until melted. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, egg white, sugar, vanilla and melted chocolate until well blended. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the zucchini and nuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the pan. Cool completely in the pan and cut into squares. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. (I bake mine for 40 min.)

292 calories each serving without nuts

Dry Cookies, Brownies and Cake

In the space of one month, there are 5 birthdays in this family. All in the month of December. That's a lot of cake. Throw in Christmas cookies and other treats and you've got the makings of putting on enough fat to produce enough energy to make 1.21 gigawatts. 1.21 gigawatts!? Name that movie. But I digress. Of course I wouldn't want to throw any of those calories out. Not even the dry leftovers that have been hanging around for weeks.

Chocolate Trifle

Dry chocolate cookies, brownies and/or cake cut into 1-inch chunks
Chocolate pudding, prepared according to directions
Heavy cream, whipped and sweetened with powdered sugar

The amount of ingredients that you will need will depend on the amount of cookies/brownies/cake you have. You can make this in a large bowl (clear glass trifle bowl is prettiest) or a flat baking dish such as a 9x13. Clear parfait glasses or any glass works great for smaller amounts. I used a very large bowl and used 5 boxes of pudding, prepared, and 1 1/2 quarts of whipping cream. Add anything you like to the layers, such as caramel, toffee bits, strawberries or raspberries.

In a clear trifle bowl, layer half of the chocolate cookies, brownies or cake. Top with a layer of half the pudding. Layer next with half the whipped cream. Repeat layers. Garnish with shaved chocolate on top if desired. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving

Critical Mass Brownies

So dense they are approaching critical mass.

French Brownies
aka Critical Mass Brownies
From Bon Appetit

½ lb. bitter chocolate squares (can use 1/2 cup cocoa and ½ cup oil)
½ cup butter
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
1.5 cups sifted flour
3 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and chocolate. Set aside to cool. Beat eggs adding sugar slowly. Add cooled butter and chocolate. Blend in order: flour, vanilla. Use two 8 x 8 greased and floured pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Don’t over bake – the brownies should be moist (very) in the middle while warm. Let cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

The recipe calls for 2 pans but one pan can be used for thicker brownies. And as always, brownies are better the next day.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

Yes.


Peppermint Brownies
from topsecretrecipes.com

Brownies
1 19.5-ounce box fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup butter
1 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Decorative Icing
1 can white frosting (with fine tip)
1 can red frosting (with fine tip)



1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, then prepare a 9x9-inch baking pan by spraying it with a light coating of non-stick spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil to the same width as the bottom of the pan, but make it much longer than the pan so that the left and right ends go up and out of the pan on the left and right sides. This will create a "sling" that will help you lift the brownies out of the pan after they've baked.

2. Make the brownie batter by first sifting the box of ingredients. This will remove the clumps. Add the melted butter, water, eggs and peppermint extract and mix the batter by hand just until all the dry stuff is mixed in. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake it for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Allow brownie to cool before frosting.

3. Make the peppermint buttercream frosting by beating together 1 cup of powdered sugar and the softened butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Mix in another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, then add 1 tablespoon of milk, and the peppermint and vanilla extract. Mix for about 1 minute to make the frosting smooth. Add an additional 1/4 cup of powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin and light. You want a frosting that can be spread easily, yet it should be firm enough to hold up the layer of chocolate frosting that's coming next. When the brownie has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting evenly over the top. Put the brownie in the fridge to firm up the buttercream frosting.

4. Make the chocolate frosting by bringing 1/3 cup whole milk and 1/4 cup butter to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-safe bowl. When the milk and butter comes to a boil, pour the mixture over the chocolate chips and let it all just sit there in the bowl for a couple minutes. Add the vanilla extract to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Use an electric mixer to beat in 1 cup powdered sugar until the frosting is smooth. Spread the chocolate frosting over the white frosting on the brownie. This recipe makes a little more chocolate frosting than you need, so hold back about 1/3 to 1/4 cup.

5. To add the decorative red and white icing if you decide to go for it: First apply the white icing to the top of the cake in a sweeping motion diagonally across the top of the entire cake, then add the red icing over the white in the same sweeping motion in the same direction.

6. Stick the brownie back in the fridge for about an hour before removing it from the pan and slicing it into 9 equal portions. The leftovers will keep well for several days covered in the refrigerator.
Makes 9 brownies.