Gluten-Free Blondies

Hello hello! I am in the best of moods lately, as Vancouver has decided to let the sun shine! Days at the beach are becoming routine, and I’m loving it. BBQ’s with friends, cold beers in the sand, and my long-awaited tan. I also went and saw Toots and the Maytals last night and they blew me away. I grew up listening to them, thanks to Papa Kendall, so seeing them live was incredible. I definitely think that reggae concerts are my favourite because everyone is there for the music, there are a ton of good vibes, and everyone is super relaxed stoned.

I also have felt like baking lately! Yay! These blondies are the lightened up, good for you kind, so that you can eat a million and not hurt that bikini bod. Or whatever.

But really, these are very tasty, and they are gluten free. The base consists of dates, banana, ground flax seed, and peanut butter. After that, you can throw whatever you want into them, like shredded coconut flakes or chocolate chips. And they are healthy enough to eat (a few) as a quick breakfast. You are welcome.

Gluten-Free Blondies

• 14 pitted dried dates
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup (heaping) peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup chocolate soy milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup  + 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• (Optional) 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 15×12 baking pan.

In a food processor, process dates for a few minutes until a paste forms. Add banana and pulse, then add peanut butter and flax and pulse. Add remaining ingredients and keep processing, while scraping down sides periodically, until a smooth, creamy batter forms. Stir in coconut or chocolate or whatever you want for mixins and pour batter into baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tooth pick comes out clean and top is golden.

Remove bars from oven and cool for ten minutes. Either slice into bars and eat warm and gooey, or refrigerate for a couple hours before eating.

Happy baking! xxxx

Cookie Bars

Hiii!!!! Is my absence no surprise to anyone? I am so so sorry, but I truly am lacking in all inspiration! I don’t know what is going on! Help me out people! Tell me what I should bake for you all! Bahhhh.

I am super low on cash- like- seriously broke, and thus it seems silly to go and buy baking supplies when I could instead use the money on, say, real groceries. Real food is nice. A meal here and there is helpful to surviving I hear…

ALSO! Has anyone else fallen into a crazy, absurd obsession with superheroes yet? I saw the Avengers, then saw them again, and now am anticipating the arrival of the new Batman, Spiderman, AND the sequels to Captain America and Thor. I kid you not, I have spent many an evening just researching all the plots and characters of the old comics, and feel a comic-nerd trait coming on. Why don’t kids read that stuff anymore? Some graphic novels are so beautifully illustrated that I want to collect them. Collecting graphic novels=breaking the bank hobby. Awww welll. Back to the baking….

I made these babies last night with Jess because we were craving sugar and chocolate and butter and all the good stuff. They started as a half brownie, half cookie type bar, but the layers mixed together somehow, and the texture came out as all cookie. They were great! You only need a couple bites to satisfy to cravings, but I still managed to eat two bars.

 

Cookie Bars

Cookie Layer

• 1 cup butter, melted until browned then refrigerated and softened again (trust me it’s worth it)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of cinnamon
• 1-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Brownie Layer

• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or 4 oz)
• 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil or any other oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.

For cookie layer, beat together butter and sugars, then add in eggs and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together and slowly beat into wet ingredients. Mix in chocolate chips at the end. Spread an even layer into bottom of pan.

For brownie layer, melt chocolate chips and stir in oil. Beat in sugar and eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat in flour and salt until a smooth batter is formed. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour brownies batter over cookie layer, and drag a knife through to mix the batters up a bit.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on how gooey you want your bars. We cooked ours for 45 min for a more cookie-like bar. For a more brownie like result, cook for 35 minutes. Just keep an eye on the oven and test done-ness by poking a knife into it and observe if crumbs stick to it when you pull it out.

Happy baking!! xxxx

 

 

White and Dark Chocolate Layer Brownies

Helloooooo, it has been a couple days since I’ve posted anything! Exams are just getting the better of me! Today I made these fabulous bars and they totally gave me a pick-me-up. The bottom layer consists of a fudgey, intensely chocolate brownie. The second layer is a fluffy and creamy white chocolate layer, that has a bite of cream cheese and soaked in sweetened condensed milk. I finished it off with mini reese’s pieces cups, to add a little salty peanut butter taste to each bar.I’m glad I added the cream cheese because these bars would be too sweet without it.

I have never in my life had a white chocolate brownie so these bars intrigued me. I got the inspiration from seeing a lemon and blueberry brownie on foodgawker that had a white chocolate glaze. I thought that making the entire brownie out of white chocolate would be fun and unique.

Do I like white chocolate brownies better then dark chocolate? Heavens, no. I love chocolate chocolate. A true brownie will never be replaced in my heart. But these bars are a fun and delicious variation so give them a try!

White and Dark Chocolate Layer Brownies

White Layer

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk ( 1 can)
• 4 oz melted white chocolate
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Dark Chocolate Layer

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 packs of mini reece’s pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9 baking pan. Line with aluminum foil and grease again.

For dark chocolate base, mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. Melt butter over medium-high heat until completely melted, then stir in cocoa powder. Mix in sugar, vanilla, and eggs until combined, then stir in flour mixture. Pour mixture into greased pan.

For white layer, mix together dry ingredients and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add condensed milk and white chocolate while beating. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour white layer on top of dark layer. Place reece’s pieces on top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden and center is just gooey.

Happy baking! xxx

Marshmallow Caramel Brownies

Fat stack

Today I went running. It was euphoric. Utterly incredible and fantastically fresh. It was more of a slow, strong jog, but it felt great. I haven’t been brave enough to try for a month for fear of making myself more sick (if that is even possible). Turns out I’m so much better than I thought! Yay for health!

My new-found balance in life has completely changed how I look at the world. I swear, I am half as stressed as I used to be, and I think it is because I don’t take everything as seriously. School is hard, and requires a lot of time and effort. But it is not my life and that is ok. I won’t be the kid scoring 90’s in my courses, but I will be much happier for it. I will get through exams, find a summer job, and have the best possible summer that I can! As for food, I am listening to my body more and eating only healthy, simple food. If you treat your body right, it shines through in your mood, complexion, and overall well-being. Such a good feeling.

To balance out my healthy eating and exercise, I obviously had to bake a batch of these beauties. So gooey, fudgey, chocolatey, and just straight-up delicious. I swirled caramel throughout the brownie batter, and mixed in a good 2 cups of marshmallows before I popped it in the oven. The marshmallows caramelized, and added a chewy texture. They are best served after cooling in the fridge overnight, because the flavours deepen. Recipe is my own.

Marshmallow Caramel Brownies

 

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup caramel (make your own or store bought!)
• 1-2 cups mini marshmallows

 

Directions:

 

Grease a 9×9 baking pan and line with aluminum foil. Grease again. Set oven to 375 degrees.

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a small sauce pan. When completely melted, remove and add sugar. Stir like crazy to prevent burning. When sugar is fully incorporated, wait 5 minutes to let cool.  Add eggs, one at a time, whisking them in. Add vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix up dry ingredients, then add them to wet ingredients.

Pour mixture into prepared pan, and swirl in caramel. Top with marshmallows, and stir them in a bit so that they are coate din batter and wont burn.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until top is glossy, and a toothpick comes out clean yet crumby. Cool brownies for 20 minutes, then a further 2 hours in fridge. Slice into bars and serve with milk.

Happy Baking! xxx

Crack Brownies

ooey gooey baby

One week till, ahem, Schooooools out. For. Summer!

Craziness! I still have exams till the end of April (dear lord) but things are finally coming to an end! Every year it happens the same way, too. It will be early second semester, it’s crappy weather and you want to die you hate school so much, you pray for reading break to come faster, then all of a sudden you realize there is a month left. The weather, though rainy and poopy right now, is at least warm, and when the sun does peak out, is glorious! Time to break out the shorts!

I have also realized that I have an addiction. No, not anything serious, but definitely dangerous to my figure. I can’t seem to stop baking brownies. In all variations. I don’t know what it is, but I constantly am thinking of how to create the ultimate gooey, chewy, and gloriously rich brownie bar. Not that I find cookies and cakes boring, I just feel that they have been thoroughly explored already. Brownies are a whole new thing.

So with that I bring to you, Crack Brownies. Now, I surfed around on the inter-google for a bit to see if there was already such thing, and I guess there is. And it is similar to what I made! Bummer.

I’m still happy I made them because they were insanely good. A rich layer of dense chocolate brownie, topped with a layer of marshmallows and finally topped with a crumbly white chocolate and peanut butter crumb. The marshmallows seemed to caramelize in the center, giving you three distinct layers with unique textures and flavours. If you prefer to not have a crumby peanut butter layer, mix the marshmallows right into the peanut butter batter. This will give it a more creamy texture and less flaky. Addicting no matter what you do.

Crack Brownies

Brownies Base

• 500 oz semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flower
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 cups mini marshmallows

Peanut Butter Topping

• 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup flour
• 1 bar of white chocolate, cut into pieces

Directions:

Grease and line a 11×11 baking pan with aluminum foil, then grease again. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized pot, melt chocolate and butter on medium heat, stirring constantly. When melted, stir in cocoa powder.  Remove chocolate from heat and slowly add in brown sugar, then eggs. Mix well and add vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix thoroughly. Pour brownie batter into pan and cover in an even marshmallow layer. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove to cool.

In a medium bowl, beat peanut butter , butter, and sugar together. Slowly add egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, sift together flour, slat, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and beat thoroughly for a minute. Scoop peanut butter mixture onto marshmallow topping and spread evenly and carefully to the edges. Push white chocolate squares into peanut butter layer in rows. Bake for 35-40 minutes more, until topping in golden and puffy and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool brownies for fifteen minutes, then place in fridge to cool for an hour or two more. Cut brownies into even squares and devour.

perfect flavour combination!

Happy Crack Baking!

xx.

 

Brownie Stacks

What in God's name!?

A tower of brownies. Layered with peanut butter and nutella frosting. Make a stack.

xx

Slut Bars AKA Slutty Brownies

These bars tower. Massively.

Yup, I made them. These bad boys have been circulating the internet for some time, and I thought that National Oreo Day (Oreo’s birthday) would be the most appropriate way to celebrate them! Eat Oreos tomorrow (March 6)!

I reduced the brownie batter to a half batch, and ended up with a more bar-like treat. SO ridiculously decadent! I had no idea how much the oreos would add to the flavour. They kind of cut the richness of the brownie-cookie combo, which of course is insane, considering it is just another cookie. Cookies on cookies. Yep, these bars are filthy and easy.

brings tears to my eyes!

I originally first saw these on The Londoner’s blog, and almost died. My recipe is much different (no boxed mixes) and includes nutella. And I poured in some heavy cream. For the ultimate artery-clogging experience, top with a scoop of lard and wait for your body to sink into a sugar-fat induced coma.

Slut Bars AKA Slutty Brownies

Cookie Batter

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 pack of double stuffed oreos

Brownie Batter

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup nutella
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Grease a 9x9x2 baking pan and line with wax paper. Grease again. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.Make cookie batter: mix all dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat butter and sugar until combined. Slowly add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat. Add heavy cream if needed. Finally, stir in chocolate chips.

half gone...how!?

Spread cookie batter over bottom of baking dish. Cover in oreos.To make brownie batter, mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter and nutella together until combined. Add eggs, vanilla, and dry ingredients. Spread evenly over oreos.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until brownie top is raised and shiny. Let cool for 5 minutes (because how can you wait any longer??) and MOW.

Gooey nutella

Happy birthday, oreos!

xx.

Peanut Butter Banana Pie with Brownie Crust

Yesterday was National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day! Woohoo! As if National Peanut Butter Day was not enough, we gotta celebrate the fans, or “lover’s”, of peanut butter as well. Ha. As silly as it is, I still jumped at the opportunity to eat peanut butter. And bake with peanut butter. And oh my, did something amazing happen.

When frozen, the pie tastes like ice cream!

I totally had no idea what I was doing in the kitchen, except for the fact that I was going to try and make a rich, smooth peanut butter pie filling and encase it in a brownie crust. How do you make a brownies crust? Well, if you are me, you make a half-batch of brownies, and squish them up with your fingers until they are gooey. Then you press them into a pie dish. Appetizing?

Warmer, the pie is silky smooth and luscious

I decided to freeze the pie, not only to set it, but also to see how it would taste. I froze it over night, then took it out and let sit for 5 minutes. It had a texture like ice cream, which was fantastic! The banana really shined through. But an hour later, after sitting in the fridge, it was much fudgier in texture and oh-so amazing! The peanut butter flavour was incredible. Thuper duper.

Wanna slice? Of course you do

This pie is not pretty. If you wanted to make it pretty, you would use smooth peanut butter, and somehow blend all the banana texture the hell out of it. And it would probably look a lot fancier with a layer of sweetened vanilla whip cream layered on top in a huge swirl.

But I didn’t do any of that. I used chunky peanut butter (all I had), I was too lazy to process the bananas into a puree,  and I ran out of whipping cream (no elegant topping). But that is ok because sometimes most of the time, how it tastes is more important than how it looks. I’m not saying that whipped cream tastes bad (OHMYLAWD imagine if I did), I’m just saying that you don’t always have to be fancy. Every once in a while you gotta take off the heels and the so-tight-I-can’t-breath skirt and slip into ski socks and so-baggy-I-look-pregs sweats. Do it. And eat this pie while doing so. You’ll thank me you did.

Peanut Butter Banana Pie with Brownie Crust

Brownie Crust (makes a 1/2 batch of brownies OR double to make a full batch and have left-over brownies)

• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Banana Pie Filling

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 HEAPING cup peanut butter
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Grease a 9×9 inch square baking pan and set oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter and sugar until thoroughly combined. Slowly mix in cocoa, until all flour clumps are gone. Finally, stir in eggs and vanilla. When wet mixture is made, stir in dry ingredients.

Pour brownie mixture into pan and bake for 15 minutes until set yet still gooey. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. When fully cooled, break up brownie into small chunks, and continue to smoosh (yes, smoosh) until brownie is gooey enough to press into a greased pie pan. Place in freezer to cool for 15 minutes.

While brownie crust cools, makes peanut butter filling. Beat whipping cream until it becomes stiff and peaks begin to form. Slowly add in sugar and continue beating. Add in peanut butter, then banana, and finally vanilla. Keep beating mixture for 3-4 minutes until mixture becomes thoroughly smooth and thick.

Pour peanut butter mixture into brownie crust and freeze for at least one hour, then remove and top with whatever you want. Pie tastes better the next day, when placed in fridge overnight.

Eat me!!

I personally think that peanut butter should be celebrated, and eaten, everyday. Check out these other peanut butter creations to satisfy your cravings!

For a truly decadent and rich dessert, try Peanut Butter, Caramel, and Chocolate Tart.

For something easy, quick, and delicious, make Chocolate-Puddle Peanut Butter Cups.

For something less dessert-like yet incredibly moist and heavenly, make Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bread.

And for something that is better for breakfast yet still gooey, warm and full of peanut butter flavour, try Birthday Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Banana French Toast.
Happy Baking!

xox.

Red Velvet S’mores

My cold is taking over my life. Ugh, I feel like sh*t and don’t know what to do about it. I want to be outside and doing things, not sitting around the house. Plus, I want to drink and I know it is a no-no. I have a concert to go to tonight and I am absolutely terrified of how I’m going to feel tomorrow.

What have I been doing to deal with my boredom? Baking up a storm. These little guys were a total hit. I adapted the recipe from How Sweet It Is.

Graham crust and marshmallow topping ❤

Next time, I will use marshmallow fluff because I think it would be easier to eat! This stuff gets everywhere. Messy.

Rev Velvet S’mores 

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup room temperature butter

Red Velvet:

• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp red dye
• 2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:

• 2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9x2 baking pan.

Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter together, and press into bottom of pan.

In a small bowl, mix together cocoa powder, vanilla, and red dye into a paste. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Slowly add cocoa mixture and beat until colour is even throughout the batter.

Toasted marshmallows

Add in flour and salt and mix until batter is smooth and a mild red colour. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter on top of graham crust and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove, add marshmallows in an even layer on top of red velvet, and broil for 5 minutes more. Keep your eye on it and check for the perfect golden colour of marshmallow.

Remove and let cool for ten minutes, then dig in. If you want a square-like dessert, and not a goey mess, let cool in fridge for 20 minutes more.

Slice and enjoy!

xox

Black Bean Brownies

Moooore brownies. Slightly healthier, too, because I only added a 1/4 cup of flour and used beans for the rest. They taste great, too! I chucked in some roasted, salted peanuts and they add a nice lil’ crunch.

I adapted the recipe from Joy the Baker, who got it from Martha Stewart originally. These brownies are moist and absolutely addicting! I can’t believe there is a full cup of beans in them.

Black Bean Brownies

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup kidney beans
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg white
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup peanuts

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a medium baking pan. Line with waxing paper and butter again.

In a blender, blend beans, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. In a small bowl, melt butter and chocolate chips in microwave. Let cool for 5 minutes and then mix in sugar. When thoroughly combined, add in egg mixture.

SO rich!

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Stir in wet mixture until combined. Pour into baking dish and swirl in peanuts.

Bake for 20 minutes (or longer if it’s too gooey).

Happy Baking!

xox

Pre-drink food with the girls