Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

It is 9 am and the windows of my house are all completely fogged up.  I think I will take that as a hint that the humidity has not improved at all from yesterday.  I heard that we might be reaching the triple digits today.  Couple that will the humidity and UGH.  Maybe I will just put my swimsuit on, sit outside, and pretend I am in a sauna.  

These brownies are from Cooking Light!  That must mean they are healthy, right?  OK, maybe not.  They are much healthier than many other brownie recipes though.  My husband thought these were incredibly rich and he couldn't believe they were a "lighter" brownie.  They are delicious!  The entire pan lasted about a day here.  Give them a try!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided

1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, melted and cooled

1/4 cup fat-free milk

1 (18.25-ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 cups)

1/2 cup peanut butter morsels {I confess.  I used more like 3/4 cup.}

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1/4 cup condensed milk, butter, and next 3 ingredients (butter through egg white) in a bowl (batter will be very stiff). Coat bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press two-thirds of batter into prepared pan using floured hands; pat evenly (layer will be thin).

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl; stir in morsels. Spread marshmallow mixture evenly over brownie layer. Carefully drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire 

rack.

Source:  Cooking Light

Linked Up to Totally Tasty Tuesday on Mandy's Recipe Box!

Knock You Naked Brownies

Need an over-the-top fantastic sweet recipe to take somewhere?  PLEASE, try these!  You won't regret it!  They are so rich and fantastic, they beg to be shared.  This is my new favorite brownie recipe, hand down!  I apologize for the poor picture!  It was late, dark, and you can see the hand of my 2 youngest battling for "who gets the first brownie after mom takes her picture".  Oh, the joys of sibling rivalry!   

Knock You Naked Brownies

1 box (18.5 Ounce) German Chocolate Cake Mix

1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans

⅓ cups Evaporated Milk

½ cups Evaporated Milk (additional)

½ cups Butter, Melted

60 whole Caramels, Unwrapped {one 14 oz. package}

⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

¼ cups Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick.

Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

In a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with additional 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When melted and combined, pour over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

Turn out remaining brownie dough on work surface. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Use a spatula to remove it from the surface, then set it on top of the caramel and chocolate chips.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into either nine or twelve helpings, and carefully remove from the pan.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Chewy Granola Squares

My kids just LOVED these Chewy Granola Squares.  They are such a perfect little snack to send with them to school and so easy to make.  Give them a try!  I know I will be making them again and again!  I feel much better about them eating these than the granola bars they are always asking for at the grocery store.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the finished bars (the last pic is right before they went into the oven).  I made these after I put the kids to bed one night and they disappeared so fast the next day I never got around to it! 

Chewy Granola Squares

2 1/2 c. Quick Rolled Oats

1/2 c. Rice Krispies

1/4 c. Coconut

1/2 c. M&M Mini's (you could sub chocolate chips, marshmallows, raisins, or anything your heart desires)

1/2 c. Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 c. Butter, softened

1/4 c. Honey

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Add all of the ingredients together and mix until combined.  Press into a 9x13 inch pan (you may want to line with Parchment paper first for easy removal).  Bake at 350* for 18-20 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars.  Let set completely, then cut into bars.  

Source: My Tasty Treasures 

The First Installment of Zucchini Invasion: Zucchini Brownies

When it comes to zucchini's, I am apparently a very naive soul.  I planted an entire row of them in my garden. Yes, you read that right, a whole row.  How was I to know that 7 zucchini plants would be enough to feed an entire army?  What you see below is today's zucchini harvest.  After I used 2 large ones for a vegetable saute and the delicious brownies that you see below, that is.

If you are like me, you might think that zucchini in brownies is a little gross and weird.  Well, please don't judge before you try them, because they are downright, positively delicious.  After I let my kids each have a small brownie (which they devoured), I even TOLD them the "secret" ingredient.  My oldest said that it was gross, then all 3 kids proceeded to beg for another.  Give this recipe a try, and, if YOU have any delicious zucchini recipes to share, PLEASE do so!  I need lots of creative uses here!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 c. Canola oil

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 c. shredded zucchini (chunking it and throwing it in the food processor works fabulously)

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional-I do not add)

Frosting:

6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 c. butter, softened

2 c. confectioners' sugar

1/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and 2 tsp. vanilla until well blended.  Combine the flour, 1/2 c. cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture.  Fold in the zucchini and walnuts, if desired.  Spread evenly into the prepared pan.  

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the brownies spring back when gently touched.  

To make the frosting, blend the softened butter with the cocoa powder, preferable with an electric mixer.  Add the confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla extract and blend until smooth.  Stir in the cocoa powder and continue to mix until well-combined.  

Spread frosting over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Rhubarb Streusel Bars

I am feeling a little bit down today, I should really bake myself some of these bars for comfort.  I received this recipe (along with a few other fantastic rhubarb recipes) and some fresh rhubarb from my neighbors garden my first summer in my house.  Now, several years later, we have our own rhubarb plants but this is still a favorite recipe of everyone.  Try this, even if you think you don't like rhubarb, it is to die for!

Rhubarb Streusel Bars

Bottom Crust:

1 c. flour

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. butter

Mix (I like to throw it in my food processor to easily get the butter evenly distributed throughout) and press into 9 x 9 greased baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  

Filling:

1 1/4 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c. flour

3 c. rhubarb, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix all together and pour over hot crust.

Topping:

3/4 c. flour

1/3 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix (again, I use my food processor), and sprinkle topping over filling.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Oatmeal Caramelites

Not long after I met my husband, he introduced me to these sinful bars, Oatmeal Caramelites.  They are a favorite in his family and I can see why.  They aren't something that I make too often due to their high calories content (maybe a couple times a year) but there isn't much that can beat them.  

While I have been making these for years, I recently saw them featured on The Sisters Cafe .  I was so glad that I looked at their recipe because it cured me of my least favorite part about making these!  Unwrapping the bag of caramels and melting them!  I don't know why I never though of it, but their recipe uses caramel ice cream topping thickened with a bit of flour.  Genius!  Now those pesky wrappers won't keep me from making these.  Jeans, beware!

   

Oatmeal Caramelites

1 c. flour

1 c. quick oats (can also use regular oats)

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. chocolate chip (semi-sweet or milk are both fine)

3/4 c. caramel ice cream topping

1/2 tsp. soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. butter, melted

3 Tbsp. flour

Mix flour, oats, sugar, soda, salt, and butter.  Press half of mixture into a 11 x 7 inch pan and set the other half aside.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Blend 3/4 c. caramel with 3 Tbsp. flour.  Drizzle over chocolate chips.  Sprinkle the remaining oat/flour mixture over the top.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until light brown.  Cool, then slice.