Cheesecake Brownie Cupcakes

Now there is a blog title to get excited about!  These brownies are crazy yummy and they were sort of an accident.

So, on Wednesday my students took a practice ACT during school.  This meant that I just proctored all day and I was able to go home early!  What a win!  Plus, the students did really well!  They started with an average of about 18 on the math section and now their average is above 20!  That is great growth!  I was super proud of them and I had extra time so I decided to bake something for my advisory.  I was also asked to bake for an upcoming Oscar party this weekend.  I figured I would just bake a double batch of something and have enough desserts for both events!

My students told me that they would like brownies or cheesecake.  I decided to just combine the two!  I started baking, but then I realized that I didn't have enough sugar!!! I was feeling super lazy and so instead of going out to buy more sugar, I decided to take a risk and use brown sugar instead.  My laziness ended up being a good thing since these brownies were super tasty and a huge hit!

Now, I am sitting in school and my students just had the brownies.  They loved them and there is only one left!  (Well, actually there is 13 left...I just kept 12 at home for that Oscar party I mentioned earlier).  These brownies are yummy and you should make them!

Cheesecake Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:16 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 plus 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp espresso powder
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz light cream cheese
1 cup nonfat, plain greek yogurt
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and line your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a small saucepan, place the butter and chopped chocolate.  Heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until melted and combined.  Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and espresso powder.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugars with the eggs and vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with the greek yogurt, sugar and flour until well combined.
6. Beat the chocolate mixture into the sugar/egg mixture until well combined.  Mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
7.  Place about 2 tbsp of brownie mixture into each cupcake well.  Place about 1 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on top.  Then place about 1 tsp of brownie mixture on top of the cream cheese.  Using a toothpick, swirl the cream cheese and brownie batter.
8.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool.

Enjoy :)

Mini Dark Chocolate M&M Skillet Brownies

I know that this is exactly what we don't need right after Halloween, but look at how amazing these brownie skillets look!!!! Plus, you can throw in any candy pieces that you have lying around from trick-or-treating.  My mom gave me and Bri a "Halloween Goody Bag."  So, now I have Justin's Peanut Butter Cups, Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms, Halloween Oreos, Halloween Gummies, and more.  It's a little crazy.  I'm trying to eat healthy and here I have a giant bag full of deliciousness.  I just need to make sure not to eat it all at once...

Halloween was super fun.  I was Lois Lane and Bri was Clark Kent.  It was pretty adorable.  We went to a couple halloween parties hosted by friends and overall had a super nice weekend.  

Now, it is back to school time!  

Mini Dark Chocolate M&M Skillet Brownies

(makes two mini skillets)

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup dark chocolate M&Ms

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease your mini skillets.

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat and stir in chopped bittersweet chocolate until smooth and combined.  Turn off heat and stir in the sugar until well combined.  Next, stir in the eggs until well combined.  Add in the vanilla and salt.  

2. Sprinkle the flour and cocoa powder over your brownie mixture and then stir until just combined.  Stir in the M&Ms.

3.  Divide the batter into your two mini skillets.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  

Enjoy :)

Red Velvet Cookie Dough and Brownie Parfait

It's my birthday! I decided to share this treat today because it is one of my favorite treats that I have made! But first, let me tell you all about the fun birthday events I have been up to!

First, on Saturday, my family and Bri went to dinner at Due Lire.  I had the Tortelli and it was quite delicious.  Then, on Sunday, I ran the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and afterwards, went to lunch at D4.  Yesterday, Bri and I went for a little picnic for dinner in the park and now today is the big day!  Today, my family is coming downtown and we have reservations at RPM Italian.  I have never been, but I have heard phenomenal things.  I am pretty excited.  I also baked some of my famous Inception Cookies to bring to my staff at camp today.  I sorta feel like I'm in elementary school again; I'm bringing treats for my class :)

So this dessert basically combines all of my favorite things.  It has brownies, red velvet cookie dough dip, and homemade whipped cream.  I LOVE whipping cream.  I think it is just so cool,  Plus the brownies were the beer brownies that Bri and I made with spent grain from brewing.  This dessert was just outrageously delicious.  

Red Velvet Cookie Dough and Brownie Parfait

Ingredients:

(this fills one large mason jar)

2-3 brownies (I used my Beer Brownies)

Red Velvet Cookie Dough Dip:

8 oz low-fat cream cheese

1 cup non-fat, greek yogurt

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

2-3 tsp red food coloring

Whipped Cream:

4 oz low-fat cream cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Bake the brownies or use your favorite store bought brand.

2. Make the red velvet cookie dough dip: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the greek yogurt.  Beat in both sugars until well combined and then add in the cocoa powder and red food color.  Mix until well combined.

3. Make the whipped cream: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar.  Add in the cream and beat on high until peaks begin to form.  Continue to beat until you have stiff peaks.  

4. Use a mason jar or other container to layer your dessert.  Start with some crumbled brownies, then red velvet dip, and then whipped cream and repeat. 

Enjoy :)

New and Improved Cookie Dough Frosted Brownies

Happy Friday! Today I have a really fun recipe to share!  I made Cookie Dough Frosted Brownies a while back, but I changed up the recipe a bit this time and they came out even better than before! Last time, I had way too much cookie dough.  Now, I know that typically doesn't sound like a problem, but it actually overpowered the brownies and I love my brownies.  So this time, I cut the recipe in half and cut out a few other things and it was awesome.  I still had plenty cookie dough frosting to cover those brownies, but you got a good balance of brownie and cookie dough in every bite.  

In other news, I have also been having one great food week.  Last night, I went with my family and Bri to the Little Goat Diner.  This place is so good! If you are ever in Chicago and looking for a casual meal that is also incredibly delicious, this is a great place to go.  My mom and I split their Springy Veggie Quesidillas and the Chinese Chicken Sandwich.  Both items were great and it was one amazing meal.  Today, (after a much needed workout and zumba class) I am going to Budacki's Drive-In where I actually LOVE the veggie dogs.  Plus, if you really want to splurge, get cheese fries, do it.  And then, I am headed to Lizzie McNeill's for some drinks with a few of my teaching buddies.  School hasn't even been out for a week and I already miss them like crazy.  It should be a great day! 

Cookie Dough Frosted Brownies

Cookie Dough Frosted Brownies

Ingredients:

1 batch of Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp light cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla

skim milk, as needed

pinch of salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Make the brownies according to directions and let cool.

2. Make the frosting by beating the melted butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar together in a bowl.  Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla.  Add in 1 tbsp of milk if the mixture is too thick.  Mix in the salt and the chocolate chips.

3. Frost the cooled brownies with the cookie dough mixture.  Let set in the fridge.  When ready, cut into pieces and serve. 

Enjoy :)

Healthy Brownie Batter Dip

It's finals time again! I can't believe we are at this point in the year.  I have been so busy the past few weeks finishing everything up with school and helping my students prepare for finals.  And now, I just have to grade their tests and summer is here!  Currently, I am sitting in a study hall with my buddy, Ms. Keenan, and we are just waiting for the period to end so that our finals can finally start.

I am pretty pumped about summer and I am already getting ready by meeting with site directors, organizing camp groups, and writing parent letters.  Last night I "had" to go to Portillo's to have a camp dinner/meeting.  The food was delish and it was so fun to get to know the site directors better and hear about their ideas for the summer.  It made me feel so excited!  

I have also been cooking and baking more because of my super-positive attitude.  For example, I made this:

Brownie Batter

This is "healthy" brownie batter.  I have heard that black beans can be a substitute in brownies or other desserts and I must admit, I was pretty skeptical about if it would actually taste good.  I am here to attest that black beans totally work and this brownie batter was just amazing.  I was inspired by Sweet As Sugar Cookie's recipe and I adapted it a little based on what I wanted/had on hand.  This is a great treat to spread on fruit, eat with pretzels, or just dig into with a spoon!

Healthy Brownie Batter Dip

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture becomes completely smooth.  Add in toppings if you want.

Enjoy :)

Cream Cheese Brownies

I had a bit of a rough day at school the other day.  It's the end of the year and more students than usual are restless and not putting forth their best efforts/behavior.  It is frustrating for me because I want to see them finish the year strong and get good grades.  However, that is  just not happening with some of them.  I was feeling sad, so when I got home I decided that I needed to bake brownies.

I also went for a 6 mile run so I felt like brownies were a good way to motivate myself to run the full 6 miles and then also have a little treat to help make me feel better.  It helped!  Plus, the next day was better.  Sometimes I guess there is just something in the air at high school that makes students act a little crazy.

These brownies were delightful.  I got the idea for them from browsing the website at America's Test Kitchen.  I adapted their recipe a tad, but overall I followed similar instructions.  They had really great ideas for making the brownies look beautiful and to make sure that the brownie and cream cheese swirls nicely and the cream cheese doesn't sink.  They were pretty tasty and I am pretty excited about having even more brownies waiting for me when I get home!  Bad day or not, these brownies are a great recipe to have for special occasions or just to enjoy a little treat after dinner! 

Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp espresso powder

4 oz 70% cacao chocolate

8 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 oz light cream cheese

1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9 by 9 inch pan with foil.  Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.  

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese for a few seconds and then microwave for 30 seconds.  Beat in the 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp flour until creamy.  Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, place butter and cut up chocolate.  Microwave at 50% powder for about 1-2 minutes or until the chocolate is melted.  Stir every 30 seconds to check.  

4. In a seperate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder.

5. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until combined, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the chocolate mixture until well combined.  Then, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  Set aside 1/2 cup of the brownie batter.

6. Spread the brownie batter into  your prepared pan.  Then, spread the cream cheese mixture over the top.  Finally, use the 1/2 cup of reserved brownie batter and place 6 spoonfuls on top of the cream cheese layer so that they are spread out.  Using a knife, swirl the batter by cutting through the layers horizontally and then vertically.  

7. Bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Use the foil to remove the brownies from the pan and let cool for about 1 hour before cutting. 

Enjoy :)

Beer Brownies with Spent Grain Flour

Oh jeez, it's been over a month since I posted here! Sorry! I have been so busy with school, grad school, and wedding planning!  Life just gets in the way, you know?

However, I have still been cooking/baking up a storm over here. In fact, I have made some pretty great recipes recently.  For example, for the Super Bowl, I decided to make a bunch of stuff that I was craving and just sit around and eat while I watched the commercials (err...I mean the game?).  I made Vegetarian Buffalo Dip, Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites, and Beer Brownies.

Yep...Beer Brownies!  Also, they just happened to be the best brownies I'd ever consumed.  I adapted the recipe from Joy the Baker and used my own Spent Grain Flour and new favorite, dark beer.  They are just AHHHMAZING!  Finch's Stout for the beer, Spent Grain Flour from the time I homebrewed, and lots and lots of gooey chocolate. How can you go wrong?  I even made this again for Valentine's Day!

Let's talk beer.  I am usually not a Stout kinda girl, but this beer from Finch's is pretty fantastic.  It has this amazing coffee flavor that I just adore.  Plus, Finch's is local (right in the heart of Chicago) and so the Mariano's grocery store down the street carries their beer!  If you are not a beer fan, you can also use coffee and the brownies will still be fantastic, you just can't call them Beer Brownies then!

Beer Brownies with Spent Grain Flour

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup spent grain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark beer (I used Finch's Stout)
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with foil.  Spray the foil with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, spent grain flour, cocoa powder and salt.
3. Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of boiling water with the butter and bittersweet chocolate.  Stir until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the beer.
4.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs with both sugars until pale yellow and well combined.  Pour in the warm chocolate mixture while continuing to stir.  Beat until combined and then mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool for 20 and then cut into pieces.

Enjoy :)

Cookie Dough Frosted Brownies

I can't believe I am a month away from race day! I just finished an "easy" 14 miles.  You may be wondering...easy?  Well, after running 18 last week, today seemed like a breeze.  Plus, the weather was chilly and beautiful.  This made the run a whole lot more pleasant than those others that were in 80 degree heat with crazy humidity!  I feel great right now! I can't believe that next week is the 20 mile run! 20 miles is the longest run before the actual marathon and I am only one week away!

I am running for a charity called Access Living and if you would like to read more about the charity and my running journey, you can find all info here:  Jodie-Team Access Living.

Today I figured we should celebrate!  I am pumped about my running going so well, but I am also grateful for an amazing start to the school year.  So far classes have been great, I love my co-workers, and my students have been a joy so far!  (Let's hope it stays that way!)  I'm also excited about the fact that I have finally finished reading all the current Game of Thrones books.  This was a HUGE project as each book is about 1000 pages, but I finally finished and I can't wait for the next book to be released!  All in all, a celebration is in order and what better way to celebrate than with delicious brownies?  I made my typical Dark Chocolate Brownies, but then I topped them with a layer of cookie dough frosting.  YUM!!!! Bri has already asked that I make these for his birthday this year and thats not for another 3 months!

Cookie Dough Frosted Brownies

Ingredients:
Brownie Recipe
Frosting:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
12 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp low-fat cream cheese
pinch of salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Make brownies according to directions (or make your own favorite recipe). Let cool completely.
2. In a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter until well combined and sugar starts to dissolve.  Beat in the milk, vanilla, cream cheese, and salt until well combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Spread the frosting over the brownies.  You will have a very thick layer.
3. Cover in tinfoil and place in fridge for a few hours to ensure that the frosting sets.  Once chilled, cut into squares.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Picnic Party!

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back!  This week is all about Picnics! Picnics during the spring and summer are so much fun! Just follow the rules and link up some recipes that are perfect for this party! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Chocolate Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Lemon Brown Butter Pasta Salad with Arugula, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts.

Most Clicks:

1. Rustic Christmas Candle

2. Homemade Christmas Ornaments

3. Old Fashioned Christmas Fudge

And Host Favorites!

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Gluten Free Treats

It's time for camp again and I love bringing in treats to share with my counselors.  We end up being like a little family by the end of camp since we spend so much time together and so it is nice to share treats with them once in a while.  Two of my counselors cannot eat gluten products and so I try to incorporate a gluten free treat whenever I can.  Today I am bringing in one of my favorites: Gluten Free Nutella Brownie Bites.  These brownies look just like the mini ones you get from the store, but they are homemade, gluten free, and even better!  I love Nutella and this is one awesome dessert.

I am pretty new to this Gluten Free thing and while I am decently good at cooking gluten free, I am still searching for those great Gluten Free baking ideas.  If you have any I would love if you would share them with me! 

Here are a few of the other things I've made that are Gluten Free:

Puppy Chow

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Gluten Free Cheesecake

Apple Crisp

Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies

What I really need is some gluten free cupcakes...I'll get right on it!

Oreo Stuffed Brownies

Happy Sunday! I had a slight change of plans in regards to this weekend...

And by slight, I mean HUGE! I was supposed to hang with DTS on Friday night, run the Crazylegs Race Saturday morning, go to Spring Formal for DTS Saturday night and plan my lessons for the week today.

Instead, I got interviews! This is exciting, but it meant changing my life around quite a bit.  I had an interview Friday morning, and then I found out about two more interview on Monday and one on Tuesday! All of them are in the Chicago-area, so I decided to stay at home this weekend instead of driving back and forth a ton.  My Friday interview felt pretty good and then Friday afternoon, I left for Champaign with my parents to see my little bro run his first Half Marathon on Saturday! He totally killed it! Finished in 1 hour and 42 minutes! Thats fast! I'm hoping for a time around 2 hours! Then, we hung out in Champaign, had lunch and dinner, and even a little froyo for dessert! I've been keeping up on my runs by using the lovely work out facility at the hotel.  I'm also working through a few more applications and getting ready for my other three interviews tomorrow and Tuesday!

I also have a yummy recipe for you today.  And by yummy, I mean, insanely delicious.  I made brownies, but then I decided to put a layer of oreos in the middle.  It was a pretty darn good idea if I say so myself.  The brownies were amazing and the oreos provided an awesome little surprise in the middle.  This is my all time favorite brownie recipe and I love coming up with little ways to mix it up!

Oreo Stuffed Brownies

Ingredients:

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp instant espresso powder

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup flour

1 10 oz package dark chocolate chips
Oreos

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line the inside of a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with foil.  Let the foil hang over the ends of the pan.  Grease the foil.

2. In a large saucepan, over very low heat, melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Once melted, stir in the sugar until well combined.  Next, stir in the eggs until well combined.  Then, mix in the espresso powder, vanilla, and salt.  Fold in the flour until just combined and then fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan.  Place oreos on top of the batter.  Pour the rest of the batter over the oreos and spread out to make it even.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes.  The sides will be set and the center will be just a little wet still.  Let cool for 15 minutes.  Using the ends of the foil, lift the brownies out of the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy :)

Gluten Free Easter Nests

This Half Marathon is really creeping up on me! I am already up to 8 miles for my long run and next week is 10!  This week, I am planning on a 4 mile, 6 mile, 5 mile, and 3 mile run before my big 10 mile run.  I'm also going to look into new shoes because I've been running in mine since August and I think it's going to be time for a new pair soon.

This week at school is fine arts week and I'm excited to see some of my students perform in various shows! We are also finishing up constructions in Geometry and learning about polynomial division in Algebra 2!  I'm also looking at some of the PreCalc material because I might be teaching some of those lessons as well! Also, we had a human knot challenge in the classes and I promised the winning teams a treat.  So, I made some awesome inception cookies and I can't wait to share them with the students.  I'm having such a great time with this student teaching experience and I really hope I find a job for next year because I just love to teach!

I have been really busy so I'm sorry that today's treat is a little out dated.  I made gluten free Easter egg nests for Easter a few weeks ago and I am just getting around to sharing them now! I made my Gluten Free Nutella Brownies and then topped them off with cute Easter Egg Candies.  They were a great treat to share for the Holiday and everyone loved them!

Gluten Free Easter Nests

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg
3 tbsp gluten free flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
egg candies

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a mini muffin pan.
2. Beat nutella with egg, flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla.  Fill muffin pan almost to the top.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.  Let cool.
3.  Decorate with candy eggs.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Lodge Giveaway

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with a Lodge Casserole Dish!  This week you can win from our sponsor Lodge.   Just follow the rules and link up your recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Cosmic Love Brownies and Banana Bread with Brown Butter Icing!

Last Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by and here were the winners:

And, of course, here were your top 3 voted and clicked recipes!

Most Votes:

1. Strawberry Napolean

2. Strawberry Jam Cookies

3. Oven Tacos

Most Clicks:

1. Munchies Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins

2. Meyer Lemon Cake

3. I Love You Cupcakes

Grab our NEW button! 

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But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Kelly at Adorned Well http://www.adornedwell.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com

Jutta at Hungry Little Girl: http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Erika at Chef Picky Kid: http://www.chefpickykid.com/

Beth at Honey Locust Hills http://www.honeylocusthills.com

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Cosmic Love Brownies

I recently checked off yet another thing on my bucket list for the end of my college career   I went to my first Men's Hockey Game! It was a super fun experience and they ended up winning the game! Following the game, I had a ladies night with some of my girlfriends and it was just a super fun time.  Until my phone was stolen.  Yep, that was a bit of a bummer.  I was able to track the phone and file a police report, but unfortunately the phone is in an apartment complex with at least 30 units and so it is pretty much gone unless it moves to a location where the police can pinpoint it.  Even though this was not the greatest thing to happen, I decided to focus on how awesome the rest of my night was and how grateful I am for the amazing friends I have to share all these senior year experiences with!

Valentine's Day is also coming up and so I made some Cosmic Love Brownies to share with my girlfriends.  You know? Those brownies with the colored candies on top?  Well, I made my own version! I started with my Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies and made a topping to along with them!   This Valentine's Day, I will be enjoying heart-shaped pizza, wine, and dessert with these awesome girls while watching Grey's Anatomy.  I think it sounds like the perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day!

Cosmic Brownies

Ingredients:
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
10 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup flour
10 oz dark chocolate chips
Topping:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp skim milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
mini m&ms

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a 13 by 9 inch pan with foil.  Lightly grease the foil.
2. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate, stirring constantly.  Once smooth, stir in the sugar until well combined.  Then, stir in the lightly beaten eggs.  Mixture should be smooth and glossy.  Stir in the espresso powder, vanilla, and salt.  Stir in the flour until just combined.  Stir in the dark chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.
3.  While baking, make the topping.  In a small saucepan, place the butter, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Stir until smooth.  Pour over the warm brownies and spread to coat the top.  Let cool for 20 minutes.  Then, spread the mini m&ms over the top and lightly press down.  Let cool for 10 minutes and then, using the foil, lift the brownies out of the pan and let cool completely.
To make the hearts, I used a cookie cutter and cut out hearts once the brownies were cool.

Enjoy :)

Charleston, SC Day 3

After my run in the morning, we lounged around before heading into Charleston for our cooking class at Charleston Cooks!  This place is a fantastic cooking store that also hosts demonstation and participation cooking classes.  The participation classes were totally booked, but we were able to get a spot in one of the demonstration classes.  It was a fabulous time!  We watched Chef Marcus cook up some Shrimp and Grits and Upside Down Apple Cupcakes.  Everything was fabulous and we even got a glass of wine with our food!  It was so much fun.  Also, I learned some fun times on how to hold a knife, how to cut an onion, and tons of fun facts about eggs and baking!  It was really cool!

After our class, we walked around the Market for a bit before dinner at Slightly North of Broad.  This place books up fast and if you don't have a reservation you can just forget it...however, we were able to walk in right at 5 when their bar opened and put our name in for one of the few tables they keep open for walk ins.  The table we ended up at was actually the "chefs table" where you eat your dinner while watching all the action go down in the kitchen.  It was pretty cool.  Also, the food was fabulous! Oh my was it delicious!  My dad got the tilefish (the special), my mom and I split a pear salad and flounder dish, and Zack and Bri got the gnocchi.

The Grits on the Side 

Butternut Squash Custard on the Side

Following dinner, we were too full for dessert (which was hard to walk away from...) and we went to a fun bar down the street to watch the end of the Packers game.  We are pretty avid Bears fans, being from Chicago, but we needed the Packers to win in order for the Bears to go to the playoffs.  The bar we found was called Mac's and was a great find since it was a "midwest bar" that specialized in hosting midwest and big 10 games.  It was really cool to see so many Wisconsin-ites and Chicago-ans in Charleston!  Unfortunately for the Bears, the Packers lost.  So, we decided to comfort ourselves with some ice cream (we were feeling less full at this point).

We drove to the Marble Slab Creamery (I even found a groupon!), which was known for some of the best ice cream in Mt. Pleasant.  We had amazing creations and proceeded to feel crazy full once again.  It was awesome.  My dad also got ice cream, but ate it before I got a picture...Here are some of the treats we indulged in:

Birthday Cake Ice Cream with Twix, Cookie Dough,
and Fudge (Zack's)

Red Velvet Ice Cream with Brownies and Fudge (mine)

Coffee Ice Cream with Health and Snickers (mom's)

Now it's time to digest and play Hoopla!  Good night!

Foodie Friends Friday: Natural Living Mama

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with some great prizes from Natural Living Mama!  Amanda will be giving away two homemade Coffee Sugar Scrubs and one homemade Honey Sugar Scrub!  Just follow the rules and link up your recipes!  This week I am linking up Peppermint Brownies, Baby Blue Chocolate Donuts, and Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Spice Donuts!

Last week Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by KC Ornaments and here were the winners:

And here are the winner's from last week's party!

Most Votes:

1. English Muffin Bread

2. Lemon Sunshine Cake

3. Chile Verde

Most Clicked:

1. Snickers Apple Salad

2. Kahlua Brownies

3. Green Chile Casserole

Enter below and you might be a lucky winner of some Christmas Ornaments!!

But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Jutta at HungryLittleGirl http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Kelly at http://www.adornedwell.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com

Ericka at http://www.chefpickykid.com

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