Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, plus extra for greasing
• 3 oz (90 g) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (7 oz/122 g) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (3 oz/90 g) cake (soft-wheat) flour, sifted
• 3/4 cup (4 1/2 oz/ 140 g) chocolate chips of your choosing (milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, semisweet) (optional)

Directions:

Gather ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish, preferably glass. Make sure you grease up the sides of the baking dish too, because the brownies rise a bit higher up the sides.

In a sauce pan over low heat, combine the butter and chopped unsweetened chocolate. Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes. It took me a little longer than four minutes to get it all the way melted, not to much longer though. 

Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt. I suggest doing this in a different bowl, not in the sauce pan. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the mixture and stir until just blended. I sifted 1/4 of the flour in at a time so it wouldn't be too much mixing all at once. Next add the chocolate chips, if using. I just did semisweet chocolate chips, but I think peanut butter would have made them even better because all the chocolate was a little overwhelming.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly. Bake the brownies until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost completely clean, about 30 minutes, or longer if using a metal pan. It took mine 5 extra minutes to bake in the glass dish I was using. Do not over bake, the brownies will get really hard when cooled if over baked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares. You should end up with 9 brownies.

My Experience:

I have still been stressed out with school and all that so I thought brownies would be another great and easy recipe! I didn't have many problems with this recipe, and it didn't take a long time to make them. I did feel like they were too chocolaty when I added the semisweet chocolate chips so I think if I were to make this recipe again I would use a different type of chocolate chips to balance out the flavor. Also I know I should have taken more pictures I just forgot to until it was too late. Overall though it was a great recipe and they tasted good too!

Enjoy!xx

 

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 oz (30g) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup (4 1/2 oz/140 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3 oz/90 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
•  2/3 cup (5 1/3 oz/165 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 oz/185 g) bitter-sweet or semisweet (plain) chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (2 oz/go g) coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional) 

Directions:

Gather Ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350F  (180C) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler (Double boiler: a pot of water with a glass or metal bowl that can fit just over the pot) Set over simmering water and melt, whisking until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until blended. In another bowl, beat together the butter, shortening, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well blended and fluffy. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir until almost blended. Add the chocolate chips and, if using, the walnuts or pecans. Continue stirring until well blended.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) apart. 

Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until they are puffed but still look moist on top, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on racks the room temperature. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

My Experience:

I have been busy and exhausted so I decided to go with something easier this week. I thought these cookies would be perfect to do! It didn't take that much time or energy to do at all! It was fun to use a double boiler because I don't generally work with them that often. I had a few off things about the cookies though. I put in two extra tablespoons of butter due to exhaustion and not paying enough attention, and I also only had 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla instead of 1 teaspoon, but the cookies came out super good so I suppose that didn't matter so much. Baking is about experimenting so a few slip ups aren't so bad.

Enjoy!xx

Lemon Curd Squares

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup (4 1/2 oz/ 140 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
• 1/3 cup (2 1/3 oz/ 70 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (4 oz/ 125 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing

For the filling:

• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz/ 160 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/ 125 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons heavy (double) cream

Other:

• 2 lemons for the lemon zest and lemon juice
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting.

Directions:

Gather ingredients.

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350F (800C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish, preferably glass.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse briefly until blended. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the dough forms moist crumbs and sticks together when pinched, about 1 minute. There should be no trace of dryness.

Press dough into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared baking dish, lightly flouring your fingertips if necessary to prevent them from sticking. 

Bake the crust until pale golden, 20-22 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F (165C)

To make the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, salt, and zest (if using). Add the eggs, lemon juice, and cream and whisk until just blended. Carefully pour the mixture over the baked crust.

Bake until the filling is set but still jiggles slightly in the middle when the dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes, or longer if using a metal pan. Let cool on rack for about 30 minutes. Run the tip of a small knife along the inside of the to loosen the crust from the sides, then let cool completely.

Cut into 12 small rectangles and carefully remove from the dish with a spatula. Sift a disgusting of confectioners' sugar over the rectangles just before serving.

My experience:

I had a lot of fun making these, and it was easy! I thought I was going to have some difficulty with the crust because I haven't worked with pie crusts and tart crusts that much, but it was actually really simple. It also wasn't that time consuming, which was nice. It did take me a little bit longer than 20 minutes to bake the filling but other than that it followed the recipe very nicely!

Helpful Tips:

Zesting & Juicing:

When zesting and juicing a lemon, always zest first. Use a zester and make short strokes, rotating the lemon after every 1 or 2 swipes. Avoid removing the white pith because that is the bitter part of the lemon's peel. To extract the mos juice press and roll the lemon on a counter top to slightly crush it, then cut it in half cross wise. Use a juicer, your hands, or an electric juicer. Be careful with an electric juicer because it may over squeeze the lemon and extract bitter pith.

Enjoy! xx