Fudgy Nutella-Swirled Brownies (this could be my favorite)

Fudgy Nutella-Swirled Brownies - made February 26, 2021, modified from Baked by an Introvert

I have made dozens, if not hundreds, of brownie recipes in my baking lifetime. Eaten my fair share too. Usually I try out of a recipe, have a taste test piece, nod approvingly (9 times out of 10), give the rest away and move on.

People always ask me for a "favorite" brownie recipe but there are so many good ones out there that I usually look at them helplessly and suggest instead they focus on the quality of the ingredients and making sure not to overbake the brownies. You'll get good results. 

I still believe all that. However, I will also tell you that in this instance, it should tell you something that by the time I've posted this, I will already have made this particular recipe 6 times in a row. I never do that. Until now. That's how much I like this brownie.

Dark chocolate lovers, rejoice! This is a dark chocolate brownie. I "stuffed" it with Nutella to provide a little sweetness but if you're a dark chocolate purist, you can leave it out or add dark chocolate chips.

But look at that texture. Baked fudge, amiright? I have a bias towards brownies made with unsweetened chocolate rather than cocoa powder. Cocoa powder brownies tend to be lighter in texture since cocoa is a dry ingredient and you need to add liquid to the batter to prevent dry brownies. 

This recipe, with a full 8 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, doesn't have that issue. I love these brownies. And - no lie - I've had a "taste test" piece from almost every single batch I've made so far. Good thing I ship these out in Soldiers Angels care packages or I'd be eating taste test batches rather than taste test pieces.

As you can surmise from the pictures, these are rich so you might want to cut the pieces a little small. Or go do a double workout before and after and just enjoy a regular-size brownie. Either way, just enjoy.

1/2 cup unsalted butter

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Nutella for swirling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate, whisking until completely melted and smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, vanilla extract, salt and eggs until combined. Add melted chocolate and whisk until well combined. Fold in the flour and mix until just combined. Batter will be thick
4. Spread half of batter into prepared pan. Dollop generous spoonfuls of Nutella. Cover Nutella with remaining batter and smooth top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (watch the Nutella). Cool brownies completely before cutting.

Pecan Sandies

Pecan Sandies - made February 4, 2021 from Everyday Eileen 

I don't make pecan sandies very often. Because you know, bias against nuts in cookies. But since I'm baking this for Soldiers Angels and sending in military care packages, I have to stop thinking about me, me, me and what I prefer.

Pecan sandies are easy to make. Every recipe I've tried for them turns into dough that's easy to work with, not too sticky or too dry. This was no exception. Plus you form the dough into a log, chill then slice and bake. Easy, especially when you're doing batch baking or making several kinds of baked goods to put in the package.

Two keys to a good pecan sandie: first, toast the pecans to bring out their flavor. Make sure you cool them completely before adding to the dough so you don't melt the butter incorporated into the dough. Second, bake them long enough to get a little crisp. For once, I don't advocate underbaking. You want to bake these until they're golden brown. A good pecan sandie should have a crisp snap of shortbread.

These were good. I'm still not a fan of nuts in cookies (exception for white chocolate macadamia nut or coconut macadamia cookies) but the toasted pecans worked here and they're pecan sandies for a reason.

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted

2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and combined. Mix in egg, vanilla extract and salt. Blend in pecans. Add flour and mix until just combined.
2. Roll dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Remove log from refrigerator and slice into thick, even slices. Evenly space on prepared baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden and middles no longer look raw. Cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Brown Sugar Cookies

 Dark Chocolate Brown Sugar Cookies - made dough February 14, 2021 from My Cooking Advisors

I liked how these cookies looked on My Cooking Advisors' blog but mine didn't quite turn out the same way. I left them as dough balls when I baked them rather than flattening to thick discs as she advised. Hence mine looked like a puffy chocolate cloud rather than a uniformly thick round cookie.

Regardless, these turned out pretty well, nice and chocolaty. I was a little surprised at the lightness of the texture. It wasn't quite cakey but it wasn't dense-chewy either. 

For something with this much chocolate, I advise letting it cool completely before eating. That way you can get the full chocolate flavor as well as the more fudgy texture.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and brown sugar; beat on medium speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix to incorporate. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder (sift cocoa if lumpy), cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing briefly after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
3. Portion into dough balls, flatten slightly into thick discs, cover and chill or freeze for at least 1 hour.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls/discs. Bake 8-9 minutes or until edges are set and middles are no longer raw or shiny but have a few cracks. Do not overbake. 

Fudge Hazelnut Espresso Cookies

Fudge Hazelnut Espresso Cookies - made November 26, 2020 from Grab the Mangos

I don't drink coffee or espresso but I always seem to have a container of espresso powder so I can try recipes like this one. Coffee (or espresso) pairs well with chocolate to bring out the chocolate flavor. Depending how much you add, you can also balance to bring out the coffee flavor. Espresso is stronger in flavor than coffee so this definitely had the espresso flavor profile as much as the chocolate profile.

The dough was easy to work with and the cookies didn't spread too much. As always, I baked them from frozen dough. I modify all of the recipes I try to portion the dough into cookie dough balls, freeze and bake from frozen dough, no matter what the original recipe says. You can skip that step and bake as soon as you make the dough but I can't guarantee how thick or thin your cookies will turn out. 

It's also easier to avoid overbaking cookies if you bake from frozen dough. I like my cookies underbaked so it's an easy choice for me to make. 

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons espresso powder

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1. In the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, melt butter and chocolate chips, whisking until melted, smooth and combined. Add the espresso powder and stir to dissolve.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter-chocolate mixture with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating briefly after each addition to combine. Add vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture in two additions, mixing briefly after each addition until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Portion into dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw or shiny.

Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake

Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake - made November 20, 2020 from Seasonal and Holiday Recipe Exchange

I'm still catching up on recipes I made a few months ago and, as you can tell, it was still pumpkin season. Unlike the cookies and brownies I bake for Soldiers Angels care packages, this cake was for my nieces' birthday. I haven't seen either in awhile (thanks again, Covid) but I mailed them both a baked goods care package as part of their gift.

The original recipe included a glaze but since I was mailing this out, I didn't glaze it so it would be less messy to pack and ship. 

This was a good, straightforward, bundt cake. Moist. flavorful, good texture and it held up well for mailing. That's all I asked from it.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly spray a bundt pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
   
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl.
   
3. Beat butter and granulated sugar in large bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes), then add eggs and beat another minute.  Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth.
   
4. Spoon batter into pan and bake until a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean (40 to 50 minutes). Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes, then invert rack over cake and reinvert cake onto rack.  Cool completely, transfer to platter, then drizzle with glaze.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Glaze
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Drizzle cake with glaze.

Wunderkeks - "wunderful" cookies

Wunderkeks - bought February 3, 2021

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookie

One of the things I miss most during the past year of quarantines and shut downs is traveling. Whether I stayed local, within the country or flew internationally, I loved exploring new places and, of course, trying out new places to eat, especially bakeries.

I haven't been able to do that (thanks, Covid) but even worse than my first-world problem is the impact to small businesses and the decrease in their in-store foot traffic plus fewer orders as people have lost their jobs and can't afford their goods or services anymore. Small businesses have also had to let go of their employees because business is down and people who've lost jobs can't patronize those businesses either; the downward spiral goes on.

So, since I've been fortunate enough to get a job during this pandemic, I devote part of my earnings to supporting those small businesses. I don't really need "stuff" but I can always eat consumables, especially cookies. I make a point of searching out the ones I can order from online, trying them out and whenever I can, spreading the word so other people can discover them too.

Thus I discovered Wunderkeks, a bakery located in Austin, TX. It was the pictures of their cookies on their website that drew me in. Click on the post title, go to their website and you'll see what I mean.

I ordered the Greatest Hits variety pack which comes with 3 flavors of 4 cookies each so it's an even dozen. The cookies are individually wrapped as you see above and come in a sturdy decorative box. Kudos on the packaging as well as the two-day shipping; I literally got the cookies 2 days after I ordered them online.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

The cookies arrive with a card instructing the recipient to warm the cookies in the oven for 2-3 minutes before eating. Not the microwave, but the oven. Trust me, do what they say. 

Inside the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookie

These cookies were amazing. Remember, I'm a cookie snob. Years of baking my own cookies, eating them warm out of the oven and being finicky about my baked goods have turned me into said cookie snob. These cookies pass the snob test.

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookie

Inside the Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookie

My favorite was the Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookie which is a dark chocolate cookie with white chocolate. I don't normally like white chocolate that much but it was perfect in this cookie. The regular chocolate chip comes in a close second. The flavor and the texture were perfect.

The Everything Cookie - just out of the oven

The Everything Cookie

My least favorite was the Everything Cookie, mostly because I don't like nuts. The Everything cookie has nuts, chocolate chips and coconut then it's rolled in cinnamon sugar like a snickerdoodle. I would've preferred fewer nuts and more coconut. It was still good though and people who do like nuts in their cookies will enjoy this one.

Inside the Everything Cookie

A dozen cookies are $29.95 plus $9.95 shipping but they seem to regularly offer discount codes. I got this initial order with a 20% discount code and I put in another order to send to a friend for her birthday with a free shipping code for a dozen cookies. A check of their website today offers free shipping for 2 dozen+ cookies, no code required. But even without a discount code, if it's within your budget, these are worth full price. And you'll be supporting a small business. 

The Everything Cookie

Chewy Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies

Chewy Pumpkin White Chocolate Cookies - made November 15, 2020 from We Three Shanes

Quick write up as I'm not sure anyone reads these anyway and you just want to get to the recipe, right?

Most pumpkin cookies are cakey. These are chewy. I much prefer chewy cookies over cakey ones so I liked these.

If you don't like a bunch of spices in your cookies, this one doesn't have too many but if you're really not into spices, omit the cloves and nutmeg but substitute with more cinnamon. I love cinnamon so that would be an easy choice for me,

2 cups all-purpose flour

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla. Mix in pumpkin puree until combined. 
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to butter-sugar mixture in two additions, mixing briefly after each addition until just combined. Fold in white chocolate chips.
3. Portion into dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw or shiny. Do not overbake.