Classic Chocolate Brownies

Brownies are a classic dessert that anyone can find in a bake sale spread, birthday party, or just when you are seriously craving some at 11pm... not that I would ever bake...for myself... that late at night. that would be ridiculous. Anyways, I decided to tackle a new brownie recipe since I'm always a fan of giving new recipes a chance. I love using the semisweet bars by Ghirardelli if I'm melting chocolate for a recipe since I feel like chips are more processed and don't melt as smooth as bars. I noticed the wrapping of the semisweet bars had a few recipes printed on the inside and immediately the classic chocolate brownies caught my eye. One thing that drew me to this recipe was how the brownies don't actually contain any coco powder, just a melted Ghiradelli bar and chocolate chips. Having both the chips and melted bar in these brownies gave them a veryyy chocolaty taste. However, it was not a fudge-y chocolate taste like I was expecting. Overall they were fairly run of the mill brownies that had a very nice soft flaky quality.

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4 ounce semisweet chocolate baking bar

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3/4 cup plus 2 tbs all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Chop the 4 ounce baking bar into small pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool until it reaches room temp. Once cooled, stir in the brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl shift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the dry ingredient mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pour batter into pan. Bake for 25-30 mins and remove from oven to cool for 10 mins.

RIce Krispie Treats

Sometimes even the simplest baked goods can be as delicious as a complicated souffle. Going back and putting your own spin on childhood favorites is one way to make them perfect for any occasion. When my friend requested that I make her some rice krispie treats I immediately began thinking how I could take classic american treats and make them more moist, more marshmallowy, and just down right more delicious. One problem I always find with rice krispie treats is that they are too dense and too dry. In order to solve this problem I decided to double the marshmallows and add some complexity of flavor with the addition of vanilla and a pinch of salt.

2 bags mini marshmallows

6 1/2 cups rice krispie cereal

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

On low heat melt the butter. Add 1 1/2 bags of marshmallow (other 1/2 will be added later) and simmer on low heat, constantly stirring until fully melted. Add a pinch of salt and the vanilla. Pour mixture over the cereal in a large bowl and stir to incorporate without crushing the cereal. Add the 1/2 bag of reserved marshmallows so you have big chunks in the treats. Pour the mixture in a parchment lined pan (I used 9 x 11 but a smaller pan would yield thicker treats) and press down lightly with a spatula. Let sit until fully cooled and cut into large squares!