Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Classic Fudgy Brownies

Here's another brownie recipe for you - perfect for your sweetheart today!  Easy to make in one pan and sooo good!

Classic Fudgy Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8” pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray. In med. saucepan over low heat melt butter and chocolate, stir to blend. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar until blended. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, and 1/2 cup walnuts (I used pecans). Spread in pan and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp nuts. Bake 24-26 mins. Cool and cut. Makes 16 squares.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Video

 

*** MAKE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TWO DAYS AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON MY BLOG ANNIVERSARY POST TO ENTER A DRAW FOR BLOG CANDY! WINNER ANNOUNCED LATER TODAY - LAST CHANCE TO ENTER!***

I shared this recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake about a year ago but when I had some leftover sour cream from Mexican Fiesta night...and a hankering for a yummy dessert, I decided to make the cake and film a video to go along with it for my YouTube subscribers.  Here, once again, is the quick and easy...and totally delectable...recipe!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

½ cup butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 cup sour cream, 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ cup finely chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter, granulated sugar and 1 egg together. Beat in 2^nd egg. Add soda and sour cream. Mix. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add to batter. Stir to mix. Put ½ batter in greased 9x9” pan. Stir brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts together. Sprinkle half over batter. Spoon 2^ndhalf of batter over top and smooth. Sprinkle remainder of cinnamon mixture over. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 mins. or until tester comes out clean. Best served warm.

Banana Date Muffins

Did you watch the Superbowl yesterday?  We had a little family picnic in front of the t.v. and I have a nacho chip hangover today!  We don't get the fun commercials here in Canada but I saw quite a few of them on the Today show as they were released early.  We did of course get the half-time show and I was amazed at Madonna's cart wheels at 53!  (But do you think she was really singing?  Not even out of breath with all that jumping and dancing!  Impressive!)  Anyway, I was cheering for the Patriots (even though I really couldn't care less) and every year after the Superbowl I think, I should watch more football - it's exciting, but then I forget about it.  It's probably just the chips talking!  I also made a big pot of chili, like I always do for Superbowl, and this year I added 2 secret ingredients: strong coffee and cocoa powder.  I didn't notice too much difference but DH did comment that it was 'such good chili'.  Even though I replied that there were 2 secret ingredients he didn't bother to ask what they were.  That's sports and men for ya...

Here are some comments about the Banana Date muffins and today's video recipe:

Even though these Banana Date muffins only have 2 tablespoons of sugar, I thought they would be really sweet because of the diced fruit.  They actually turned out just right and were really nice warm from the oven.  I love the flavour of dates and it's more pervasive in the muffins than the banana - great when you get a good bite with lots of date!  They are very easy to make and even faster when you buy the dates already diced.  I get mine from the bulk store - so much easier than trying to dice up the sticky dried fruit!

Banana Date Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 cup butter

1 cup milk

2/3 cup chopped dates

2/3 cup diced banana

400 degrees F, greased 12-cup muffin pan, 20-25 mins.

Gooey Chocolate Cranberry Squares

Here's another recipe from the 2012 Milk Calendar...my scrapbooking friends loved these Gooey Chocolate Cranberry Squares!  They are easy and quick to prepare and offer a nice change from an ordinary brownie.  You can get the written recipe HERE and watch my video below.  Enjoy!

Giant Chocolate Oat Cookie Wedge

Cookies are my least favourite thing to bake because I have little patience for scooping out the dough and rotating baking sheets in the oven.  This recipe makes easy work of Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies because it yields one giant cookie instead!  You bake the dough in a spring form pan (or deep-dish pizza pan) and then cut it into wedges to serve.  It is pretty scrumptious and when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, makes a pretty presentable dessert!  Watch the video below to see how to make this Giant Cookie and get the written recipe HERE.  Enjoy...

 

Date Cake

I bought the most gorgeous fresh dates over Christmas and, besides eating them all one by one, wanted to make something special with them.  I found this recipe for Date Cake and it proved to be moist and rich.  I love the flavour of dates and it combined nicely with the brown sugar/butter & coconut topping.  DH really enjoyed this cake! 

Date Cake

1-1/2 cups chopped dates

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 cups boiling water

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Topping:

1/3 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp cream or milk

1 cup fine coconut

Put dates into small bowl and add baking soda. Pour boiling water over top. Cool. Cream butter and both sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add flour mixture to sugar and eggs, alternating with date mixture. Pour into greased 9x13” pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 –50 mins until toothpick comes out clean. Topping: put butter, brown sugar and cream into saucepan. Heat and stir until it comes to full roiling boil. Remove from heat. Add coconut and stir. Spoon over cake as soon as it is done. Broil until golden brown, 2-3 mins.

Dark Chocolate Orange Mini Muffins

I look forward to the Milk Calendar every year and often find new recipes I want to try.  The 2012 version is a celebration of the best recipes over the past 35 years and I've actually made a lot of them!  I did find some new ideas in the front of the calendar and the first selection I'm showing you are these scrumptious Dark Chocolate Orange Mini Muffins.  Our family is a big fan of chocolate - and Terry's Chocolate Oranges - so this was a great recipe to whip up first.  You can find it, and all the other great Milk Calendar recipes, HERE.

Creme Brulee

Last week I showed you the micro torch I have in my kitchen and linked a recipe for Creme Brulee.  Well, that recipe looked so simple and good I just had to try it right away!  I decided to make it for dessert one night when my mother came over for dinner and she was a riot watching me caramelize the sugar on top with the torch.  My daughter was really worried since Granny kept saying to get the flame bigger!  Apparently my father used to use his giant welding torch on all those creme brulees we had in my childhood...;)

I only used skim milk with the whipping cream and although the creme brulees were fantastic, they could have been even richer, with more body, had I used homogenized milk.  The flavour was amazing and we all oohed and ahhed.  The hard, crunchy layer on top is so good - especially with a bite of the creamy custard underneath. 

That being said, as simple as the recipe is, I did have some trouble.  The sugar/water mix took a lot longer to brown than suggested in the recipe and, as I suspected would happen, as soon as I removed it from the heat and added the milk, the caramel sputtered and seized.  As I whisked away, most of the hardened caramel dissolved and became incorporated but there was still quite a bit stuck on the bottom of the pan once I added the mixture into the egg yolks.  The end result was fine but it just wasn't as easy as it appears.

After making creme brulee you also have the 'problem' of all the extra egg whites!  I just froze them for now but I know I will be making a pavlova with them soon!

Micro Torch

I have had this BernzOmatic Micro Torch since the early 90s and have only needed it a handful of times.  I used it on some creme brulees back in my intense Martha Stewart years and it's been sitting in my kitchen cupboard ever since.  When I made my favourite Irish oatmeal with fruit and nuts recently, I pulled it from the dusty packaging to caramelize the sugar on top.  Can you believe it lit on the first push of the button?  While the variety of uses pictured on the insert do not include food items, I know this type of torch is used by chefs for the aforementioned creme brulees and caramelized sugar, as well as browning meringues, marshmallows, and other items requiring a quick flash of fire.  With temperatures up to 3100 degrees Fahrenheit, this is definitely not a toy and even I am nervous when I spark up the flame.  It really does do the trick and on the occasions that a broiler element just won't work, I'm glad to have this handy gadget available.  (Hmmm, that creme brulee recipe looks really good...I'm going to have to make that now!)

Decadent Chocolate Bundt Cake

Mmmm, I love bundt cakes!  They are so pretty, easy to serve, and yield many portions.  This cake was super easy to make because it's another of those 'cheater' recipes.  You simply add a box of chocolate pudding mix to a devil's food cake mix with 4 eggs, a cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup of water and a cup of chocolate chips.  After baking for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees in the greased bundt pan, and cooling completely, a simple frosting of 2/3 cup of melted milk chocolate chips combined with 1/3 cup of sour cream, is spread over the top of the cake.

If you need a quick dessert for a family gathering, this recipe will do the trick!  It's so chocolaty!