Espresso Cream Cheese Brownies

These recipes are from a wonderful book that is no longer in print.  Thank goodness I have a friend who

has a copy.  They come from Alice Medcrich's Cookies and Brownies.  See the recipe on this blog Super Rich Brownies.  Then follow the directions below to turn them into these perfectly balanced brownie.  Sweet rich chocolate with the creamy and slightly bitterness of espresso cream cheese topping.
My advice, this is a simple recipe as far as number of ingredients.
Make those ingredients count, use the best quality.  I use Plugra butter, Scharffenberger chocolate and Medaglia D'oro espresso powder.








This brownie is a variation of the brownie recipe listed earlier on the blog, The basic New Classic Brownie. This simple addition changes the brownie completely.

INGREDIENTS:
Ingredients from Super Rich Brownies on this blog.
I T. instant espresso powder
1 T water
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 large Egg
9-inch square pan lined across the bottom and up 2 opposite sides with parchment or foil.  I lined with foil.

PREPARATION:
Preheat the over to 325 degrees.  Place rack in the lower third of the oven.  Mix the batter for the Super Rich Brownies on this blog.  Spread all but 1/2 Cup of that batter in the bottom of the lined pan, set aside.

Mix the espresso powder with the water, in a small measuring cup or bowl.  With an electric mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in the egg and coffee mixture.  Spread this mixture over the brownie batter.  Spoon dollops of the reserved brownie batter on top.  Using a table knife, pull the brownie batter through the other batters to marble.  **Be careful not to scrape the bottom of the pan with the knife.

Bake, 20-25 minutes.  Look for the brownies to begin to pull away from the side of the pan.  Cool on a wire rack.  Refrigerate and chill before cutting, about 2 hours.

Using the foil, lift the brownies out of the pan, peel away the foil and place brownies on a cutting board.  Cut into 16 squares or cut into 32 triangles as pictured, by cutting those squares in half on the diagonal.  This is the perfect size piece, they are so rich.  Can be kept, airtight in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Super Rich Brownies

These brownies could quite possibly be the most decadent, chocolaty morsel you will ever put into your mouth. Please don't skimp, use a high quality chocolate. The method used in cooling these brownies gives them an almost truffle like texture.

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz. Butter, unsalted
4 oz. Unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 C Granulated sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Salt
2 Large eggs
1/2 C All purpose flour
Foil
8 inch metal pan
Ice bath that will fit the 8 inch pan

PREP:
Line pan with foil, working in to corners and allowing a little to hang over the edges of the pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place oven rack in lower third of your oven.
Melt butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir to combine. Once melted, remove bowl from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt, using a wooden spoon. Stir in eggs one at a time incorporating each completely. Stir in the flour and beat with the spoon about 1 minute, the batter should be smooth and glossy and come away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake 20 minutes. Rotate half way through cooking, I always do even if the recipe doesn't say so. The brownies should just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top will look dry, but a toothpick WILL come out gooey.
While the brownies are baking prepare your ice bath. Immediately place baked brownie pan into the ice bath and allow them to cool completely in the bath. Take care not to splash any water on your brownies. When they have cooled, remove pan from ice bath and place on a dish towel to keep your work surface free of water. Lift brownies out of the pan using the foil overhang and invert onto cutting board. Peel away foil, invert again and cut into 16 squares. You can also make them go a little further for a party by cutting the squares in half into triangles as pictured. Trust me they are so rich even a small bite will satisfy your guests.

Ina's Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

The first time I saw Ina make this on her beach volleyball episode, I fell in love with the recipe. Nothing goes together like peanut butter and jelly! The best part is you can pick your favorite flavor of jelly. We have done all the traditional flavors, strawberry, grape, cherry, but I recently used apricot and it may very well be my new favorite. One small note, not a lot of changes on this one, but in my opinion Ina's recipe makes a little bit too much peanut butter dough for the size of the pan. This can be remedied one of two ways, I use the desired amount and freeze the leftover dough for another time or use a slightly larger pan, two 8X8 pans will work. Haven't tried it yet, but I bet the dough would make great thumbprint cookies. I have tried baking it on its own as a shortbread dough, but something is lacking, it needs the fruit.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Pound unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 C Granulated sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Jumbo eggs, room temperature
2 C (18oz.) Creamy peanut butter, Ina uses Skippy, I use Jiff
3 C Flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 1/2 C (18oz) Jam, your favorite flavor
2/3 C Salted peanuts chopped optional, I don't usually add them

Prep:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray, paper, spray your pan, Ina says to paper, grease and flour, but I don't. I hate messing with the flour coating the pan.
In you electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium until light yellow. 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, eggs and peanut butter, mix on low until combined.
Mix dry ingredients, Ina says sift them, but I just stir in the salt and powder then add them to the peanut butter mixture. Mix on low just until combined.
Ina says spread 2/3 of the dough into the 9X13 cake pan, I spread about a half inch layer. Spread the jam evenly over dough, an offset spatula works best as does stirring the jam well prior to spreading. Pinch small bits of remaining dough and place on top of the jam. Don't worry about covering all the jam completely. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired and bake about 45 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from pan, cool and cut into squares. Enjoy with a really big glass of really cold milk!

Banana Bars

I was amazed to find that I had not posted this recipe prior to now! I make this recipe often, because my kids never eat the bananas I buy before they get too ripe. This recipe is so versatile, feel free to experiment and create your own yummy treat. The original is baked as a bar in a jelly roll or half sheet pan, but I also bake them in mini loaf pans or muffin tins of any size and they bake up perfectly, you just need to adjust the baking time accordingly. I have also developed a caramel version that is fantastic, I saturate them with flavored simple syrups, frost them with various icings, the possibilities are endless. I usually omit the nuts, but have listed them in the recipe and I add cinnamon.

Yields:
6 dozen 2X1 inch bars
24 muffins, double the amount mini muffins
3-4 small loafs

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 C Granulated sugar
1 C Sour cream
1/2 C Butter, softened
2 Eggs
1 1/2 C Mashed bananas (3 Large)
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 C Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 C Chopped nuts
Vanilla Glaze

PREPARATION:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, sour cream and eggs on low speed in a large bowl for one minute. Scrape bowl if needed. Beat in bananas and vanilla on low for 30 seconds. Mix in dry ingredients, not nuts, on medium speed for one minute, scrape bowl if needed. Stir in nuts. Spread into a greased and floured half sheet pan, 15 1/2X10 1/2X1 inch, Bake until light brown, 20-25 minutes, a toothpick will come out clean. Cool. Frost with Vanilla Glaze and cut into bars.
VANILLA GLAZE:
Mix 2 C Powdered sugar, 1/4 C softened butter, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 2 T. hot water.
Stir in 1-2 tsp. additional hot water if needed until you reach a spreadable consistency.

VARIATIONS:
*Use Almond extract in place of the vanilla in the glaze.
*Bake in small paper loaf pans and brush with a rum/banana liquor simple syrup immediately after baking. Drizzle with frosting, these make great gifts.
*Caramel muffins: 1 Jar caramel sauce. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with batter, top with 1/2 tsp. of caramel sauce then top with batter to fill muffin tins to 3/4 from the top. Muffins will take longer to bake, approximately 30-35 minutes depending on the size. Test with a toothpick for doneness.