Chunky Monkey Pancakes

 Pancakes are one of the best weekend breakfasts. Whether loaded with chocolate chips, blueberries, or just plain covered with peanut butter, nutella, or syrup, they are delicious. On the weekends I like to try new breakfasts recipes that are typically a little richer or sweeter than your typical breakfast. These pancakes from Our Best Bites fit that. As an added bonus, these pancakes utilize over-ripe bananas. Not only do these pancakes have bananas in the batter, there is also chocolate chips. Oh and one more thing, they are drizzled with peanut butter syrup. It's reminiscent of maple-glazed donuts, specifically those from Casey's (if you are from my area you know what I mean). These pancakes are an awesome weekend breakfast with just enough sweetness.

Time: 15-20 minutes
Yield: 14ish pancakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice mixed with milk to make 1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp vegetable/canola oil
1 large egg
2 medium ripe bananas
6 Tbsp mini chocolate chips (or regular chips roughly chopped)
2 tsp flour
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter


Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, vanilla, oil, and egg.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combines. Lumps are ok in pancakes batter

Let that mixture sit off to the side and address the browning bananas. You know, the ones that you don't want to eat but aren't quite ready to freeze for banana bread later.

Peel those sweet bananas and mash them in a bowl. Take out some pent up aggression on those bananas. Although I hope you are too frustrated on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Also at the point, ready the chocolate. These pancakes wouldn't be as rich as intended without the chocolate. If you have regular chocolate chips, take a knife to them...

...and then toss the chocolate with those 2 tsp of flour. You could skip this step, but the chocolate would probably sink to the bottom of the batter without it. 

Fold the mashed bananas and the flour-coated chocolate chips into the batter.

Now get that skillet or griddle ready! Heat it over medium heat. When hot, use cooking spray or butter (preferred method) to coat the surface. Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter and make those delicious disks. You can use 1/8 cup if you want smaller pancakes. 

When the edges are set and the surface of the pancakes start bubbling, flip them!

Cook until lightly browned on both sides.

Now that pancakes are ready, or at least close to being ready, get that syrup and peanut butter.

 Heat 1/2 cup peanut butter in a small bowl for about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup of maple syrup until combined and then heat for another 30 seconds. This stuff isn't necessary, but it's definitely desired. So peanut buttery, sweet, and rich. It's amazing.

 

Or if you are feeling lame, just skip the peanut butter syrup and enjoy your banana chocolate chip pancakes.

However you enjoy these chunky monkey pancakes, make them! You won't regret it!

Original recipe at http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/09/banana-chocolate-chip-pancakes-with-peanut-butter-syrup-chunky-monkey-pancakes/#comment-422913 

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

 I love Farmer's Markets. I love people watching and seeing what is available to buy. Some days I come home with nothing but other days I come home loaded with tomatoes, potatoes, berries, peppers, herbs, and zucchini. I get home and wonder what I'm going to do with it all, but I figure that out later. I do have a couple quick fixes for zucchini. This recipe is one of them.

Growing up my mom often made zucchini brownies. That sounds odd, but they are really just chocolate brownies with tiny flecks of green. You don't really taste the zucchini..just chocolate. They are pretty good. So last year when I was looking for alternative baked goods involving zucchini, I cam across this recipe from Adam and Joanne at Inspired Taste. This bread is delicious! You don't taste the zucchini one bit and the texture is barely tampered with. It's moist, chocolatey, and sweet enough for dessert, but not too sweet for breakfast. It has a delightful cake texture and is just all around amazing. If you have extra zucchini lying around, grate it up and get ready for something amazing.

Time: 70 minutes
Makes 1 loaf or 18 muffins
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp instant coffee granules
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
3/4 cup chocolate chips, opt

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the oil and both sugars. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and coffee granules.

Pre-beating...

Post-beating

 In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt).

I thought it was kind of pretty...so I snapped a picture.

Mix it up well

 Dump your shredded zucchini into the bowl with the dry ingredients. I had a 1/2 cup measure handy so I loaded it up and dumped it in.

Mix it up until all the zucchini is coated with the powders.

 Add the dry ingredients and zucchini into the wet ingredients in batches. Mix it until everything is moistened and combined. If you want to add chocolate chips, do that now.

Pour the batter into your pan and pop it in the oven. I didn't have a 9x5 pan so I used my slightly smaller pan and one mini-loaf pan.

Please ignore the cast iron pizza pan...it's been treated pretty roughly.

 Bake the cake...I mean bread...for about an hour. You should be able to stick a toothpick in it and have it come out clean. Set the loaf on a cooling rack and dump it out whenever you feel up to it. If you make muffins instead of a loaf, they only take about 20 minutes.

I forgot to take a picture of it sliced because I just wanted to eat it. So yummy! Next time I'm going to make it in muffin wrappers just for something different. If you do that though, remember it won't bake as long. Slice a chunk off and enjoy with a cold glass of milk!

Original recipe at http://www.inspiredtaste.net/2108/chocolate-zucchini-bread/

German Chocolate Brownies - Waldman Family Style

It's been a month since my last post...you would think with school out that I would have posted much more. However, since school has ended I have had oral surgery, attended my grandfather's 80th birthday, started and finished a Master's course, and gotten a new puppy! It's been a busy month! But I had a bit of downtime and thought it was time to share another recipe.

For my grandfather's birthday, he requested these German Chocolate Brownies. He had a big party at his house with all his friends and the whole family. It was a wonderful time and it was an excuse for me to bake! I baked four different things and came home with very little. One item was the Slutty Brownies that I shared not too long ago. Those were a hit among the little old ladies and they though the name was a hoot! My grandfather's friends are pretty great. So anyway...back to these brownies. I don't really know where this recipe came from but my mom has been making it for years. If you love chocolate, caramel, and brownies, you will love these brownies!

Time: 45ish minutes
Ingredients
1 package of wrapped caramels (14 oz size)
2/3 cup evaporated milk, divided
1 package German Chocolate Cake Mix (any brand will work)
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 package chocolate chips (12 oz)

Preheat oven to 350.

The first thing you have to do is unwrap all those caramels. It takes a while and I know you will be tempted the whole time, but it must be done. As you unwrap the caramels throw them into a microwave-safe bowl or into the top part of a double boiler. Now melt those sticky pieces of awesomeness using whatever method you choose. Once they are melted, stir in 1/3 cup of evaporated milk.

Once that is all mixed well, set it aside.

  

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the German Chocolate Cake mix with the melted butter and the remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk. It will seem thick, but remember, the desired outcome is brownies, not cake. 

Now, press half of the batter into a greased 9x13 pan. You can use a spatula, spoon, or whatever, but as you can see from the picture, I may have used my hands...and left finger indentations...

Pop it in the oven for about 6 minutes or until it is slightly firm.

While this layer is still warm, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the whole pan.

Remember that caramel mixture you set aside? Get that and spread it on top of the chocolate chips. Run a spatula over all of it until the whole bottom layer is covered.

Now comes a tricky part. You have to take the rest of the batter and spread it on top of the caramel. It's tricky, because the batter doesn't spread very easily. I take chunks of it in my fingers and squish it before I place it on top. Try your best to cover as much of the caramel as possible.

 It looks awkward, but it will bake to deliciousness...I promise.

I thought it looked cool, so I took another picture...

Now stick the whole thing in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the brownie portion has set and has browned around the edges. 

Here comes another tricky part...you must let these cool completely before cutting in! If you don't, they will be a gooey mess. An amazing gooey mess, but not finger food. However, my family has been known to scoop the goo in a bowl and eat it with ice cream. But these are meant to be brownies. So, cool and then cut. Please make these...you won't regret it. They are chewy, chocolatey, and delicious!

Slutty Brownies....Finally!

So looking at my blog, I can see that I have not posted since the beginning of April...it is now towards the end of May. That lack of activity can be attributed to a hectic schedule. But, school is over for the year! The end of the year is a time of ridiculous crazyness, but it is over! To catch up, I have ended my last year as a Kindergarten Dual-Language teacher and will be teaching K-6 Spanish in a different district. As for TBDH, he is still figuring out what he wants to do. Currently is is interning with a computer repair service and looking for jobs. We will see what happens.
As school was coming to an end, I decided I needed to take something special to the staff. These brownies seemed perfect. Oreos were on sale and I had an idea. I found these Slutty Brownies on Pintrest from several different sources, but they were all essentially the same. One source actually did give some reason for the name. She says that these are easy and just a little bit dirty. One source also called them Lasagna Brownies, but I'm a fan of the Slutty moniker. I tried making these brownies once and they turned out pretty good, but I knew they could be better. I tried a second time but they weren't as good as the first time. So I had an idea to help these reach their full potential. Essentially these brownies are cookie dough, Oreo, and brownie. The first and second time I made these I discovered the cookie dough bakes much faster than the brownie, creating a drier crust and with a very moist top. I was hoping for more moisture in the cookie layer too.
My brilliant idea was to make these in muffin tins instead of a large pan! Brilliant, right?! It's not that exciting until to taste them. So moist and delicious. You must try these!

Time: 40 minutes
Makes about 2.5 dozen brownies with extra cookie dough
Ingredients
Full recipe of your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough (I use the Nestle Tollhouse recipe for these, with slight alteration)
Brownie batter (I'm a fan of Betty Crocker's Fudge Brownie Mix)
1 package of Oreos

Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
1 stick of soften butter
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cup chocolate chips

Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies
1 brownie mix
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375

For the cookies
Cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until all combined. Beat in the two eggs one at a time. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet until all is mixed. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Let that sit aside while you make the brownie batter and try to not eat all the dough. Cookie dough is my weakness...

For the Brownies
Combine brownie mix, water, oil, and eggs until all the mix is moistened. It's ok if their are some lumps.

Assembly
You can either line muffin tins with papers or spray them very well with cooking spray. Press cookie dough into each muffin well until it is about half full. Next, press an Oreo into each well.

Finally, top the wells off with brownie batter until the Oreos are covered.

Place the deliciousness into the oven for 16-18 minutes or until brownie top is done. Let the pan cool for about 5-10 minutes before lifting the liners out. If not using liners, let the brownies cool even longer before trying to remove them. You can let them cool completely before eating them, but you might as well try one while they are warm. I have also heard these are good with vanilla ice cream on top, but I never make it that far. My only regret is that I didn't take a picture of this sliced open...it's beautiful when you see the layers.

I was testing liners vs. non-liners..both are amazing :)

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

So there are a lot of different Chocolate Chip Cookies recipes and I'm sure many of you have tried lots of different ones; I know I have. I have several recipes that I like, but when I came across this recipe from Tessa at Handle the Heat, I knew I had found something special. The texture of these cookies is how all chocolate chip cookies should be. They are chewy and stay that way for a few days. I took a batch of these to school last year and several people told me these were the best cookies ever. I made them again recently and go similar reviews. LSH took some to law school and most of them were devoured quickly. One great thing about this recipe is that the dough really isn't that tasty. If you are like me, eating the raw cookie dough is a huge temptation. This dough is not that tempting and is much better saved for cooked cookies. :D

Time: 60ish minutes by the time you get them all baked
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp hot water
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream together the butter and both sugars in a big bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time and finish off with the vanilla.

Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add it to the batter. (I think this is the step that does something special to the texture of the cookies. I had never made a recipe that did this before.) Finally add the salt.

Stir in the flour one cup at a time using a heavy-duty spatula (I almost broke a plastic one doing this). Keep adding the flour until everything is incorporated. Once everything is mixed, add in the chocolate chips. The original recipe called for 2 cups, but I like a high ratio of chips to dough so I added some more.

Once chips are folded in, use a spoon or a spiffy cookie scoop to drop large globs of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Leave some space between them because they will spread a bit.

Bake them for 10-12 minutes or until the middles are set and the edges are starting to brown. Let them sit on the pan for about 2 more minutes and then move them to a cooling rack.

Let them cool, or not, and enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

Original post at http://www.handletheheat.com/2011/05/classic-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Gooey Chocolate Cookies and Cream Bars

I haven't baked in a long time so I have taken advantage of this long weekend to bake three different things! Two things I have made before, but this recipe is a new one. LSH and I were invited to a friend's house for dinner and he volunteered me to bring dessert. I love excuses to try new sweets! I decided to try Gooey Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars from Picky Palate. I have made a few things from this blog and they have all been good. I can't take credit for any of this recipe because I did not alter anything. It's delicious just as it is.

Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 Devils Food Cake mix
1 stick of butter, softened
1 large egg
14 Oreos, broken into pieces 
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil. Grease the bottom and edges of the foil really well. If you don't, the bars will never want to leave the foil.

Mix cake mix, stick of butter, and egg in a large bowl. You can use a spatula or spoon if you want, but it really is easier to use your hands. It's great stress relief and it feels cool.

Once it is mixed up, press the dough into the prepared pan. Again, you can use a spoon but hands work best.

Sprinkle the broken Oreos on evenly top of the prepared batter. Next open up the can of condensed milk and pour it over everything. This ingredient is what brings all this together for me. It gives the bars a caramel taste on top of the cookies and cream and chocolate. It's amazing.

Finally, sprinkle chocolate chips over everything.

Put it in the oven and let it bake for about 25 minutes or until the base is done. Now comes the tricky part...you must let it cool! If you absolutely can't wait, I suggest a spoon or else it will just fall apart. When it is cool you can carefully lift the foil out of of the pan. Carefully peel the foil away and cut bars into whatever size you want. Now try not to eat the whole pan!

Original post at http://picky-palate.com/2011/07/05/gooey-cookies-and-cream-double-chocolate-cake-bars/