Extra Gooey Brownies

I prefer a moist, gooey brownie over a cake like brownie any day of the week.  That's why I love Symphony Brownies.  The Chicken Farmer celebrated his birthday this weekend and he loves brownies so I decided to make this new recipe I saw that promised extra gooey.  I thought it was delicious!  The added ingredient is crushed up oreos, but you won't taste them at all.

Extra Gooey Brownies

1 box Ghiradelli Double Chocolate brownie mix
1 egg
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. water
12 oreos, crushed

Preheat oven to 325.  In a bowl, combine brownie mix, egg, oil and water.  Mix until just combined.  Crush oreos using a rolling pin or hand, coarsely.  Add oreos to brownie mixture.  Batter will be thick.  Spread in greased square baking dish.  Bake 30-40 minutes.

Recipe doubles well, just double ingredients and bake in 9x13 baking dish.

Brownie in a Mug

Two days ago, I literally woke up craving a warm, fudgy brownie.  I fought my urge as long as I could, but by lunch time it wasn't going away.  I knew if I made a whole pan of brownies, I would eat that whole pan of brownies!  I opted for the mug version instead to help control my portion.  I've had mug cakes before that to me are just too dry, but this recipe promised to not be dry and it didn't disappoint.  If you are suffering from those cravings, this hits the spot and is a very easy fix...almost too easy, though, so I am having to keep myself from making multiples.  :)

Brownie in a Mug

4 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
dash of salt

Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe mug.  Microwave for 1 minute.  I turned mine out on the plate just to show you how it looks, but obviously it is meant to be eaten right out of the mug.

Nutella Chess Bars

You may know these bars from the one and only Paula Deen.  She calls the base recipe Gooey Butter Bars, but growing up we always called these Chess Bars and Chess Bars they will always be to me.  Paula is also well known for changing up the base recipe to make several different flavors like German Chocolate.  I saw this recipe using Nutella over at Plain Chicken and this was the original recipe I told you about when I ended up making Nutella Cookies.  I took these to a family get-together this weekend (again, so good to take these where there are a lot of people to help you eat them) and everyone thought they were just brownies.  And honestly, they did taste like frosted brownies.  They had more of a chocolate flavor and I couldn't taste much Nutella, but they were still amazing!  Very rich!

Nutella Chess Bars

1 box Devil's food cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 c. Nutella
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
1 (1 lb.) box powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1 stick butter and 1 egg with electric mixer.  Once mixture is formed, press into greased 9x13 baking dish.  In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese and Nutella until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla, butter.  Next mix in powdered sugar until smooth.   Pour and spread on top of unbaked crust.  Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes.  Be careful not to overbake.  You want it to have a gooey texture.

Crustless Brownie Pie

We had some company this weekend that brought lunch to our house.  I couldn't NOT have anything for them at the house, so I decided to make a dessert.  I served it warm with the Vanilla Ice Cream below.  This is a Southern Living recipe.

Crustless Brownie Pie

1-1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa

1/2 c. butter, softened

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Combine first 7 ingredients; beat 4 minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer.  Stir in pecans.  Spread batter evenly into buttered 9-inch pie plate.

Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes.

And after we ate it for lunch, I sent the leftovers home with them!!!  :) 

Hot Fudge Brownie Cake

from myrecipes.com

This past weekend, I was able to get away for a day full of tailgating with The Dish Washer.  My mom came up to keep The Bun and I knew I had to feed her well to thank her.  Actually, she probably would have starved just to be with The Bun.  But I tried to feed her well anyway.  I made this as a treat!  It was good.  Not too sweet and PERFECT over ice cream.  It is from Southern Living.

Hot Fudge Brownie Cake

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

This past weekend, we had The Bun's baby dedication at our church.  Afterwards we had our family over to our house for lunch.  Because we would be at church and had such a large crowd coming, I wanted to do something easy.  So we had all cold foods that I made the day before and just pulled out of the fridge when the service was over.  Our menu consisted of:

Luncheon Chicken Salad with Croissants
Sweet Potato Salad
Roasted New Potato Salad (that I normally serve warm, but served chilled this time)
Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding
Granny's Cut Out Cookies (shaped with a cross cookie cutter)
And this delicious trifle!  Chocolate/Peanut Butter lover's dream!!!

I tore the recipe out of a magazine months ago and saved it this whole time for this special occasion!

For the kids, I did have grilled cheese sandwiches and chips.  The sandwiches were baked in the oven and kept warm until lunch time.

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

1 fudge brownie mix (13x9 pan size)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) peanut butter chips
1 pkgs. (13 oz. each) miniature peanut butter cups
4 cups cold milk
2 pkgs. (5.1 oz. each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c. creamy peanut butter
4 tsp. vanilla extract
3 (8 oz.) cartons frozen whipped topping, thawed

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in peanut butter chips.  Bake in a greased 9x13 baking pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish.  In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes.  Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.  Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well.  Fold in 1-1/2 cartons of whipped cream.

Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups.  Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top.  Repeat layers twice.  Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups.  Refrigerate until chilled.

Symphony Brownies

The M-I-L loves chocolate, so in honor of Mother's day, we have made here these.

Symphony Brownies

Brownie mix
3 giant Symphony bars

Preheat oven according to box directions. Prepare the brownie mix according to the box directions. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour half of brownie mix in bottom of the pan. Line the three bars across the top side by side. You may have to trim the corners on the ends to help them fit. Pour remaining half of brownie mix over the top and bake according to package directions.