Milk Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Blondies

Source: Carole Bloom's The Essential Baker
Makes 16 2-inch squares

3 oz (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup natural-style, chunky peanut butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 oz milk chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the inside of the foil.

Place the butter in a large bowl and beat the butter on medium speed until it's fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the peanut butter and cream together. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.

Add the sugar to the mixture and cream together.

One at a time, add the eggs to the peanut butter mixture and beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla and blend completely.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture in two stages and stir together thoroughly.

Add the chocolate chunks to the batter and stir to distribute evenly.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Bake the brownies for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly moist.

Remove pan from the oven and cool completely on a rack. Lift the brownies from the pan with the aluminum foil and carefully peal the foil away from the sides. Cut into 4 equal-sized rows in each direction.

*Similar to Chewy Peanut Butter Blondies

Triple-Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.

In a heavy 1 1/2-quart saucepan melt bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring, until smooth and remove pan from heat. Cool mixture to lukewarm and whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well until mixture is glossy and smooth. Stir in salt and flour just until combined and stir in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack before cutting into 16 squares. Brownies keep, layered between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at cool room temperature, 5 days.

Martha Stewart Chocolate Fudge Brownies

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces coarsely chopped good-quality bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a buttered 9x13-inch baking pan with foil, allowing 2 inches to hang over sides. Butter lining (excluding overhang); set pan aside.

Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until butter and chocolate are melted. Let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; set aside.

Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture; beat, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out brownies; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache

Source: Alisa Huntsman's Sky High

The Cake:
makes a 9-inch triple layer cake

3 cups of cake flour
3 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of ripe mashed bananas
8 ounces of softened unsalted butter
2 cups of sugar
7 egg whites

Praline Filling:
1 cup sugared pecans, cooled
1 and 1/2 cups white chocolate ganache

Sugared Pecans:
1 and 1/2 cups pecan halves
3 cups vegetable oil
1 cup confectioners sugar

White Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces of white chocolate chopped
2 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
CAKE:
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper or wax paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside dry ingredients. In a food processor or blender, process the milk and banana into a smooth light puree. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. On medium high speed, beat in egg whites 2-3 at a time until smooth. Scraping down the sides of the bowl between egg additions.
With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and banana puree alternately in 2-3 additions, beating until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 1-minute. Divide the batter among the cake pans.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a wired rack and remove the paper liners. Then cool completely one hour.
To assemble the cake, put one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half of the praline filling, leaving a 1/4"-inch margin around the edges. place the second layer on top, again flat side up, cover it with remaining filling. Finally add the third layer and frost the sides and top with the white chocolate ganache. Garnish with sugared pecans.
Praline Filling
With a large chef's knife chop the pecans. Or pulse in a food processor being careful not to turn into paste.
Add the sugared pecans to the white chocolate ganache and stir to mix well.

Sugared Pecans
Place the pecans in a medium sauce pan, add water to cover, and heat to a boiling. Boil the pecans slowly until they are swollen and soft 5-8 minutes. Drain the nuts well in a sieve for about 5 minutes. (Do not pat dry; the nuts must remain damp.)
While the nuts are draining, heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan or deep fat fryer t0 350F degrees.
Set half of the nuts aside. Dust the remaining nuts in the sieve with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Shake the sieve to coat the nuts evenly, letting any excess sugar fall away. Immediately add the coated nuts to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon scoop the nuts out and drain them on several thickness of paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining nuts.
White Chocolate Ganache
Put the white chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. In a small sauce bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 1-minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the white chocolate cream stand until cooled to room temperature.
In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters beat the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream and vanilla until softly whipped. Stir in the white chocolate cream and beat until fairly stiff. taking care not over beat, which would cause the ganache to separate.

Peanuttiest Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup peanut butter- crunchy or creamy
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts
6 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate (I used 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with foil, butter foil, and put pan on baking sheet.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
Beat butter and peanut butter on medium speed until smooth. Add both the sugars and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until well incorporated into the butter. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. If the chunky ingredients aren’t mixed in after a few seconds, just finish the job with a sturdy spatula- don’t overmix the dough. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan.
Bake the blondies for 40 to 50 minutes, or until they turn a deep honey brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.
When it is completely cool, carefully lift the blondies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and turn them out onto a rack. Peel away the foil and invert onto a cutting board. Use a long knife to cut into 16 bars, each roughly 2 and ¼ inches on a side. Wrapped well, these blondies will keep for about 3 days at room temperature or for up to 2 month in the freezer.

Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and ½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (optional)

Directions:

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To make the cake: Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is thoroughly blended into the butter. Add the eggs one at a time, then the yolks one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); mix only until each new batch is blended into the batter. Scrape down the bowl and, if you want, add the melted chocolate, folding it in with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter between the cake pans.

Bake for 26 to 30 minutes, or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (Once the layers are cooled, they can be wrapped airtight and left at room temperature overnight or kept frozen for up to 2 months.)

To Assemble the Cake: Place one layer top side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Frost the top of the layer, and sprinkle the smashed up peanut butter cups inside. Be careful to not overload the inside with peanut butter cups or else it will look uneven when you place the top layer.

Next, cover with the second layer, top side down. Frost the sides and top of the cake, either smoothing the frosting for a sleek look or using a spatula, knife or spoon to swirl it for a more exuberant look. Press the remaining peanut butter cups around the sides of the frosted cake, and if you want you can sprinkle them on top too.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour (or for up to 1 day, if that’s more convenient) to set the frosting, then bring it to room temperature before serving.

Peanut butter frosting:
from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Levain Bakery Cookies

Ingredients
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
8 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
3 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) brown sugar
2 eggs
4 ounces (1/3 cup) unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
18 ounces (4 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) Valrhona® extra dark bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well-blended and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well-incorporated, then add molasses, flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chunks. Transfer dough to clean work surface and divide into 12 equal portions. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in oven 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Let cool on rack and store in airtight container.