I had most of Saturday to myself and spent a good chunk of that time in the kitchen.  I tested out another one of Moskowitz & Romero’s vegan recipes and found the results to be quite lovely.  The espresso and dark chocolate flavor was rich and fit my bite-sized portions perfectly.  Though I will say that they were a bit more cake-like than I like my brownies to be.  I think I’m going to start experimenting with different oils in my vegan brownies to get that dense, chewy texture that I love….

Espresso Fudge Brownie Bites

adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Ingredients –

• 3 oz semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
• 5 tbsp nonhydrogenated margarine (such as Earth Balance)
• 2/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c nondairy milk (I have been using almond milk lately)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot)
• 3 tsp espresso powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 c plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp Dutch cocoa powder
• A pinch of salt

Directions –

1. Spray an 8 x 8 square pan or a mini-muffin pan (as I did) with nonstick spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the chocolate and margarine in a large glass mixing bowl.  Microwave at 50 percent power for 2 minutes until the chocolate is soft.  Stir until completely smooth.

3. Add sugar and stir until thoroughly combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, cornstarch, espresso powder, and vanilla until frothy.  Stir this into the chocoalte mixture until completely combined.  Sift in the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt and fold into the chocolately mixutre until moistened.  (Do not over mix.)

5. Pour into prepared pan and bake 22-24 minutes for the 8 x 8 pan and just 10-12 minutes for the mini-muffin tin.  Brownies are down when a toothpick comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs on it.  Move pan to a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

A co-worker was leaving for a few months and I wanted to bring some treats in to send her off in style……BUT, I didn’t want to spend hours making cookies or cupcakes so I decided to make brownies.  And while just about every brownie has some Yum factor, I wanted a brownie that made people moan out loud.

I had been thinking about creating some Mexican-style desserts and figured brownies would be an easy venue to introduce some classic south-of-the-border flavors.  But before I could start playing around with ground almonds, cinnamon, and cayenne (all ingredients in traditional Mexican chocolate) I needed to find the perfect plain brownie recipe.  I like my brownies dense and chewy and gooey.  This has always meant that I could eat an entire pan of box brownies before even looking at most brownies made from scratch, which are usually too cake-like for my taste.  Turns out, there’s actually a reason for this!

According to a Cook’s Illustrated article, the key to the texture of  box-mix brownie is the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat. The box-mix brownies have a 28% to 72% ratio while a classic brownie recipe has a 64% to 36% ratio!  Cook’s Illustrated remedied this by using a mix of butter and vegetable oil, a mix of cocoa powder and melted chocolate, and extra egg yolks.  (This recipe could only get more UN-vegan by throwing a steak in it…)

The result is the best brownie I’ve ever tasted.  Below I’ve put in the plain recipe and then separated out the ingredients you would need for the Mexican-style version.  Make these.  Make them today. All you need is a bowl and a whisk!

Best Brownies EVER

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From Cook’s Illustrated, March & April 2010 issue

Ingredients –

• 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 1½ teaspoons instant espresso (optional)
• ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons boiling water
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2½ cups (17½ ounces) sugar
• 1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into ½-inch pieces

For Mexican Flair -

• 1/2 cup toasted almonds – ground or sliced
• 1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper (depends on how much warmth you want)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions –

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving about a one-inch overhang on all sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. (Note: I dislike using the foil lining.  It makes it difficult to cut out individual brownies.  I  sprayed my baking pan directly with PAM and it all worked out just fine.)

2. Whisk cocoa, espresso powder, and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. (Mixture may look curdled.) Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla (and cinnamon and cayenne) and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt (and almonds) and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.

3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool 1½ hours.

4. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

There are few things in life that compare to eating a perfect lemon bar.  The combination of a thin, slightly crisp (and never soggy) crust topped with a smooth and tart lemon curd-like layer (not washed out with milk or cream, thank you) and finally dusted with a sweet layer of powdered sugar is the perfect way to welcome in warm Spring weather.

They are never the loveliest bar on the dessert tray, but they are often the most flavorful….that is, when they are made correctly.

And luckily for me, Alpine Berry is a fellow lemon bar snob and has blessed the world with the recipe for the most perfect lemon confection which will ever cross your lips.  (The only adjustments I’ve made are to include a bit more lemon flavor.) It took many attempts at many different lemon bar recipes, but I can honestly say it was worth every ounce of trouble…….

The Most Perfect Lemon Bars

adapted from Alpine Berry

Ingredients –

Crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Filling:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup superfine or bakers’ sugar
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/4-1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice  (I use more zest and juice than most recipes call for because I like my bars extra lemon-y)
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions –

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.  (This makes getting the bars out infinitely easier.)

To make crust:
2. Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. (Don’t over-bake or your final product’s crust will be a bit too hard….speaking from experience here.) Set aside crust.

To make filling:
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it’s okay if crust is still hot). Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. (I’ve never cooked beyond 16 minutes.) Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.