Deb's Favorite Brownies

In a moment of extreme weakness during my medicine rotation, when I needed something to keep going, I made these brownies and put cut up Andes over one half and stuck Rolos all over in the second half and they were probably mostly sinful, but they hit the spot, you know?

The Robber really liked these and I thought well they tried too hard to like brownies you would make from a mix and I thought honestly, if you are going to make brownies from scratch good heavens they should not be like the box! But then the box brownies have their way of just being gooey chocolate in a not elegant, but satisfying way, so I ate a bunch of these anyway and figured why not just give in and enjoy it. Wouldn't call these my personal favorite, but they are very easy to make and in a pinch, are much better quality than the box. 

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/my-favorite-brownies/

Ingredients:

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped

1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for pan

1 1/3 C. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. flaky sea salt or 1/4 tsp. table salt

2/3 C. all-purpose flour 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8×8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together until 

only a couple unmelted bits remain. Off the heat, stir until smooth and fully melted. 

3. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Stir in flour with a spoon or flexible spatula and scrape batter into prepared pan, spread until even. 

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free. If desired, dust the brownies with powdered sugar before serving.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

So all summer long I've basically just been stealing off Smitten Kitchen, and particularly earlier in the summer I got on a kick of making her raved about snacking cakes-- the rhubarb snacking cake, the blueberry boy bait, and most recently the dimply plum cake-- only to be an ungrateful beggar and go on to say how ho-hum I felt about them. Two more of her standards remained in my box of recipes to try, and I don't know that I would have tried this one except that we had a) raspberries and b) buttermilk and c) the need for an easy dessert for dinner with friends. Even with that alignment of stars, it was still with begrudgement that I made this cake. And then--- then! It was actually really good. All she said it would be. All worthy of starting the snack cake craze. So I guess I am reconciled to Smitten Kitchen and her snack cakes and after all, and who knows, I might go about trying the strawberry snacking cake before this summer is through after all. That is, if I can get away from this one. We still have raspberries and more buttermilk, and the Robber, with his big Robber eyes, has been asking for more.

Originally from Gourmet Magazine 2009, adapted by Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/05/raspberry-buttermilk-cake/

Ingredients:

1 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 C. plus 1 1/2 T. sugar, divided

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (or the rind of one smaller lemon)

1 large egg

1/2 C. well-shaken buttermilk

1 C. (about 6 oz.) fresh raspberries 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. 

3. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 C. sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. 

5. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter (see note) raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 T. sugar (I used cinnamon sugar.)

6. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

Note: All the raspberries are downward will be swallowed by the batter and sink to the bottom. The ones where the o is upward stay empty, like cups, and swim closer to the top. Both are delicious.

Peach Cobbler Scones

In addition to the North Fork scones I also made these scones this weekend, but saved them for the Robber who loves peach pie so much that I thought he might love these scones too. And he did! They ended up sitting on the counter, formed but unbaked, for several hours so I don't think ours rose very high and also because I used baking powder with aluminum yes, the peaches did turn grey within 48 hours, but the Robber happily consumed them. What I liked about these was that the dough itself was not very sweet so it really did feel like a cobbler and not so much like a cake and had a nice salty-sweet contrast which is the Robber's love. Definitely worth a re-visit next summer when the peaches are back in season!

From Annie's Eats:

http://annies-eats.com/2012/08/13/peach-cobbler-scones/

Ingredients:

3 C. all-purpose flour

¼ C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

1½ sticks (12 T.) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ C. buttermilk, plus more for brushing

1-2 ripe peaches, sliced thin (I used 1 1/2 and ate the remaining 1/2 peach)

For the cinnamon-sugar (can likely only make half this amount):

2 T. sugar

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.  Whisk briefly to blend.  

3. Add the butter to the bowl and cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the largest butter pieces are the size of peas.  

4. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix gently with a fork until a dough forms.  Knead briefly, about 10-15 times, until the dough has come together.  Be careful to avoid over handling the dough, as it can result in tough, dense scones.

5. Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface.  (If the dough is too soft to shape, chill it for about 15 minutes before proceeding.)  Roll the dough out into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle.  

6. Brush half of the dough lightly with buttermilk.  Lay the peach slices in a single layer over the buttermilk side of the dough.  Sprinkle evenly with about half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Carefully fold the other side of the dough over the peaches as if closing a book and press down gently.  Slice the dough into 8-12 equal sized pieces. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  

7. Brush the top of each scone with buttermilk and sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar.  Bake until the tops are golden brown and the scones are baked through, about 15-18 minutes.  Let cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool further.  

Note: The shaped, unbaked scones may also be frozen on a baking sheet and then transferred to a freezer-safe container.  Bake as directed straight from the freezer, simply adding a few minutes to the baking time and checking for doneness.  

North Fork Table & Inn Scones

Let's just face it: I have come to expect scones as my every day breakfast food. Now that I am eating at the hospital cafeteria for most of my meals-- including breakfast-- I have a lot more options. Yogurt. Eggs. Bacon. Bagels. Croissants. But what do I go to still on an every day basis? Yes, the scone-- although the hospital scones are not quite as tasty as some of the ones I've made. Anyway. But the other thing I like about scones is that I can make a batch for a night when I am on call and they are good for dinner when I'm coming on, for a midnight snack, for a 1 am snack, for a 2 am snack.... and then they are still good to share with the morning team coming on. Hence my scone craze is still alive and well despite my new lifestyle.

Here are some scones I made for my most recent night shift. They were alright. By all standards I'm sure they are amazing, but for me-- just alright. I think what I want out of a scone is changing. I want less chewiness and either more flakiness or more cakeiness but not chewy. And these were chewy. Perhaps because I made them with dried apricots and not with raspberries like Deb of Smitten Kitchen did? So take it for what you will, you will most likely find them amazingly delicious, unless you have made all the other scones on this scone-filled blog, then you will find them delicious but not stand-out-ish.

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/09/the-north-fork-and-its-scones/

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C. pastry or all-purpose flour
1/4 C. sugar
1 T. aluminum-free baking powder*
1 tsp. baking soda
12 T. butter, in 1/2-inch cubes
1 C. golden raisins plus 1 T. caraway seeds -or- 1 C. fresh fruit of your choice
3/4 to 1 C. buttermilk (use the smaller amount if using fresh fruit, the larger if using the raisin-caraway combo)
Turbinado or sanding sugar for sprinkling (optional, not in the original recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Place cubed butter in freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.

3. Add butter to the flour mixture and cut in until you have pea sized specks of butter. Add the fruit/seeds and the buttermilk and stir until just moistened.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple times. Roll or pat dough out to approximately one-inch thick round and cut into 8-12 wedges.

5. Optional: Brush buttermilk over the top of the scones and sprinkle with turbinado or sanding sugar.

6. Bake on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Note: If you use fresh fruit in a scone, it’s very important that you use an aluminum-free baking powder, otherwise the aluminum may precipitate out causing your scones to turn a bluish-gray color. They will still be edible, but may taste a bit tinny or simply look less appetizing.