All minty

Who said you can’t make ‘em the way you want ‘em?

I call this THE
Minted Chocolate Chip Brownies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 tablespoons water

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup mint chocolate chips

powdered sugar for garnish

Procedure:

1. Combine sugar, butter, and water in a medium microwavable mixing bowl. Microwave at high 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir in semisweet chips; stir gently until chips are melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in vanilla; let stand 5 minutes to cool.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl; stir to combine.

3. Beat eggs into chocolate mixture.
(Tip: Beat eggs one at a time.) Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in mint chips or any minted candies if you have some.

4. Spread batter evenly into a 9-inch square baking pan.

Baking Temperature: 180 C
Baking Time: 25 minutes

5. Remove pan and let cool. Place powdered sugar in fine-mesh strainer; sprinkle over brownies if desired.

And there you have your Minty Chocolate brownies.. Ü

Let’s go bananas..

I came across this recipe I find very good when you’re on diet.

Why don’t you hit the kitchen and go making some!

Ingredients:

1 cup ripe banana (smashed)

1 cup flour

1/2 cup maragarine or butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 pieces eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 cup powdered milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Here’s how to do it:

Cream together sugar, butter, and eggs. Add banana and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and add to banana mixture. Stir in chopped nuts. Bake in greased 8-inch square pan for about 30 minutes. Cool then cut into squares. Ü

Baking temperature: 350 F

easy come, easy go!

 Thogh most may say that its not as easy as 1-2-3, there are also those who are determined who would definitely try out this one!

 Butterscotch Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup butterscotch flavored chips

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish

This is how its done!

1. Prehet oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

2. Melt butterscotch-flavored chips in small, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly; ste aside.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

(Tip: use a mixer at medium speed)

Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down side of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in melted butterscotch chips. Add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until well blended, scaping down side of bowl.

5. Spread batter evenly into a greased  9-inch square baking pan.

 Baking time: 20 to 25 minutes  

6. Remove pan and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips in single layer over brownie. Let stand about 4 minutes or until chocolate is melted. Spread chocolate evenly over top of brownie with thin spatula.

(Tip: Lightly swirl if desired.)

6. Place pan in rack and let cool completely.

7. to garnish, place small strips of cardboard over chocolate. Place cocoa in fine-mesh strainer; sprinkle over brownie. Carefully remove cardboard. But brownie into 2 1/4-inch squares.

8. Store tightly covered at room temperature or freeze up to 3 months.

There you have it. Go easy on it. It would definitely take more time on making it rather than just eating it all up! Enjoy!

The magic behind “little chocolate hand prints”…

It is of every little girl’s dream to discover how magic works.. the wonder behind how every bit of something that eventually becomes something really wonderful..

It gives you the evident fact that life is just a piece of cake..

A little bit of all the strange, exciting, extraordinary mix of what life is..

Let me tell you the story of how I started on baking. It actually is something done out of pure curiosity for me. Six years ago, I happened to get this flier about a baking class for the summer. I got my mom into enrolling me in that class. Thinking about it now makes me remember the happy days and how I once was the little child who dreamed to achieve something.

I got really into that baking thing we did, it made me realize that being young is not a reason for someone not to be pursuing on discovering new things. It was my first time to enroll in a cooking class. I was both excited and reluctant at the same time. It wasn’t so bad at all when every one who enrolled actually are first timers. We did cookies of all sorts, baking brownies with a twist, and we even got to decorate our own chocolate cake! After two weeks of class, our graduation day came. It was of course, the very memorable part of the whole experience; considering that we all have this last day to hold on to before we part ways. What really made the event pull off heartstrings was that, instead of awarding us with medals and beautifully designed certificates, we were awarded with our – aprons. It may seem a bit too funny as it may seem. But for the kids that we were then, it was more than just a dirty apron full of chocolate smears. It was then that the realization came to me.

“Oh no, you won’t be bringing with you your aprons. Don’t worry about the mess, it would mean you’re really learning…” said Mrs. Malferari.

More than anything else that I’ve learned during that summer was that our chocolate hand prints on ourselves makes us more of who we are. Its more than just stains that would stay there forever. It in turn rewards us of our sometimes unseen efforts of believing that we can do much if we only have the heart to do it. My passion then, started when i was a that little girl. Waiting for a magical moment that changed my life from then on..