Oreo Brownies (01Nov-12)

I get the urge to bake at least once a week, or rather, the urge to pop something into the oven :P.. and this week happen to be "brownie week" for me ^^

 

I am not exactly a fan of Oreos. Find them tad too sweet. But the kiddos love them.

I baked them some oreo cupcakes last month but I was not happy with how it turned out *sighz :(

Wanted to try another oreo cupcake recipe but since I had a tub of ice cream in the fridge, thought some brownies will be nice.

Googled and found a few brownie recipes. There was one with really nice photos but rather skeptical recipe. And I happen to have all the ingredients in the kitchen, so.. why not give it a shot? :)

 

I didn't have the patience to let it cool entirely and I just had to pinch a little to try. It was still slightly warm (which is how brownie should be eaten, eh?) when I popped that morsel into my mouth.. my eyes widened. It was soooo goooooooood. It was fudgy, warm, with bits of crunchy oreo and a crispy crust.
The taste was really unique that I can't find the right words to describe them ^^

These brownies taste just as good on its own without the ice cream. I tried a piece just right out of fridge, the firmer texture was nice. But I think I still prefer my brownies warmed up with a cup of coffee at the side... drool. And the next batch, I shall opt out the oreos & maybe add in some walnuts.

I have tweaked the recipe: adding grounded coffee, using Hershey's mini choc chips, lesser sugar and an extra egg (since the egg I used was local size and smaller I guess).

OREO BROWNIES
(recipe adapted from sugarandsnapshots)

Yield: 16 brownies in a 8x8x3-inch (20cm) square pan
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients

165g unsalted butter1 tsp of grounded coffee or expresso (coffee is supposed to enhance the flavor of chocolate but I can't comment since I have not baked another without coffee powder.)
200g Hershey's semi-sweet mini choc chip
5 eggs
145g light brown sugar (U may use a little more if u are just baking brownies without the oreos)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
16 Oreo cookies, broken into pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to about 350°F (180°C). Line an 8x8x3-inch (20cm) baking pan with baking paper with the paper overlapping the sides (this will make them easier to lift out of the pan after baking.
2. Melt your butter in a pan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips & grounded coffee, stir until smooth and well combined.
3. Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl until they triple in volume. Add half the brown sugar around the outer edge of the eggs in the bowl (so you don’t knock the air out of the mix) and whisk until incorporated. Add the remaining sugar again around the edge, and whisk again for a few minutes until the mix is smooth and you can’t feel any sugar crystals in between your fingers. Whisk the melted chocolate into the eggs quickly to incorporate it.
4. Add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, salt and a third of the broken up Oreos) around the edge of the bowl and fold in until combined, taking care not to knock the air out. Pour the mix into the paper-lined baking pan. Scatter the remaining chunks of Oreo cookies over the top of the mixture, pressing some into the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the middle is only slightly gooey.
5. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool completely. When cooled, lift the baking paper and brownies out of the pan and set on a cutting board. Cut into 2×2-inch squares (in half and then half again, both ways). Makes 16 Oreo brownies.

HallOOween (28Oct-12)

Granola Bars (22Oct-12)

I love granola bars, so do the kids :)
I never knew it was that easy to make them nor has it crossed my mind I could home-make some, till someone told me about it 2 years back :P

So there I went, googling for recipe and found a non-bake version which I made tweaks to. I could not get any granola at the supermart near my place but found muesli instead. Actually, I don't know whether to call these granola bars or muesli bars, since the former is usually coated with sugar and the latter is unsweetened. But since I am coating the muesli with honey, I shall stick to calling them granola bars ^^

My first batch didn't turn out too pretty, as I pressed down the choc chips a little too hard and they all melted and the bars look messy.
Tried another batch and it looked prettier =)

When I was taking pictures of the granola bars today, I realised the bars were a little too soft and didn't hold together very well when left too long in room temperature :( Is it due to the oven temperature in SG? They tasted just right when it's just out of the fridge.

 

But the kids love this texture, chewy and soft. I would prefer a slightly harder texture. I shall try baking them for 10-15mins the next time round. Hopefully it holds better?

 

 

While googling for granola bars, I was surprised that these so called health-snacks ain't as healthy as it is marketed. Those off-the-shelf granola bars, though it boast of high fibre content, usually has a pretty high sugar content too (and most uses corn syrup instead of honey).

 

By making these as on-the-go snacks for my kids, I will have the choice of what goes into the tum-tums of my children, and I can be assured it's definitely healthier than buying them off the shelf. 

 

I cut the bars into bitesize and wrapped them with brown greaseproof paper. Stick them down with washi paper tape.. looks really cute ^^

Anyway, this is still not THE recipe, but it's a start for those who wanna try some home-made granola bars. I will keep on trying and tweaking till I get the "right" granola bars ^^


Ingredients

• 56g unsalted butter
• 53g (1/4 cup) packed light brown sugar
• 85g (1/4 cup) honey
• 2 cups muesli (or plain granola)
• 1 cup rice cereal (Rice Krispies, etc.)
• Some semisweet chocolate chips to sprinkle on

 

Process

1. Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment. Set aside.
2. Combine butter, honey and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter is melted.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
4. Add the granola and rice cereal into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated.
5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pans and press firmly with a clingwrap/spatula to evenly fill. Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the top of the granola and gently press them down with the spatula.
6. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until mostly cooled and set; lift out of the pan and cut into bars.
7. Fridge it till bars hardened.

Note: Do NOT press the chips down too hard. I used Hershey's semisweet choc chips and they melt really easily if I just used a little more strength.

Nöm #174- Halloween Alien (12Oct-12)

Argh. Overslept. Wanted to do a full body Alien with other decor but oinked too long today :(
 I was left with only 30mins to pack 2 lunchboxes and prep kids for school. That leaves me with only a "head"..*sob*.

Halloween-themed can be anything, no? Not necessarily gory monsters or eye-socket skulls, hor?
Today's nom ♥ wheat noodles, kyūri, breaded scallop & honey murcotts.

Nöm #173- Halloween Mummy (11Oct-12)

Remember my "finger & eyeball" pizza cup last year? Haiz.. it has freaked my boy out so much that he insists he will not have any Halloween bento this year.

The girl is fine with it. Here is my first Halloween bento for this year, nothing grotesque, will work along the cute version :P

Girl loves the tuna breadcup, and requested for it again.
 Today's Nom ♥ Tuna cheese breadcup, honey murcotts + happy hippo.
The boy gets undecorated bento, of course =)

Nöm #172- Beary yummy Bento (10Oct-12)

I wanted to mould a bear initially but got lazy and decided to use this shaped-lunchbox instead :) Saves me so much time :P

Today's Nom ♥ We have rice with a layer of salmon floss in between, topped with bonito flakes + buttered broccoli, chicken nuggets and some gummies packed in as treats ^^
I ran out of fruits. And the boy commented it's not exactly a complete meal today without the fruits :S

Nöm #171- Carrot breadcup with tuna & cheese (04Oct-12)

Nöm #170- Bread Pudding (03Oct-12)

What better way to use up those Purple black glutinous rice bread, Green spinach bread and all the bread cut-outs from yesterday?
Bread Pudding with cinnamon, raisins and apples :D

Nöm #169- Cut The Rope (02Oct-12)

The spinach bread I bought is not as green as the actual chap from Cut The Rope, oh well.. will do I guess =)

Today's nom ♥ Black Glutinous Rice bread with beef pastrami, cheese and butterhead lettuce.

No fruits today as this bread is pretty thick and filling so the kids shall have their daily dosage of fruits when they are back from school.

Nöm #168- Kutusita Nyanko (01Oct-12)

I always see this little fellow around in shops but never quite know the name. Just found out it's called Kutusita Nyanko, a cat wearing socks on its every paw. It's real name is Bon-Chan =^^=