Tuesday, May 26, 2009

TWD: Chipster-Topped Brownies




Is it midnight yet?! Nope. 10:30pm. Whew, I still have time to post.


This week on TWD, we made the Chipster-Topped Brownies. These are not just any brownies. They're brownies with chocolate chip cookie dough on top!




I had some trouble spreading the cookie dough evenly on top of the brownie mixture. Some of the brownie swirled into the cookie part. (sigh) Any tips on how to make this easier are welcome. So my finished brownies don't look like how I imagined them. I thought the cookie part would look like chocolate chip cookie rather than blend into the brownie. I haven't looked at any of the other bakers' brownies yet, so maybe this is what they're supposed to look like.





I couldn't resist. I had to try it right away. They're very good. Ooey, gooey good! Dangerously good.


Up close and personal. Is your mouth watering yet?



This recipe involved melting chocolate and butter together. This can be done by placing a heat resistant bowl over a sauce pan of simmering water. Or, you can use a double boiler, aka a bain marie. I got this as a wedding present and have used it often over the years. It's great for making lemon curd and melting chocolate. Anything that needs to be heated gently.




Jeff is out of town working and I don't want to wind up eating the whole batch, so I packed them up and am sending them to a swap partner in a yarn swap who loves chocolate chip cookies. I hope she likes them! I saved a few for Jeff.

Thanks goes to Beth of Supplicious for picking this week's recipe. Feel free to visit her blog and see how she liked her pick. You can find the recipe there and on page 94 in Dorie's book.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

TWD: Tartest Lemon Tart



I'm back to baking! I had a busier schedule than usual the last couple of weeks, and while I could have probably squeezed in the time to make the weekly recipes, it would have been more stress than pleasure.

I was glad I didn't have to miss this week, since Barb of Babette Feasts chose the Tartest Lemon Tart. I love anything lemon. Cake, tarts, cookies, pie, bars, sorbet, chicken, pasta....bring it on!

This recipe wasn't difficult at all. When I read it though, the crust didn't register in my brain as the "sweet tart dough with nuts", so I just made the regular sweet tart dough and noticed that part afterward. I can imagine it would be delicious with the ground almonds in it. Next time. And there will definitely be a next time! I read the P&Q on the TWD website and took the advice to peel the lemon and separate the pith so as not to make the tart too bitter. It worked like a charm.

I made this tart today and it's already gone. I had dinner plans with my parents and my friend Becky, her husband, daughters and parents. Becky and I go waaaay back to being little girls together. We were meeting at a restaurant and I decided to bring our own dessert. It was a casual family restaurant, so I figured they wouldn't mind. I even brought my homemade whipped cream in my handy dandy cream whipper. It was pretty funny when I pulled it out and started squirting whipped cream on top of the tart slices.

The tart was an absolute hit! Visit Barb's blog using the link above and see how she liked her chosen recipe. And if you want to make one yourself, you can get the recipe there too, or buy Dorie's fabulous book. You can see how the other TWD bakers made out here.

See you next week! Happy baking!