Awkward Baker: S'more Brownies

I've figured it out. I am impatient and impulsive--two things that makes baking rather messy. This recipe (courtesy Food Network Magazine) was once again straightforward and yet I hit some bumps.

First you need to make Fudgy Brownies. As stated in the recipe you need to melt your chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Then it says, off heat to whisk in 3/4 cup each light brown sugar and sugar. Then whisk in 4 eggs, once at a time, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Then stir in 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Okay, I know I'm not down with baker's lingo but I feel like the phrase "off heat" is weird. Does that mean not on the oven or turn the oven off and still have it on top? Well, I took it as mix the items in a different bowl, my trusty glass bowl that is.

This is where my impatience and impulsiveness comes in. Instead of taking the sweet time to mix everything like the directions said, I threw everything in my glass bowl and got my mixer. Did I mention that it asked for vanilla and I put in vanilla extract? Is that okay? We'll find out.

So I mixed everything and threw down my graham crackers as a very rickety foundation to this lovely S'more creation, then put everything in the oven for 30 min. Like an excited child, when it was finished, I piled the marshmellows and chocolate chips high and placed it back into the oven for 10 min.

I must say, despite my mixing aversion and vanilla issue, it tastes like an awesome brownie S'more!

Below are the recipes to follow.

Fudgy Brownies 
Melt 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips and 1 stick butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring. Off the heat, whisk in 3/4 cup each light brown sugar and granulated sugar; cool slightly. Whisk in 4 eggs, one at a time, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread in the pan; bake 45 minutes

Then...

S'mores Brownies 
Make Fudgy Brownies (No. 11), lining the pan with a layer of graham crackers before adding the batter. Bake 35 minutes; top with mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips and bake 10 more minutes.

Finished product!

The Awkward Baker Strikes!

Now, before I post the recipe and pictures of the finished product, let me tell you how I tried to skirt an issue and how it bit me in the backside!

The Pots De Creme seemed like a very yummy idea and an easy recipe to execute. However, let me remind everyone, my cooking/baking skills are at an all time low. But this is what the Month of Chocolate is about: paying homage to amazing chocolate and learning how to make all of these creations.

However, I managed to make this easy recipe a lot harder starting with the first direction.

Place the chocolate chips in the blender. Crack in the eggs, then add the vanilla and the salt. Pulse 5 to 7 times, or until the chocolate chips are partially pulverized.

I don't have a blender. So what did I immediately do instead? Look around the house for a hammer. I could pulverize a bag of chocolate chips with a hammer surely. After 10 minutes, I was hammerless and frustrated and I hadn't even started yet! But step one was upsetting me so I decided to do the coffee part next, skipping step one in its entirety.

So I got the coffee ready and then eyed my 2 cups of chocolate chips in annoyance. No blender, no hammer...Then in step two it says the coffee is meant to be poured into the chocolate chip/egg/vanila/sugar mixture (that I hadn't yet made) so what did I do? I assumed that I could melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, mix the other ingredients in a different bowl and then combine in one large bowl.

Don't do this. Go buy a blender...or a hammer.

It was a messy, messy affair but I managed to get everything into one bowl. I received a mixer from a very lovely woman and began to mix everything. It looked completely unappetizing in my large glass bowl.

Then there came the next instruction where I was supposed to combine the coffee with this mixture into a cup.

So what did Awkward Baker do? Poured the coffee into the bowl and mixed it with my nifty mixer.

After that, it looked yummy and smelled great so I put it into the fridge like the instructions called for and went on to the messy business of cleaning the dishes that I wasn't really supposed to use in the first place.

I feel like I did okay with what I had (and didn't) but I won't know until they cool for a few hours! In conclusion, remember to buy a blender.

Up to my elbows in melted chocolate,

The Awkward Baker


Here's the recipe:


Ree Drummond's Pots de Creme

Courtesy Food Network Magazine, The Chocolate Issue
Time:
20 min
Yield:
10 to 12 servings
Level:
Easy

Ingredients
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
8 ounces (1 cup) very hot strong coffee
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Place the chocolate chips in the blender. Crack in the eggs, then add the vanilla and the salt. Pulse 5 to 7 times, or until the chocolate chips are partially pulverized.

Turn on the blender, then pour in the very hot coffee through the hole in the top in a steady stream. The coffee will melt the chocolate and turn it into a smooth mixture.

Pour the mixture into small mason jars, pretty wine glasses or demitasse cups. Place the jars on a tray and refrigerate them for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm.

Whip the cream with the sugar and plop it onto the top of each glass.

What Food Network's Pots de Creme look like!

Month of Chocolate by Awkward Baker

I am the awkward baker.

Work has become very intense and for the month of March (excluding Sat. & Sun. because I don't have super powers) I am making a new chocolate creation and documenting my stumbling attempts at cooking/baking.

To follow my rocky, chocolatey journey go and Like this page: Just For Women Magazine.
You can be a guy and still like it. There are plenty of male members and you can always hide it from your profile if you're that scared.

Here is the first blog post from that page:

A friend showed me the Chocolate Issue of Food Network Magazine and I simply fell in love.  Chocolalte, to me, is the best thing you could ever taste (a close second being sweet tea, of course) and there were so many wonderful recipes in the issue that I thought "there needs to be a month to hold all of these." Thus, the idea of Month of Chocolate sprung. 

Women, in my mind, are the only truly smart people when it comes to chocolate. Not only do they usually like it, they appreciate it. Now, I realize that I'm on the very extreme side of loving chocolate but I thought it would be wonderful to make each dish with a running commentary attached.

Why? So you all could make your own versions and learn new very yummy recipes. Also, to be quite honest, I'm a very awkward baker. I grew up with a single father who did all the cooking and didn't always have the time to show me the ropes. I've baked exactly three things ever: two ugly, but yummy simple cakes and an intense amount of 10-minute muffins. This Month of Chocolate exersion has been approached with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation! 

But oh how I would love for all of the treats to turn out wonderfully and for people to also try out these yummy recipes!

So please follow an awkward baker on Just for Women Magazine's Page for this Month of Chocolate. Feedback and encouragement are greatly appreciated and encouraged