Oatmeal Cream Pies

I'm not going to go on and on about how behind I am on posting, but I'll just share with you that my friend Nicole and I made these little pies of goodness sometime in October- I think. They are meant to be just like Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies- only better. They are WAY better + no chemicals = a win, right? The cookie is soft & chewy and the filling is light & fluffy- its much lighter than a butter cream, which I usually prefer.

We added chocolate chips to half the batter, but I think I prefer the simple pies without them.

P. S. Check out my little helpers (Gavin & Noodle). Aren't they cute?

Easy Fluff Hot Fudge Sauce

OH boy. This is delicious. Homemade stuff is way better for you than the store-bought stuff, right, regardless of amount of sugar? OK, phew. That was a close one. I've been treating this little jar of joy like its my medicine lately! If that doesn't tell you how much you need to go to your pantry, get the ingredients & make this right now, then I don't know what does. It is fabulous. It is easy. It is HOT FUDGE!

The key ingredient, the marshmallow Fluff, makes it so fluffy & gives it the perfect texture without any fancy tricks. PLUS, there will be a decent amount of the jar leftover, which I think is perfect on top of ice cream. :)

I first enjoyed this on a brownie sundae. Heaven.

Its also to die for over fresh strawberries.

If you sneak a spoonful here or there, no one will notice. I promise...

Secret Ingredient Brownies with Marshmallows

I found this recipe at the same time I found the Chicken Parmesan one on Brown Eyed Baker. Since I already had all the ingredients on hand- I decided why not make them for a special treat? Brownies are great because you usually only need one bowl and its a bonus when I don't have to get out my Kitchenaid Mixer, wash all the attachments by hand, etc.

These were pretty good, although a bit dry/crumbly. I think that probably had something to do with the wheat flour, but maybe an extra egg yolk would help next time. You can't really taste the whole wheat at all-I didn't tell the bf about that part until afterward. He didn't notice, but still wasn't super ecstatic about these brownies, mostly due to the marshmallow topping... I got the marshmallow topping idea from this other brownie recipe that I didn't feel like buying all the ingredients for. It was a real sticky mess trying to cut these, but if you chill them in the fridge before cutting, it would help. In this case someone was very impatient and needed them NOW! But that's OK- who doesn't love warm brownies and ice cream? :)

I halved this recipe and it still made a lot! We had these for dessert after the Chicken Parmesan and knew they were too dangerous to keep around! I took half to work and gave half to my roommate to take to her office. Yum!

Secret Ingredient Brownies

Oops! Forgot the eggs and sugar in the photo...

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  
• 2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan (I used 9x9 for half the recipe). In large heatproof bowl, combine melted butter and sugar and stir to combine.

Place bowl over pan of simmering water and heat until hot, melted and glassy looking (NOT bubbling). This will be between 110 and 120 degrees if you have a candy thermometer (I did not).

Remove from heat and stir in cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder and vanilla.

Add eggs, stirring after each until smooth.

Add flour and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth.

Spread batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until tester comes out with wet crumbs but not batter.

Time to lick the bowl!

Sprinkle marshmallows (and extra chocolate chips if you have some) on top.

Return to oven until slightly melted, about 5 minutes. Cool completely on rack or in fridge.

Enjoy warm with ice cream!

Do you have a favorite brownie recipe to share?