SALTED CARAMEL FROSTED BROWNIES

At the luncheon after Aunt Cindy's funeral there were these amazing brownies. I couldn't determine who had made them, but found this recipe online. Credit Ree Drummond, aka the Pioneer Woman. I made it at home and, yep, this is the right recipe. I will think fondly of Aunt Cindy whenever I make these.

Brownies:
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 c. sugar
3 large eggs
1 c. all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 with parchment paper. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave or in a double boiler. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, stirring quickly until completely mixed. Add flour and stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until just beginning to crisp on the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. salted butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Combine brown sugar, cream, butter, vanilla, and salt in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking until thickened and combined. Remove from heat and cool completely.

2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 stick (1/2 c. salted butter, softened
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Put confectioner's sugar, butter, and cream into mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy (about 3 or 4 minutes). Drizzle in the cooled caramel sauce and beat until combined.

Lift the cooled brownies (using the parchment paper) from the pan. Spread with frosting and cut into squares. These are very rich, so you can make the squares small. (Then eat 12 of them. 😋)

MacGyver That Cabbage

"I am the MacGyver of cooking. If you bring me a piece of bread, cabbage, coconut, mustard greens, pigs feet, pine cones...and a woodpecker, I'll make you a good chicken pot pie." - Si Robertson

http://healthyrise.com/cabbage

Gavin and I are living the budget life (gonna pay off those loans, woohoo!) so, we are living on basic staples such as rice and lentils. These leave the palate wanting unless you jazz it up with other cupboard scraps- which is what I call MacGyver-ing. I MacGyver-ed both of these recipes and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

Mom's Oriental Toss (Budget Version) - for 2ish

1/4 head of cabbage finely chopped

1 can of chicken

1/4 c. slivered almonds

black pepper (just to liven up the cabbage and chicken)

plenty of Italian dressing (I put enough to cover everything, but not to leave a pool in the bottom of the bowl)

Toss and serve (refrigerates well)

Liesle's Stupendous Fried Rice - for 4ish

2 dry cups of rice - prepared and set aside

In a large frying pan:

1/2 onion- saute in Italian dressing

1/2 tsp. garlic - add to saute mixture

1/2 tsp. salt - same

1/2 tsp. black pepper - same

1 tsp. red pepper flakes- same (Gavin has some magical Sri Lankan pepper flake stuff that I add, I hope these flakes work as a substitute?)

1/4 head of cabbage - chop and add to saute mixture (add more Italian dressing)

Add:

chopped broccoli/carrots/cauliflower/corn/chicken etc. if desired. Same procedure as cabbage.

Add: 

1/2 c. Orange marmalade OR 3/4c. peanut butter (You could probably combine these, but I've only tried them separately.)

When cooked enough (I like the veggies a little cooked and a little crunchy) add cooked rice to the mixture, stir well.

Add:

2-3 eggs to the whole pan. Stir well, cook for a few minutes until egg is done. 

Serve and eat* 

*Gavin eats this with Sriracha, but since he eats it with everything, I'm not sure if it's important.

Sea Salt Toffee, Chocolate & Pretzel Cookies

My search for this recipe began when I had a cookie from Panera. Not just any cookie--but a buttery, chocolatey, crunchy, salty, caramely cookie from heaven. I found out later that the Panera version is called the Kitchen Sink cookie. And for good reason--those babies have literally every delicious ingredient you could ever want.

The Panera Kitchen Sink Cookie

In my efforts to find an acceptable substitute to make at home, I stumbled upon this recipe from Cookies & Cups that was just similar enough to the Panera version. The original used butterscotch chips (which I love), but I wanted more of a caramel flavor, so I substituted Heath bits. YUM.

The 2 sticks of butter (yeah, baby!) are browned before adding the rest of the ingredients. I had actually never browned butter before, but wow. The process is similar to candy-making (you just don't add the sugar while heating the butter) and it lends an amazing caramel flavor to the entire cookie. If you are even a little bit excited about salted caramel, try this recipe ASAP. They are even better the next day!

I have big plans for variations with this browned-butter dough. This is definitely ready for some experimentation. White chocolate chips and craisins? Butterscotch chips and coconut? The sky's the limit!

Sea Salt Toffee, Chocolate & Pretzel Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon course sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup toffee bits
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup coarsely chopped or crushed pretzels

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and then bring to a boil. Once the butter starts boiling, swirl the pan constantly until the butter passes the foamy phase and becomes a deep amber color, like a brown paper bag. Removing the pan from the heat, pour butter into the mixer bowl and let the butter sit and cool for 15-20 minutes.

2. While butter is cooling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two cooking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Add the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla to the butter in the mixer. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture--soda, salt and then flour. Finally, add the toffee, chocolate chips and crushed pretzels.

4. Using a medium cookie scoop, place balls of dough 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. If desired, press extra chocolate chips or pretzel pieces into the tops of the balls to make them extra pretty. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown. 

5. Allow cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of sea salt while cooling. Enjoy!