Peppermint Brownies!

For as long as I can remember I've been making these brownies but have yet to post them.  Why?  Well, quite frankly these are a heart attack waiting to happen - NO JOKE!!!

However, each year my family asks me to make them because they're so good.  Why shouldn't they be good with 4 1/2 sticks of butter.  You heard that right, it's no typo.  

I've avoided sharing this recipe mainly because I prefer posting healthy ones, even if occasionally, there are some not so healthy ones included.  After much debate I've decided, if my family loves these brownies so much, then why not post the recipe - you might love them too!  

These Peppermint Brownies are a family favorite that I've been making during the holidays for well over 20 years.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.  Just remember to ration them, and by all means, if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or cholesterol you may want to avoid them altogether.  Here's the recipe.......

Peppermint Brownies
24 (2-inch) squares

      Brownies

4 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup all-purpose flour

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Microwave chocolate and butter in a 2-quart glass bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring twice. Add sugar and eggs, stirring until blended. Stir in flour and chopped pecans. Pour into a aluminum foil - lined 13- x 9-inch pan coated with non-stick spray.

Bake at 350° for 20 to 23 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour.

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Vanilla Cream Topping

1 cup butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar

1/4 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
5 drops red or green food coloring (optional)

      Stir together butter, sugar, half-and-half, and peppermint extract
      until smooth, then blend in food coloring, if desired.

Brownie Glaze

             4 (1-ounce) semisweet chocolate baking squares

             1/4 cup butter

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Microwave chocolate squares and butter in a 1-quart glass bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring twice.

Assembly

Spread cooled brownies with Vanilla Cream Topping; chill 45 minutes.  Pour Brownie Glaze over Vanilla Cream Topping, and spread evenly.  Chill 1 hour.  Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes, cut into 2-inch squares. 

Enjoy!!!

Halloween Treats!

I had some things that I needed to do this morning but had planned that after lunch I was going to make some fun treats to give to the handful of children on our street this evening. There are 8 small kids on the street and they and their parents all know me well. Otherwise, I would never consider baking something for them.

Last year I made them witch cupcakes. This year I had something else that I thought would be fun to give to them when they came trick-or-treating with their parents.

But, to my dismay none of them came. Over the past few years so many of the homes that had kids either moved, grew up or have senior citizens in them that don't open the doors when the kids ring the bell on Halloween. As a result, those families with young children go into subdivisions that have HUGE numbers of children.

So I made these really cute treats that I'd love to share with you. Sadly, the only kids that came to my door were strangers to me, so I couldn't offer them a homemade treat that was unwrapped.

BOO HOO! That's how I felt. Although my halloween snack wasn't difficult to make I was so looking forward to sharing them with my little friends. I guess I'll have to give them to family and friends tomorrow, otherwise my husband and I will end up eating all of them.

Anyway, these little cakes that I made are Halloween Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes. You can see in the photo at the top one of the cakes is sliced in half. Inside is an orange halloween oreo that's then covered with a pumpkin cheesecake filling and baked. YUM!

You could do something similar for the holidays with the red icing filled oreos and maybe a peppermint cheesecake or regular cheese cake decorated with a snowman on top, Christmas Tree or other holiday decoration. For today though I did a spider web in celebration of Halloween.

Here's the recipe. They're really quite good.

Halloween Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Serves 12

Ingredients:

•12 whole Halloween Oreos
•8 ounce pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
•½ cup Granulated Sugar
•½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla
•½ cup Pureed Pumpkin
•1 whole Egg
•¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
•⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
•2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
•1 pinch Salt
•½ cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Spray a 12 muffin tin with non-stick spray. I used the butter variety. Place 1 Oreo in the bottom of each muffin tin. Set aside.

In large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and salt until combined. Scrape sides of bowl and whip mixture until completely smooth. Spoon mixture evenly over Oreos.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheesecakes have set. Remove from oven to cool.

Once cheesecakes are cool enough to handle, remove from muffin tin. Microwave chocolate chips approximately 1 1/2 minutes stirring after 1 minute, then for another 30 seconds until smooth and completely melted. Spoon chocolate into a piping bag with a small round tip.

Pipe melted chocolate in concentric circles on top of cheesecakes. Drag the end of a toothpick through the chocolate to create the look of a spider web, starting in the center and dragging outward. Repeat with remaining cheesecakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Simple to make and fun to eat!