Tuesday, July 07, 2009

TWD--Tribute-to-Katharine-Hepburn Brownies

This week's Tuesday's With Dorie recipe was chosen by this really cool girl, Lisa, who is not even a TWD blogger.  What?  Lisa recently won a contest for coming up with a new logo for Tuesday's With Dorie.  Check it out.

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Lisa has a really funny blog called Surviving Oz.  She is an American living in Australia and she loves us TWD bloggers.  Since she won, she got to pick this week's recipe and you've got to 1--go check out her blog and 2-see her posting about these brownies (and GET the recipe!).  She never bakes from scratch and her brownies look de-lish and her write up is a great read! 

THIS might be my favorite TWD recipe yet.  Why?  The biggest reason is because it is SO simple to make.  But heck, they are also brownies and they are delicious--no matter how you slice it! ;)  I have no idea if Dorie hit it just right with making these brownies just like Katharine Hepburn's, but I do know that Dorie has come up with a great brownie and if the key was what Katharine always said--"don't put too much flour in your brownies", then this is it.  I'm not ashamed to say that I made these brownies four different times over the last week. 

We like them!  I'm excited and happy that "we", as in all of my family, like these.  No cake, no frosting to fret about and I've shared them with some friends and neighbors all of whom raved about what a good brownie they are.    Somebody stop me!  jk

So here's the deal.  The first time I made them, I added the nuts, walnuts that is, and semi sweet chocolate chips.  (Note--all four times that I made these I left out the cinnamon and the coffee--don't care for either one in my brownies!)  I have to say, the nutty ones are my favorite.  I just really think a brownie with nuts is much better than one without!

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Pure brownie perfection.

We had to do something fun with the brownies.  So they became the base for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fro Yo Sundaes.  (The same concoction I made the Andes Mint Fro Yo from on a previous post.)

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Good! 

The chocolate chip cookie dough is from The Perfect Scoop.  You can get the recipe here, among other places, I'm sure.

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Next, a few days later, I made the brownies sans nuts because one of my sons thinks he doesn't like nuts in brownies. ;)  He loves them like this---

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Just extra chocolate.  Yum.  (But missing nuts!)  Um, these still got eaten right up!

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These got a dousing of the peanut butter ice cream I recently posted about with some hot fudge on top. 

(Yes, we've been eating a lot of ice cream 'round here lately!)

Next up I went for the classic peanut butter/chocolate combo.  Whipped up the brownies--did I mention how easy they are?  Melt butter in pot on stove, while it's melting, add cocoa (I never sifted it, I'm lazy).  Let sit three minutes.  Whisk in eggs, then sugar, vanilla and that little bit of flour and salt.  That's it.  Add mix-ins.  Put in 8x8 pan (I always lined it with foil and lightly sprayed it with cooking spray--once baked and slightly cooled, cool to room temperature and chill in fridge for the best, easiest cutting.)  My 8x8 pan is a darker metal, so every time I baked these, I baked them at 300 degrees instead of 325 degrees.  I baked them for 25 minutes at which point they passed the toothpick test and looked done.  They were perfect every time.

With these peanut butter ones, I chopped up 8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and added them to the batter.

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If you're the peanut butter/chocolate fan, you'll love these like this!  The kids ate them up and the neighbors loved them. 

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And just because three times just wasn't enough for these, I made them again yesterday.  You know the drill, melt butter, add cocoa, eggs, sugar, vanilla, flour and salt.  Then add 3/4 cup of these--(still cleaning out the baking cupboard here).  I have been known to love the Junior Mints and York Peppermint Patties in my lifetime.  And they were terrific in the these brownies.  And just to be different, I baked them in an 8 inch round cake pan.

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I added a Hershey's Kisses Mint Truffle to the top of each brownie wedge as well.

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If you like the minty brownies--you'll want to whip these up. 

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Puhleeeaassseee, go see other versions of these brownies by visiting the Tuesday's With Dorie blog and checking out the list of other baking bloggers.  I can't wait to see the other's brownies!

By the way, he's feeling much better, but his eyes don't look so good! ;)

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46 comments:

Hindy said...

Katrina, you're the brownie queen! Four batches in one week. My children want to adopt you. I don't know about that, but I might consider trading a couple for the cute googly-eyed one. ;)

Stacy Hoover said...

OH-MY-GOSH!!!! Seriously, I "was" going to take a baking holiday today, but after this post? NO WAY!!! I think I cried happy tears when I saw the cookie dough ice cream (I was just thinking about this kind of ice cream today) AND the peanut butter brownies. AMAZING!!! You are killing me (in a very good way!) with all of this awesome deliciousness! I can't wait to make both - TODAY!!! Thanks for sharing!

Stacy Hoover said...

In my excitement I forgot to add that I am SO glad that your little guy is feeling much better! And those eyes? LOVE IT!!! Thanks for putting a smile on my face so early in the morning!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I wanna pluck those brownies off of my screen!!

By the looks of those peanutbutter brownies,I can have them gone in one sitting.

Unknown said...

FOUR batches!!! OMGG!! Plus all the ice-cream!! You're the baking goddess!! I would lovvee to be a part of your family :P

Teanna said...

I did minty brownies as well! I LOOOOOOOOOVE minty brownies! And your brownies look so good! All variations of them!

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha ha ha - you beat me in the brownie department this week!

I actually love nuts, but the rest of the family doesn't (!). HOWEVER, the pb ones had me ready to jump through the screen.

Lisa Ernst said...

Maybe my favorite dessert of all -- a good gooey chocolate brownie, ice cream and fudge sauce. Can't bet it. I have an event coming up and I need to bake some brownies. I just my try this recipe after your solid recommendation.

isabelle said...

Wow! Four batches of brownies, you are my heros... Your brownies look fantastic! I love these, too.

Anne said...

Wow, I love the varieties but I'm dying for some of the York version- yum! I agree that a quick and easy Dorie treat is simply wonderful, and worth making over and over! :)

Soy*Baby said...

I'm so impressed. I wish I was at your house. Four different kinds of brownies to taste test. Yummy. I like nuts in my brownies too. I'll have to make these again minus the cinnamon.

Anonymous said...

Your brownies look wonderful and so all the wonderful ice creams.

Anonymous said...

Oh my! I am so impressed by your brownie batches! I *need* some ice cream, stat!

Anonymous said...

The mint and the Reeses are just too much. I would skip the nuts but I think I could an entire pan of either of those. YUM.

CookiePie said...

OMG - so many brownies, and they all look so delicious! Do I have to choose a favorite? I think I'd like the peanut butter ones best, in sundae form please! But they all look so scrumptious!

Carla said...

Say Katrina, do you like brownies? Really, I can't tell if you do ;) haha I was lucky I got off my lazy butt and made one crappy batch, let alone four scrumptious batches that you made. Maybe I should have went with the brownie pie.

TeaLady said...

Ah, Jeeeez! too bad you didn't like these!! LOL yeah, right!!! All of your variations sound/look fantastic. I love brownies with ice cream and want to try some of your types.

Are you sure they did the right thing with his eyes..... HAHAHAHA!

Leslie said...

t o be your neighbor. Or your best friend. Or the person who washes your car. Whatever will get me in line for these terrific brownies!! I can't wait to try your combinations!

Kayte said...

OMW you know how to take things to the top and over...this whole post is amazing! You are so creative, I would never think of a quarter of all this stuff, and every single one of them looked like a great brownie should look. Kudos to you...you win this week!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

LOVE all of your brownie variations... I'm so gonna have to try them with peanut butter chips next time! :)

Clumbsy Cookie said...

I think Katharine Hepburn would be soooooooo proud of you! 4 different types? Yummmmmm Katrina! I'm like you (oh surprise) I also preser my brownies with nuts!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

My mouth is watering and now I have to have some sweets!

Pamela said...

First of all...I love those pictures of Sam!! He looks like he is having such fun!

And look at you!! Four times you've made the brownies?? In a week? Amazing. All of them look astoundingly delicious!

Katy said...

Wow -- love all the brownies!! I'm impressed...four batches in one week?!? Wonderful job!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my! All of those brownie variations have been keeping you very busy! They look WONDERFUL!!

Anonymous said...

You really went to town on these! All of the variations look delicious. AND the ice cream - wow!

farah said...

Oh my goodness, i was struggling trying to fit these in and you made how many versions!? LOL! They all look so delicious and the sundaes look soooo good! Glad you and your family enjoyed these :)

Chris said...

Agreed - it's between these and the caramel crunch bars for "best all-around" in my book! So easy - and obviously so versatile! Looks fabulous!

maris said...

These look A-MAY-ZING. I know there's not really a Y in amazing but I needed it for emphasis. I'm possibly the world's greatest chocoholic and I could probably eat six of these bad boys before they even cooled off!

What's for Supper? said...

You are quite the overachiever! Great job. Glad your little guy is feeling better. Mine is currently sick. Not so fun. By the way....you pictures are awesome. You are quite a good photographer!

vibi said...

LOL LOL LOL As I was admiring your very nice and appetizing brownies, I asked myself:" I wonder if she sometimes gets the chocolate jolt craze from her boys after they eat something soooooo chocolatey???" ...then I saw the google eyes glasses... can you imagine I almost fell off my chair laughing!!!!

Anonymous said...

wow, how creative can you be? LOVE all the versions! Apparently Hepburn will ONLY eat these brownies!
I'm glad the cute one is feeling better, and looking even more pinchable than ever!

Anonymous said...

I don't even know where to start. MY god, what a job you did with Ms. Hepburn's brownies! I'll start with the peanut butter cup ones, then work my way up from there, taking ALL of the ice creams along the way! Unreal how amazing everything looks, I can almost taste every crumb and drip!

Emily said...

This is some serious food porn! Sooo many brownies. They all look amazing.

Shelby said...

Oh wow. Give me the one with peppermint patties...and peanut butter cups....and ;-) They all look yummy! The best photo though...the last one. Kids are so darned cute.

Anonymous said...

Many, all of your brownie variations are making me crave one this early in the morning!
They look scrumdidiliumptious!

Anna said...

So! Many! Brownies! Oh my days. That first sundae looks like the best thing I've ever set eyes on - with the cookie dough ice cream! - and the brownies without nuts - and the ones with peanut butter - I think I'm having spasms of joy, here!

Anonymous said...

You make the best brownies! I wish I was a neighbor!! I love the Reese's brownie best. And the ice cream - what a perfect pairing! It didn't even occur to me to mix it up, thanks for all the GREAT ideas! All of your brownies look amazing and I love your photos!

Jennifer said...

Wow, four batches? That's great. I have a similar feeling about coffee and cinnamon, so I just lowered the amounts significantly. I think I put about 1/8 a tsp of cinnamon (couldn't taste it at all) and 1 tsp of coffee (but I didn't grind it up, just melted it in the butter) and the brownies were really good.
All of your variations look fabulous, too. I love, love, love brownies with icecream, especially homemade.

Unknown said...

Wow, you must have really loved these brownies!! :) Each version looks more delicious than the last, but I think the chocolate and peanut butter combo would probably be my choice since I added peanut butter chips to mine!

PheMom said...

Just look at all those variations + ice cream?! WOWSA! I think I am in love with the peanut butter cup brownies though - YUM!

Liz said...

Oh MAN! All your mix-ins sound so good! I was reading the Reese's one and thinking, these sound like the best! And then I got to the mint one, and thought, no, THESE sound like the best! And then I had to restrain myself from going into the kitchen and make another batch...

Amanda said...

OMG all the photos are screen-lickin' good! The sundae one is my favorite :)

noble pig said...

I have made these many times and I love them!

Judy said...

Yumm, love brownies with mint, love brownies with nuts, love brownies sans nuts, love pb ice cream and cc cookie dough ice cream. Can I come over?

spike. said...

wow, that is quite a sundae! nice work with all the brownies