Peppermint Meringue Brownie Cake

The peppermint streak continues!

After seeing this recipe for peppermint meringue brownie cake both in the last ever (tears!) issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine and in the blog The Bitten Word, I had to give it a try.  I also had egg whites leftover from my peppermint ice cream from last week... kismit?  Maybe.
 

This recipe really is pretty simple, but looks pretty fancy.  Brownies and meringue.  Neither is too hard... Plus I got to use my peppermint extract (carried across the world by Meghan and Liz) as well as my cream of tartar (carried across the southern hemisphere from Sydney by yours truly).

 

I like how the brownie is dense and rich and then the meringue is light and both marshmallow-y and crispy.  Awesomesauce.

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

This past Saturday was Tony's pot-luck holiday party.  With his famous Key Lime Pie already on the menu, we were trying to decide on another dessert to bring.  Pinterest strikes again! And Tony thinks it's a useless website, tsk tsk.  Well moments later I found  this recipe.  With some help from my ass groove Tony was able to make some damn tasty brownies!

Cream Cheese Brownies

Last week Tim went on a wild work trip that took him to Bangkok, Hanoi, Phnom Penh and back to Bangkok. On his way back through Bangkok he stopped to get us bagels at BKK Bagel Bakery, as good bagels are quite hard to find here in Jakarta.  I had read about BKK last year in the Wall Street Journal right before we left DC, mentioned it to Tim, and somehow the idea stuck in his head.  I'm glad it did, because they were pretty good!

They're not very Irish or St. Patrick's Day appropriate, but I put them on a green plate.  That counts for something, right?

This is a really round-about way of telling you why I made these brownies:  I bought cream cheese to go with the bagels, had a bunch leftover once the bagels were gone, wanted something sweet to eat... hence cream cheese brownies.  

The brownies were rich and delicious.  So good.  My only complaint about the recipe (from the Other Martha) is that it instructs you to "whisk cream cheese with 2 tablespoons room-temperature butter."  Ummm... even at room temperature, cream cheese is not really whiskable. Creamable? Yes. Whiskable?  No.

S'mores Brownies

I have been thinking about making these S'mores Brownies from Joy the Baker for months.
I love s'mores, I love brownies- what could be bad about these?

After reading some of the comments on Joy's recipe, I was a little nervous about the brownie part of her recipe, so I decided to take her general s'mores idea and combine it with my favorite (reliable, but ridiculously named) brownie, the Man Catcher brownie.
Good idea... the brownies were fudgey and delicious, with bits of graham cracker scattered throughout, topped with gooey toasted, caramelized marshmallows. Awesome.

"Man-Catcher" Brownie Sundaes

I've been making these "man-catcher" brownies for several years since seeing them in the Washington Post. Despite the ridiculously goofy name, they are awesome. Super fudgy and rich. None of that cakey crap. If you want a chocolate cake, make a chocolate cake; don't make brownies.

Also, they are easy. Almost as easy as making brownies from a box, and 10 times better, so don't be intimidated.

The recipe is easily halved, which is good since it makes a massive amount. I successfully made a half recipe in a 9"x9" pan and cooked it for 30 minutes.

Made the sundaes for the Superbowl by topping a small brownie square (zapped briefly in the microwave to warm) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some blackberry coulis. Awesome.

Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches: FAIL (mostly)

Recipe for the super thin brownies: the other Martha.

I ran out of time and couldn't make my own ice cream to sandwich inside the brownies, so I used store-bought coffee and vanilla. I was planning on rolling the vanilla ones in sprinkles for some color, and Jennifer suggested nuts for the coffee ones. However, the logistics of handling the super thin sheets of brownies and the melty ice cream totally screwed me! Hence the FAIL.

BUT: they were received more than warmly by the dinner party guests, and they did taste good despite their messiness and general unattractiveness. Hence the (mostly).

I shall try again and attempt to devise a way to make them without having the ice cream squirt out everywhere.

I like turtles.

Turtle brownies... 'nuff said.