Flourless Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Brownies

I’m so sorry my posts have been few and far between lately. I’ve just been so busy both at home and at work, and I haven’t had a chance to do much baking or photo taking. I’m hoping things will calm down here soon and I’ll get a chance to post more frequently. I can’t even believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away! Once again, it seems like the holiday just totally snuck up on me.

I did get a chance to make these Flourless Chocolate Walnut Brownies this past week though. I love experimenting with recipes and trying to make treats that are eggless, flourless, etc…, just to see how they turn out. Sometimes the result turns out to be great, and sometimes not. Well, without a doubt, these brownies turned out to be absolutely delicious. I must warn though that they are more geared for the serious chocoholics and sweet tooths out there. Since both chocolate chips and cocoa are used in this recipe, the brownies have a very rich, chocolate flavor. The large amount of chocolate, combined with the sugar, also makes them very sweet.

So if you’re a serious chocoholic or have a very large sweet tooth, this recipe is for you. If your sweet tooth isn’t quite that big, then I’d recommend cutting the brownies into very small squares and enjoying just a little piece at a time.

~Enjoy~




Flourless Chocolate Walnut Brownies

1 cup butter, cut into pieces
10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 x 8 inch square baking pan.

Combine butter and chocolate chips in a heavy medium-sized saucepan. Stir over low heat until melted.

In a large bowl, mix the sugar and cocoa powder together. Add eggs and whisk until well blended. Whisk in the chocolate-butter mixture, then fold in the walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares. Dust with powdered sugar; if desired.

Banana Nut Rum Cake

Banana Nut Rum Cake

Where did August go? Seriously, where did it go?? I can’t believe it’s September 1st already! Is it only me, or does anybody else feel like August just flew right by?

They say we should be getting our first appearance of termination dust on the mountains either this weekend, or sometime this coming week. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “termination dust”, it’s an Alaskan term that refers to the first dusting of snow on the very tops of the mountains – which signals the end of summer. Of course, I could already tell that summer was nearing an end here, because the leaves have already started turning color and falling to the ground, and the temperatures are quite cold now in the early morning hours. Right now it’s pouring rain outside and the mountains are covered with thick clouds, so I’ll have to wait until the clouds clear before I can see if there is any termination dust up there.

In the meantime, to celebrate the first day of September and the long Labor Day holiday weekend, I decided to make this Banana Nut Rum Cake. It’s hard to describe just how unbelievably delicious this cake is. You might think that it taste’s like Banana Bread, which it does somewhat, but the cake is a lot less dense than Banana Bread, and has a much lighter texture. The combination of banana, walnut, and rum makes this a very flavorful cake, and the Rum Glaze on top is just fantastic. It’s a perfect dessert to enjoy on these cooler summer/autumn days.

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone!!

~Enjoy~

Banana Nut Rum Cake

Banana Nut Rum Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
2 eggs
1/2 tablespoon rum extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, melted butter, bananas, eggs, and rum extract. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixed. Reduce speed to low and gradually add in the flour mixture. Beat just until well combined – approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in the walnuts by hand.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and cool completely. Drizzle with Rum Glaze, if desired.

Rum Glaze

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons rum extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 – 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
In a medium bowl, beat butter, rum extract, milk, and 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in additional powdered sugar until the glaze is thick enough to drizzle over the cake.

Apple Cinnamon Walnut Squares

There are only a few days left in the month of October, and I’m happy to report that we’ve had absolutely zero snowfall here yet. 🙂

I know there are some readers out there who love snow, but my favorite season is Autumn and I’m not too anxious for it to leave just yet.

In honor of this year’s long Autumn season, I’ve made this wonderful dessert.
Nothing says “Fall” more than a freshly baked yummy dessert loaded with apples, cinnamon and walnuts. 🙂

~Enjoy~

Apple Cinnamon Walnut Squares

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 medium apples – peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup chopped walnuts

Topping
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, chilled

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just blended. Fold in apples and walnuts.
Spread batter evenly in prepared baking dish.

For topping, stir together sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack.

When cake has cooled, drizzle with Glaze; if desired.

Makes approximately 16 squares.

Apple Cinnamon Walnut Muffins

Now here’s a really easy to make muffin recipe that taste’s delicious and will fill your home with the wonderful aroma of apples and cinnamon while they’re baking.

These muffins are chock-full of apples and walnuts, and the cinnamon and nutmeg adds a wonderful, warm spiciness that will have your taste buds dancing with delight. 🙂

I really couldn’t believe how quickly these muffins were to prepare. The only thing that took any length of time, was peeling and chopping the apples…and that only took about 5 minutes.

I made one batch of these muffins (12), and within 30 minutes of removing them from the oven, half of them had already been devoured by my family. I think I’d better play it safe and make two batches next time. 🙂

~Enjoy~

Apple Cinnamon Walnut Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper baking liners.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In a small bowl, beat milk, eggs and butter until well blended. Stir into flour mixture just until blended. Fold in apples and walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling three-fourths full.

Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.