Rich Fudgy Brownies

Well, a Fine Cooking recipe has come through yet again! These are my new favorite brownies, without a doubt. If you like a more cakey brownie, these are not for you. These are even more addicting than the Brownies with m&m's and Peanut Butter! The two recipes are strikingly similar, and so it was very fun to see how the slight differences really changed the outcome.

One of the components of Fine Cooking that I love is all of the pictures. I was able to compare my brownies to the published great looking magazine shot. After following the recipe perfecting (yes I know...), my brownies rose about double what the picture shows. I'm really not sure why that would be, but the flavor was still great. Greg and I decided that we could make wonderful ice cream sandwiches using these if we were to press these down while in the pan, pour soft ice cream on top, and then put another layer of pressed brownies on the ice cream and freeze. Hm...yum.


Recipe:
1 C. butter
2/3 C. flour
2 C. sugar
4 eggs, room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

-Mix all dry ingredients together, set aside.

-Melt butter. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients (takes a while for it to get incorporated).

-Pour batter into a greased 9x9 baking pan

-Bake for 40 mintues at 350 degrees.

-Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I originally found this recipe on flickr.com (yes that's right, flickr) and could not resist! The batter is very easy to make, but it is very moist. It dripped a lot when filling the muffin tins. When I tasted the batter the flavors came out in distinct layers: chocolate - banana - chocolate - banana. When baked, the cupcakes had a nice texture, a bit more firm than most, but not dense at all. I could hardly taste the chocolate, though Greg claims he could. The frosting is fantastic! Very smooth and sweet, and definitely peanut butter!

I'm not sure I would make the cupcake again. It was a bit of a tease between what could be a great chocolate cupcake or a nice piece of banana bread. If I try this one again, I might add more cocoa powder or chocolate chips to really bring the chocolate flavor out. The frosting is great and I will use the recipe again, and hopefully soon!


Recipes:

Cupcake:
1 1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 C Butter, softened
1 C. Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3 Medium smashed overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C. Ricotta cheese

Oven 350 degrees
Makes 24
-Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder into a bowl, set aside.
-Beat butter until creamed, add sugar
-Beat in eggs and vanilla
-Add mashed bananas
-Add half of flour, then half of ricotta. Repeat
-Fill paper lined muffin tins, bake for 20-25 minutes.

Frosting:
1 C. Powdered sugar
3/4 C. Creamy peanut butter
1/4 C. Unsalted butter, room temp.
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp milk (optional).

Add all ingredients but milk. Cream until smooth. Add milk in tsp increments if needed.

Enjoy!