Sweet Melissa Sunday Chocolate!!!! plus The Magnolia Hotel's Puffy Pancakes

I'm in love! Belonging to several baking groups and my own quest for the "best" recipe for brownies, "two" have come to the surface simultaneously. Dorie Greenspan's Peppermint Patty Brownies and now Sweet Melissa's Chocolate Walnut Brownies. Are we really surprised? The chewy, chocolaty brownies with a nutty crunch is a twist on Julia Child's brownie recipe and one of the best Melissa herself has ever tried. Is there a recipe Julia Child created that is not wonderful?

The only alteration to this delicious recipe is the nuts; I used pecans and hand broke each half into fourths. The brownies were made several days ago and I still forgot to post until after breakfast this morning! Sigh, when the sun is out, I loose all focus and can not wait to get outside and play with the yard.


Chocolate Walnut Brownies were chosen by Tiffany of A Spoonful & a Heap for our Sweet Melissa Sunday and Tiffany did a wonderful job on her own batch of brownies. If you would like the recipe, visit Tiffany's post.

I am adding a fun little breakfast recipe that is a moist, delicious and easy breakfast recipe with the option for versatility in toppings. Sometimes I slice strawberries with blueberries and drizzle over the top when the puffy pancakes just come out of the oven.


When I mean easy, I mean preheat the oven to 450 degrees F., throw all ingredients in a blender and while blending, throw a Tablespoon of butter into each 1-cup baking dish, put into the oven to melt only then pour the batter from the blender into equal portions among the four baking dishes and bake. That is it PLUS the presentation is adorable!

The recipe originally comes from The Magnolia Hotel and I have had the recipe for over 19 years now. Still a HUGE hit in my home; enjoy.

The Magnolia Hotel's Puffy Pancakes
(courteously of Bon Appetit 1983 (20) volume series; volume Breakfast and Brunches)
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 T. butter
4 T. (1/2 stick) butter
Powdered sugar (garnish)
Sweetened Fresh Berries (garnish)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar and orange juice in processor or blender and mix well. Add 1 Tablespoon butter and blend in thoroughly.



Put 1 Tablespoon butter to each of four 1-cup oval or round baking dishes. Heat dishes in oven until butter is melted but not browned. Divide batter evenly among dishes. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately with fresh berries and powdered sugar.

SMS ~ Black Bottom Brownies; So Good!

Cynthia of Baking Therapist picked this week's Sweet Melissa Sunday's recipe: Black Bottom Brownies. Cynthia, I thought I was brownie'd out! I have made 3 different batches of brownies in the last week BUT these brownies were even better then my last batch. My last batch is the post after this one with Reese's peanut butter cups. Need I say more? The Black Bottom Brownies are Divine, delicious, wonderful and worried. Worried because I followed Melissa's freezing directions and put over half of the batch in Saran wrap, then aluminum foil, then in a gallon size Ziploc bag. I am hoping the brownies will defrost and taste just as great later; meaning as a dessert with dinner guests.

I took a major finger swipe of chocolate batter, you know, to make sure the batter was tasty; it was.Aluminum foil lined my 9 x 13 pan; a huge no-no in my mind because what if a piece of aluminum gets cut in with the brownie and someone actually eats it? Have you ever gotten a piece of aluminum in your mouth? Usually you know immediately. Major chills! Parchment paper is hard to get squished down into the baking dish and I didn't want the grief SO I took the aluminum foil chance.
Alarmed at how FULL the 9 x 13 baking dish was!

Just like science class. Something cool happens and everyone has to stop and see IMMEDIATELY; followed by a lot of squealing for joy over this wondrous site. I knew the cheesecake was going to puff up but this is crazy.
The sinkage. Still feeling like a kid in the kitchen, a little deflated in excitement but curious.
Peeling the aluminum foil away and seeing the layers; whipping the camera out for more pictures. Poke, poke, crap I put a side-finger indent in the top edge and now the indent is in my picture.Cutting, not beautiful cuts but hurried, I can't believe how cool this looks, cutting. Everybody has to come Back into the kitchen to see.Ugh! More sugar, tons of brownies everywhere, running out of freezer bags, taking brownies to the gym BUT I saved 4 brownies for ME and a half-dozen squares for everyone else. The rest are frozen. I have only eaten one so far and the brownie was heaven. Thank you Cynthia for such a wonderful choice.

To see the rest of the SMS bakers yummy brownies, just click here and to get the recipe, click on Cynthia to go to her site or to see her gorgeous brownies.

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake Brownies With Nutella Frosting And Pecans and Nutella Crisps With Caramel Surprise

Delicious but not bowl-you-over sweet. The cheesecake addition cuts the sweetness down. I am grabbing ingredients out of my pantry and using them up to gain more space. What a great way to go! =o)
Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake Brownies With Nutella Frosting And Pecans
4 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (Bakers is good)
1 c. butter
2 1/2 c. sugar... See More
4 eggs
1 T. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
1 c. all-purpose flour

CHEESECAKE Ingredients:
1 (8-oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 lrg egg
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Frosting:
1/2 of a 13-oz jar Nutella (stir oils up before spreading)
1/2 c. toasted and crushed pecans

Directions for Brownie Base:
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt Unsweeted chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water.
Take mixture off heat and stir in sugar until well mixed.
Add eggs, vanilla and salt and beat well.
Fold in flour and mix just until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and set aside.

CHEESECAKE Directions:
Beat cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Add flour; mix until just blended.
Place spoonfuls of cream cheese batter on brownies. Swirl cream cheese mixture into brownie base mixture, using a butter knife.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or knive inserted in center comes out clean. NOW, while brownies are still warm BUT not hot; spread on the Nutella like a frosting And spread your crushed pecans overall. YUMMY! I chill mine in the refrigerator before cutting

Trying to finish up my jar of Nutella, started making this recipe and found out I had to open up a second jar of Nutella because I didn't have enough left over from the brownie recipe. I think my eye is twitching because I STILL have leftover Nutella.

Nutella Crisps With Caramel Surprise
1 1/2 c. unsalted butter - softened
1 1/4 c. Nutella
1 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar - packed
4 eggs
4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
10 oz box Milk Duds
1/2 c. granulated sugar for coating

Directions:
Cream together butter, Nutella, granulated and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the butter and sugar mixture. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350.
Use Tablespoon of dough and make a ball. Insert a Milk Dud into center. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; bake for 9 to 10 minutes.
Refrigerate dough between baking periods or the dough will get to sticky to work with. Do NOT overbake. You want soft and chewy cookies.