Salt and Pepper Caramel Brownies

They say that freshly ground black pepper wakes up the salivary glands and enhances our ability to taste food. Who wouldn’t want to taste their brownies more completely? Black pepper also adds an unexpected smoky, floral note to the classic treat, making them complex and irresistible. The bittersweet, salty caramel is indulgent but heavenly. Whole batches of these have been known to disappear in our house in less than forty-eight hours.

For the brownies:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for greasing the pan
¾ cup (3 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (2 ¼ ounces) Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs

For the caramel:
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fleur de sel or kosher salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line it with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment. 

To prepare the brownies, whisk together the flour, cocoa, pepper, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and eggs. Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture and whisk until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture. (You could throw in some chocolate chips at this point, but that might just be gilding the lily.)

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until just set, 24 to 26 minutes. As soon as a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the center pulls out very moist crumbs, not runny batter, pull the brownies out of the oven. Set on a rack to cool.

To prepare the caramel, add the water to a medium saucepan. Add granulated sugar to the center of the saucepan, making sure the sugar is evenly moistened. Cook over medium heat, without stirring (although you can gently swirl the pan, if necessary), until the caramel is medium amber in color, 5 to 6 minutes. Slowly add the cream, whisking constantly; be very careful, since it will bubble up and splatter. Add the butter and cook, whisking constantly, until the caramel is smooth and slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes more. Whisk in the vanilla. Pour the caramel over the brownies and spread evenly.

Cool in the pan, on a rack, for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and refrigerate until the caramel is set, about 1 hour.

To serve, cut around the edge of the brownies to loosen them from the pan, then use the parchment to lift the brownies out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Use a long sharp knife to cut the brownies into squares. (Little pieces go a long way!) Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

The New Sugar and Spice: A Recipe for Bolder Baking

Carrot Cake Cookies (healthy-ish)

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: 14 cookies

Serving Size: 1 cookie

These cookies taste just like their namesake! Lots of sweet carrots coupled with the hearty oats and cinnamon makes them absolutely irresistible. Store any leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week… If they last that long!

1 c (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary)

¾ c (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)

1 ½ tsp (5g) baking powder

1 ½ tsp (3g) ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp (1g) salt

2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 large egg, room temperature

1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract

½ c (120mL) maple syrup

¾ c (68g) grated carrots (about 1 smallish medium)

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup until thoroughly incorporated. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the carrots. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer, cover with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the cookie dough.)
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. (If chilled longer than 1.5 hours, flatten slightly.) Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Notes: It’s incredibly important to measure both the oats and flour correctly, using the spoon-and-level method described in the links above. If scooped from the container using the measuring cup, you’ll end up with 1.5 times as much, which will dry out your cookies and make them crumbly. 

To make your own instant oats, pulse 1 cup of old-fashioned oats in a food processor 5-8 times. 

For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: ½ c (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (17g) brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, and ½ tsp (1g) xanthan gum. 

Melted margarine may be substituted for the coconut oil or butter. Regardless of which is used, be sure that the egg is at room temperature before whisking it in. A cold egg added straight from the fridge would rapidly cool the fat source, resulting in small blobs of semi-solid coconut oil, butter, or margarine. 

Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the maple syrup. 

If the cookies are still really flimsy after cooling on the baking sheet for 15 minutes and threaten to break apart, let them cool completely on the baking sheet. That won’t let them crisp up too much, and they’ll still stay soft for an entire week! 

Kentucky Derby Chocolate-Pecan Cookie Bars

Kentucky Derby Chocolate-Pecan Cookie Bars

Shared By: Two Healthy Kitchens

Yield: 16 two-inch bars

 

Ingredients

• ¾ cup pecans
• 5 whole dried, pitted dates
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour (see note)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅓ cup chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup pecans, coarsely chopped or crushed
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a mini food processor, process ¾ cup pecans and dates until fairly smooth (pulsing for about 3 minutes), scraping sides of processor occasionally as needed. (The consistency will not be totally smooth and will be a thick, slightly grainy paste like very, very thick natural peanut butter.)
3. Transfer pecan mixture to a large mixing bowl and add ¾ cup brown sugar, egg and vanilla and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes until very well incorporated, scraping bowl once or twice as needed.
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt, stirring with a whisk to thoroughly combine.
5. Add flour mixture to pecan mixture and beat on medium-low just until combined, about 1 minute (dough will suddenly thicken, come together, and cling to beaters). Do not over-mix. Dough will be sticky and very, very thick.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Press mixture into an 8×8 baking pan coated with cooking spray. (If you’re having a lot of difficulty with the dough being too sticky, very slightly damp fingers will help.) Smooth top with a spatula or scraper.
8. Firmly press remaining brown sugar and chopped pecans into dough.
9. Bake for about 18-19 minutes. The bars will be only very slightly golden – do not over-bake by waiting until they are golden-brown or your bars will be dry.
10. Cool completely before cutting.
11. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Flour: If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, you can substitute ½ all-purpose flour and ½ regular whole wheat flour. However, we prefer the nutritional advantage of using all whole-wheat pastry flour, and our tasters also slightly preferred the taste of the version made with whole-wheat pastry flour.


Make-Ahead Option: These freeze beautifully. Wrap each bar in plastic and store in a zipper-bag in the freezer, then thaw individually when you want a quick dessert.

Double dark chocolate brownie cookies (avocado)

Double Dark Chocolate Brownie Cookies with Avocado

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

9 mins

Total time

19 mins

 

Author: Laurenda Marie {adapted from The Smoothie Lover}

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• Ripe flesh of 1 small/medium avocado
• ½ cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 organic egg
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup dark chocolate mini chips
• 1 tbsp water
• ½ tsp baking soda

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350* and line a sheet tray with parchment paper
2. With a hand mixer, cream together avocado and coconut palm sugar
3. Add egg and beat until well combined
4. Add cocoa powder and chocolate chips, beat until well combined
5. In a small dish, dissolve baking soda in water then add to batter - mixing well
6. Use a spoon to drop batter onto baking sheet. Keep about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes (mine were perfect after 9 minutes)
8. Let cool before serving
9. Store in an air tight container in the fridge

Notes

Makes 10 delicious cookies

Store these cookies in an air tight container in the fridge!

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, and paleo

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cookie Calories: 97 Fat: 5 Carbohydrates: 16 Sugar: 12 Protein: 2