Monday, April 4, 2011

Throwing some creativity into the mixing bowl . . .

Most everyone either has a favorite chocolate brownie recipe or a must-have brownie mix that is a staple in their cupboard. Nothing like the aroma of baking browinies to bring people into the kitchen to see what is happening.

I've found there is a lot you can do to brownies to make them even more special, your own take on a common subject, so to speak! Here are a few ideas I've used with some success for changing a regular brownie into a nice change of pace.

Add some freshly grated orange rind and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon to give it a South of the Border flair.

Add some instant coffee to the batter or a good splash of coffee brandy or some sort.

Increase your chocolate tolerance and add chocolate chips to the mix.

When the brownies exit the oven put down a layer of flavored chips (chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc) over the hot brownies (One flavor, only!), let it set a minute and then gently spread it out and finish cooling the brownies and you have an instant glaze.

Finely chopped, dried pineapple goes great with chocolate. Just add this extra ingredient to the batter before baking.

One of my daughters like chocolate and mint as a combination and you can often find mint chocolate chips or even just plain mint chips to add.

I have even added a teaspoon of chili flakes to the brownie batter and came up with a chocolate brownie with a tang no one can figure out.

No comments: