Butterfinger Brownies

Melted butterfingers within...

2¼ cups flour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt ¾ cup butter, softened 2¼ cups brown sugar 3 large eggs 1½ tsp vanilla extract 4 regular-sized butterfinger candy bars, crushed

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13x9-inch baking pan. 2 In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. 3 In a medium bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, combine butter and brown sugar. 4 Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. 5 Stir in flour mixture and 1 cup of crushed butterfingers. 6 Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining crushed butterfinger bars over top of batter. 7 Bake 30- 35 minutes, or until the bars are a bit firm to the touch. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Servings: 12

Coffee House Scones

2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces ***I used marg***

2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk *** I used milk w/ vinegar added***

Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Stack two baking sheets together and line the top baking sheet with parchment paper. (This prevents the bottoms of the scones from over browning during baking.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown.

Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 6 scones.

Hot Spinach Dip

Makes 3 cups

• 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds spinach, cleaned, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6 ounces reduced-fat bar cream cheese
• 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 3 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Baguette slices, breadsticks, or crackers, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add spinach in two additions, letting the first batch wilt before adding the next; cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a colander; drain, pressing to release all excess liquid.
3. In the same pot, warm milk over high heat. Whisk in cream cheese until melted, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1/4 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a lightly oiled 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
4. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot with accompaniments, as desired.

Cheesecake Brownies

Cream cheese may be substituted for mascarpone; the topping will be dense and tangy, instead of mellow and creamy. If using cream cheese, reduce baking time by 10 minutes.

Ingredients

Makes about 5 dozen

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 5 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 pound mascarpone cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, and line with parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In the top of a barely simmering double boiler, melt together chocolate and butter. Remove from heat.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together 3 eggs and 1 cup sugar on high speed until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On low speed, add reserved chocolate mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. When combined, add flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. Set aside.
3. In the clean bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together mascarpone cheese, remaining eggs and yolks, remaining sugar, and remaining vanilla on medium speed, until smooth. Pour over chocolate mixture. Bake until cheese mixture is golden and set, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into about sixty 1-by-1 1/2-inch pieces.

Moon Cake

Moon Cake
Crust:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
1 c. water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 t. salt

Filling:
3-3 oz. pkgs. instant French vanilla pudding
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 c. cold milk
cool whip or whipping cream
chocolate syrup (I use Hershey's)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter; add the water, salt and flour. Mix well and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. This takes a few minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the eggs until well incorporated. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.



Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. When it's done, it will look like the surface of the moon, hence the name:



Let this cool completely before making the filling.

For the filling, mix together the pudding and cream cheese in an electric mixer until creamy. Add the cold milk (make sure you don't add the milk until after the cream cheese is creamy or it will form lumps!) and beat well. Pour this over the cool cake crust.

Refrigerate for a few hours for best results.

Top with a carton of Cool Whip or hand beaten whipped cream. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.