Raspberry Brownies

Just another recipe to use fresh raspberries.  And I wanted to make something deliciously chocolatey.  Most recipes online use raspberry preserves or mash up and juice their berries.  I wanted something strongly and tartly raspberry, so using whole, fresh berries.

For the brownie batter, you'll need:

• 1 box of fresh raspberries (washed and dried)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter (softened nearly to melted)
• 1 16oz can of chocolate syrup

The steps

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Beat the eggs then combine all ingredients but raspberries
• Pour this batter into a grease 9x13 pan.
• Take about 2/3 of your box of raspberries and sprinkle them evenly over the batter in the pan.  Press the raspberries down until they are completely or mostly submerged in the brownie batter.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, until it doesn't jiggle.
• Let cool in the pan.  Avoid the temptation to eat it all.

For the frosting, you'll need:

• one 8oz brick of cream cheese (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon almond extract.  (If you don't have almond extract, add some vanilla).

The steps:

• Combine all ingredients until smooth.  You may want more or less sugar depending upon your taste in cream cheese frosting.  I personally like it not so sweet.  
• Wait until your brownies cool then spread over the top.  This recipe will yield enough for a thin layer.
• Use the remaining raspberries as a garnish on top of the frosting.
• Reward yourself by licking your spatula.

Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette

My lunch (delicious!)

I always like to make my own salad dressings because they're healthier, yummier, and less expensive.  In looking to make a raspberry vinaigrette dressing, all the recipes called for raspberry vinegar, but I wanted to use the fresh raspberries I'd just gotten 2 days ago in my CSA share.  So, I improvised this one.  Here's what I figured out.

What you'll need for about 3-4 meal-sized servings (if you're like me and go light on the dressing):

• one box fresh raspberries
• 2ish tablespoons olive oil
• heaping spoonful sugar
• a few tablespoons red wine vinegar (about a 2:1 ratio vinegar:oil)
• 1- 1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• small clipping of fresh Italian parsley, chopped or pulled apart (like the top 1 1/2 inches of a branch).  If you don't have fresh, use maybe a teaspoon or so of dried.  Maybe more.  Taste and figure it out.
• salt to taste
• lemon juice (I didn't add any because I don't have any, but I think it'd be delicious!)

The steps:

• Mash the raspberries as best you can in a bowl using a spoon or a fork.  If you have a food processor or blender (of which, I have neither), use that.  Then you can strain this mixture through a mesh screen to get rid of the seeds.
• Add sugar, oil, vinegar, and mustard.  Do all of these gradually, especially the mustard, as it's easy to over do.  You may want more mustard because you like a stronger Dijon flavor.  I like it mild, so I didn't use too much.  Ending consistency should be a thick sauce, kinda resembling French dressing.
• Season with parsley, salt, and lemon juice until delicious.

I served this over just a simple green salad with chopped apples and Parmesan cheese.  Would be great with some cottage cheese (but mine had little green colonies in it!).  Grilled chicken on the salad would make a complete, filling meal!


Exciting purchase of the day: mini herb garden.
I went to the farmers' market this morning to pick up a few things, especially on the hunt for some fresh herbs.  I found a little pot that had in it parsley, cilantro, and basil.  Just perfect!!  It has a place of pride in my kitchen now.  Hopefully, I can foster these plants enough so that they'll outgrow that pot and I'll need three pots.  Save so much money!

Cowboy Cookies #3

Sorry, no picture.  I ate 'em :)

I am always on the quest to make delicious cookies and to try not to repeat recipes over and over again (aside from standby chocolate chip, which everyone loves).  I've recently grown to love oatmeal cookies especially, modifying them by adding lots and lots of goodies.  These are baked in a muffin tin, making thick, moist cookies.  If cooked on a cookie sheet, these cookies will spread out very thin and be difficult to handle.  

You'll need (for about 3 doz):

• two small boxes fresh raspberries
• 1/2-1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine (I prefer butter!)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup regular sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract (yes, the real stuff is twice as expensive, but it's one of those things that's worth the extra cash)
• 1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats (not the quick kind, though, in a bind, those will work also, but the texture may be weird, or you may need to adjust other quantities

The steps:

• Just like any other cookie recipe.  Preheat your oven to 375
• Combine softened (not melted) butter & sugars.  You can do all this mixing with a stand mixer if you have one, but be careful not to over mix.  Mix until just combined.  I don't have a mixer, so I just use my handy silicone spatula.
• Add eggs and vanilla to this mixture
• Gradually add in flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice
• Once that is all combined, add the oats and coconut.  You can adjust the amount of coconut depending upon how much you like it.  I like a lot, so would probably do 1 cup for this much, but some people don't like it as much.
• Add chocolate chips
• Raspberries are the last to add and should be folded in very gently to avoid too much mashing.  It's somewhat unavoidable to squish a few, but try to be calm, cool, and collected when folding them in.
• Drop by heaping spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin being careful not to over-fill or get dough all over the place.
• Bake for about 12 minutes.
• After cookies have cooled, place them in some sort of container be it tupperware or plastic baggies and place in the freezer.  Trust me.  In a few hours, you'll have amazing, cool, chewy cookies.  They're pretty much impossible to eat at room temperature because they're so soft and crumbly, but frozen, it's decadent (and perfect for these 95degree days we've been having).

Modifications

• You can add other things to these like nuts or not use coconut, whatever you want.  I've made a ton of oatmeal "cowboy cookies" with many different combinations, and this one is definitely my favorite (so far)

Bake away and impress your friends!