Wicked Awesome Brownies

No really...that IS what we call them.

A little bit crunchy, a little bit chewy, and a whole heck of a lot of chocolate. Wicked. Awesome.

Disclaimer: there is nothing low-fat about these babies. Sometimes you must not mess with perfection.

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (that's about as healthy as it is gonna get)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare an 8" square pan using spray oil or melted butter and dusted with flour.

Combine chocolate and oil in saucepan and stir over LOW (take your time) heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Stir in vanilla and sugar. Let cool for five minutes.

Transfer chocolate mixture into mixing bowl and beat eggs in, one at a time.

Add both flours and baking powder and mix well. It will be thick.

Spread carefully and evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Top will be dry and cracked. Test with a knife and you should get a slight amount of gooey deliciousness on the tip when you pull it out.

Remove from oven. Run a knife around the edge and let cool on rack. This is very important as these brownies will crumble if not cooled COMPLETELY! Not that I would know as I am never in a hurry to eat these...no, no, I am not...really...

Oh shut up.

Enjoy.

Wicked. Awesome. See, I told you.

Yummy Apple Pie with a Tangy Twist

I love to find recipes that are quick and easy and require very little clean up ;)

Here is my favourite apple pie...and the only recipe I have used for years:

Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee
Makes two 8- to 10-inch single-crust pies or one 8- to 10-inch double-crust pie
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube, just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Divide in two. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two discs. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using. I usually just put them in the freezer while I prepare the filling.

The filling is my own recipe:

5-7 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly. This really depends on the size of the pie plate and the apples. My plate is a bit smaller (8") and my apples were about the size of my fist.
Slice them into a bowl that has the juice of half a lemon tossing to coat the slices -- I use my all-time fav reamer for this!
Add 6 TB brown sugar, I love using demerera sugar for a nice carmel flavour
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg -- I brought some back from one of my trips to the Caribbean but you can easily substitute with the ground nutmeg that you find at your local grocery store
2 TB flour
Grated lemon rind from half a lemon.

Stir it up and set aside while you prep the pastry.

Take the pastry out and use a rolling pin to flatten and shape to a large circle to fit your pie plate.

Drape it over the plate ensuring you have a good two inches of overlap on the sides.

Pour the apple filling in (it will be quite full).

Repeat with other circle of pastry and put it on top of the apples.

Trim and seal as you prefer.

Brush the top with an egg beaten with 2-3 tsp of water and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Cut some vents into the top pastry. Make it pretty :)

Bake for 45-50 minutes. One half hour at 400 deg and then turning it down to 350 deg. I like to start it on the middle rack and then move it to the lower rack when I lower the temperature to 350. This ensure that the bottom crust also browns nicely and cooks evenly.

Let it cool on a rack before serving.

Yummy!

(Image courtesy of me and my kitchen!)