Chocolate Walnut Banana Swirl Brownies: Say THAT Five Times Fast

Have you read enough about banana swirl brownies yet? I sure hope not. I had way too much fun with this concept, and may have gone a little overboard when I pulled out the chunks of El Rey Caoba 41% cocoa milk chocolate.

I considered trying a repeat of the banana swirl brownies with just chocolate chunks, but as I was assembling them using the same approach as before, I got to the second layer of banana cupcake batter and wondered what these would be like with chocolate chunks AND chopped walnuts.

Yes. I did it. If you want to do it yourself, you’ll want a half batch of supernatural brownie batter, a half batch of banana cupcake batter, six ounces of walnuts, and 10 ounces of coarsely chopped milk chocolate chunks. After you follow the previously-described assembly method, put the 9”x13” pan, which you have dutifully lined with parchment paper and buttered before assembling the brownies, into the oven at 325° F for 45-50 minutes.

After tasting these, I decided that the right approach is chocolate chunks only. The extra chocolate is needed. You know it is. I know it is. Let’s agree on that and make more tasty brownies later.

The Peanut Festival Continues - Peanut Bars

As I promised - the peanut roll continues!!!

I went through my extensive candy stash and found another couple chocolate covered peanut brittles.  The first one is Jer's Toffee Break - peanut brittle bites covered in dark chocolate:

There's a little bloom here - see the white "dust?"  These must have gotten hot somewhere in my travels and the cocoa butter rose to the surface.  Doesn't impact the taste, they just look a little yucky.

Jer's throws the word toffee in here.  According to The Nibble:
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/candy/toffee/toffee-information2.asp
this might be buttercrunch, but it ain't toffee.  I'm calling everything that involves the peanut, and is labeled peanut brittle, peanut brittle.  We'll get to toffee someday.

These weren't that hot.  I like milk chocolate better than dark with peanut brittle, and Jer's brittle had a funky aftertaste.  It's almost a smokey taste.  Didn't like it.

I got these at Candy Expo - chocolate covered peanut brittle:

The peanut brittle was overpowered by waxy, crappy chocolate.  Warrell must be another distributor of cheap, crappy candy.  Good idea, but Feridies does it like 1,000,000,000 times better.

The people at The Peanut Patch (aka Feridies storefront) told me they changed their peanut brittle to make it crunchier (thus the name - Peanut Brittle Crunch).  It used to be called Peanut Squares and just wasn't as good.  Don't get me wrong, it was good and tasted like peanuts, but this has a more buttery flavor and is better.

I met the folks from Old Dominion at Candy Expo.  Their stuff is at Walgreen's, and I'm starting to see it in other places too.  Both of these are their bar, just in different packages.  I like the top one better.  Looks much classier:

This one reminds me of the circus:

See?  Same bars.

I think this is an Old Dominion bar too:

Why do I think that?  The ingredients are exactly the same - peanuts, sugar, corn syrup and salt (no butter like in Feridies crunch).  And all say they have 286 calories.  They are all good, but Feridies crunch blows them away.

Mars Munch bar also has a buttery taste and indeed, butter is added to the ingredient list above:

I like Feridies WAY better than the Munch bar.  I even like the other peanut bars better.  The butter taste is a little yucky in the Munch, overpowering the peanuts.  I say Boo!!

Now this bar looks and tastes burned:

Seriously!  What happened?  It's made by  the Golden Grove Candy Company in Warsaw NC, so I really wanted to like it (rooting for the home state and all).  But I can't recommend it - it's overcooked!  I may grab another sometime just to see if this was a bad batch. 

This is a sample I got at Candy Expo from Taylor's Candy:

It was supposed to be coconut peanut brittle.  It was the worst of the lot!

I mean - can you see how few peanuts are involved?  And coconut?  It tasted weird, but not necessarily coconutty.  If you go to their website it looks like they just do cheap, crappy candy and this certainly fits.  Bleech.


Atkinson's (maker of the Chick-o-Stick) makes Peco Coconut Peanut Brittle.  Now Peco means Sin in Spanish.  I'm not quite sure what to say about that:

I can't taste any coconut here either.  Maybe my taste buds are just shot.  This peanut brittle is a bit chewier than the others (which I like) but some of the peanuts taste way over cooked like in the Carolina Crisp bar.  It's also darker in color like that bar.  But the chewiness keeps me eating it and it has lots of peanuts, so I can't totally diss it.  There's something about it that I like.  Maybe it's the Sin factor.  So it's better than Munch, but not as good as Old Dominion.  Now if Old Dominion could get a little chewier - well - SNAP!

This Peanut Crunch is just squares of peanut bars:

It's also from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg and I think it's the same Old Dominion bars.  Ingredients the same, looks the same, I'm sure it is the same.  The best one?  Feridies Peanut Brittle Crunch - hands down.  In fact, I'd say it's a ten and the others are a three at best in comparison.  Smack down!

Lessons?

The more I learn, the less I know.  Who knew all this about brittle and toffee?  That peanuts could be so different?  That peco means sin?

As usual, you can't judge a book by it's cover!  Here we have the same stuff in four different packages.  It's the inside that counts.

Peanut butter and jelly tomorrow!!!

Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies: National Coffee Day

Today is National Coffee Day. So many ways to celebrate, especially if you add Chocolate. You can always have a Caffe Mocha. Chocolate Coffee Fudge, Chocolate Clouds in your Coffee, or pick up some Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans. Chocolate goes great coffee!

In honor of the day, I thought I'd post a recipe for Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. What I love about Chocolate Chip Cookies are the infinite varieties.

As I've mentioned before, your final product is only as good as your ingredients. Use the very best Chocolate, Espresso Beans, Vanilla, Flour, Butter and other ingredients!  This recipe calls for a baking stone. You can use a pizza stone. If you don't have one, you can make these Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies the traditional way. The stone helps makes them gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside. I've adapted this recipe from  ehow.com.

COFFEE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients
1 cup Sweet Butter, softened
2 fresh Large eggs (these should be room temperature)
2 cup Brown Sugar
6 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
5 tsp Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract (I use Madecasse)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
3- 1/2 cups King Arthur Flour
4 tsp Ground Espresso Beans (or finely ground coffee beans). Try this recipe with ground chocolate covered Coffee beans. Gives it just a bit more chocolate!
16 oz Dark chocolate (65-85% cacao) broken into pieces  (or dark chocolate chips)
Baking Stone

Method
1. Toss butter in microwave for 20 seconds to SOFTEN not melt the butter. (or leave out in advance, so it's already softened)
2. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mixture should be well blended but firm.
3. Add 2 eggs. Beat. Add Vanilla. Mix well. Set aside.
4. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into another bowl. Add the ground coffee or espresso beans.
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixure, beating in a little at a time. Fold in chocolate pieces (or chips). Possible to add walnuts, if you want them. I didn't put them in the ingredients above, but I always like chopped walnuts in my chocolate chip cookies.
6. Put Cookie Dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours to firm up. Put wax paper on top to prevent drying.
7. Pre-heat oven to 350. Put hot stone in Oven.
8. Take hot stone out of oven. Drop cookie balls (use a small scoop or form balls) onto the stone, smashing with fork after dropping. Put back in oven on the stone.
9. Cook for about 8 minutes. Depends on your oven, of course.
10. Transfer with spatula to Wire Rack.
Hint: Check the first one. If the cookies fall apart or aren't cooked all the way, give them another minute.

Walnut Banana Swirl Brownies: Building on an Experiment

Unsurprisingly, I spend a lot of time thinking about chocolate. And things I can make with chocolate. It seems that baking begets more baking ideas. Example: making the banana swirl brownies made me wonder what would happen if I incorporated walnuts.

Alright then. Back to the kitchen. Starting with an oven pre-heated to 325° F, a 9”x13” pan lined with parchment paper and buttered, and half a batch each of supernatural brownie batter and banana cupcake batter, I worked on getting the walnuts involved. The easiest way seemed to be to take the same approach I took with the first set of banana swirl brownies, stopping sprinkle six ounces of chopped walnuts on the first layer of banana cupcake batter.

After toping that with another layer of brownie batter and one more of banana cupcake batter, I swirled away.

After the pan sat in the oven for 50 minutes, the nutty-banana brownies were ready.

Just as with the first take on banana swirl, they were a little cakey and a little heavy on the banana. To be honest, I’m not sure these are better with walnuts; I think the plain ones are nice and soft and the nuts distract from the continuity.

The Virginia Peanut Festival

This Saturday, the Patron Saint of Single Women, my buddy Larry, and I went to the Virginia Peanut Festival in the metropolis of Emporia, Virginia.  Why do I give Larry Patron Saint status?  After my last dating disaster Larry took me to lunch and reminded me that there was nothing wrong with me.  And as if that wasn't enough, when I suggested we go to the random Peanut Festival, Larry didn't hesitate.  Even when the temperature was pushing 100. See?  Patron Saint.

In fact, I've found that the Peanut Festival is a great screener for dating.  This weekend two match.com guys called me.  When they asked what I had done this weekend, I told them both in an excited voice, "I went to the Virginia Peanut Festival!"  One immediately went on to tell a long and boring story about some relatives he had who used to live in Emporia.  He then proceeded to give me a lecture on vitamin intake.  Told me that you pee most of the vitamins in supplements out.  (As if I don't know this and who the hell cares?  Did he think I was fascinated?  That I was hoping he'd ask me out so I could hear more about urination?)  I could have put the phone down and come back 10 minutes later.  He wouldn't have missed me.  I lied and said I had to go.  When he asked if he could call back I said I was really, really busy.  Forever.

When I told the second man, "I went to the Virginia Peanut Festival!"  He said, "Why?"  Clearly he is not the man for me.  He's a computer guy.  Another one.  Raleigh is infested with them.

The man for me would either - laugh; say he was jealous; or ask what I had to eat at the festival.  If he asked if I saw Mr. Peanut I would propose.

Let's get back to the festival.

Now I've been to the Blueberry Festival in Burgaw, NC where there was blueberry ice cream, blueberry muffins, blueberry bread, and lots and lots of blueberries.  Silly me, I expected the same thing at the Peanut Festival.  Instead it was just.......well, scary.

The opening parade was rolling by when we got there.  There were a lot of Jesus floats - churches with signs about sin and abortion and murder and greed.  I expected to catch on fire at any second.  One group was handing out brochures that asked THE QUESTION.

I had no idea what THE QUESTION was.  But Larry knew.  THE QUESTION is "When I die, will I go to Heaven or TO HELL?"  I'm pretty sure I'm going to Hell with all my other rowdy friends, so I don't worry too much about this.  I really just wanted some peanuts.  I'll get redemption some other time.  Maybe

There was a car show (by the church):

At least this person involved the peanut:

There was a 1949 peanut picker and that brown mound of vegetation in front of the picker is peanut plants:

These were in front of the courthouse:

The was also a weird flea market/vendor area, a Civil War camp reenactment,  (How boring to reenact camping), and a cheesy carnival like you see in the parking lot of Walmart.  What was missing?  PEANUTS!!!!  No peanut foods.  Funnel cakes and all that crap.  Domino's pizza.  I was sweating like I already was in Hell and there were no peanuts in sight.  Bastards. 

I say THE QUESTION is "Where the hell are the peanuts?"

I did get a bag of Planter's Peanuts throw off of one of the floats.  And the Virginia Peanut Growers Association had a booth where I got some peanuts.  Wow - I could barely carry this huge peanut haul!  Good thing I dragged Larry all the way to Emporia, Virginia!  Which I have to tell you, might be the armpit of the state.  YIKES!

Now, this is WHY I went to the Virginia Peanut Festival.  I sampled some Virginia Peanuts at the Fancy Food show and they rock!  They are way bigger than Planters and taste so much better.  The difference really is surprising.  I had no idea what I'd been missing:

Planters on the left, Virginia's Finest on the right.  It's really hard to describe the nuances of peanut flavor, but the Virgina peanuts are so much better.  Less oily, more peanutty.  If you like peanuts, I think you'll love these.  I won't waste my time with Planter's anymore.  Sorry Mr. Peanut, Virginia's Finest are WAY better.

Other than the Virginia Peanut Grower's Association (who seemed less than excited when I said we had come all the way from Raleigh and I loved Virginia peanuts!), there was one lone peanut booth.  I mean there were rubber ducky races and a whole bunch of other crap - two stages with bands, a freakin' car show and the Civil War weirdness, but no peanut booths at the PEANUT festival.  Go figure.

This was The Good Earth Peanut Company:

I bought some of their peanuts and tried to get them excited too.  Told them about the blog!  I'm not sure they have Internet access in Emporia.  Or maybe they just didn't know what a blog was.  Or maybe they were all just stunned by the heat.  Or maybe they could tell I was the spawn of Satan from the Big City who didn't know what THE QUESTION really was.

Well, I turned to Larry after scarfing down a really good pumpkin cupcake from a vendor.  (Home made and AMAZING!  But not peanut!!)  And said, "I have a back-up plan.  Are you willing to drive another 30 miles?"  The Patron Saint of Single Women was in.  I'm kind of hard to resist when pumpkin muffin crumbs are sticking to my sweat.

Feridies Peanut Patch https://www.feridies.com/  is what got me started on Virginia peanuts.  I had a speaking engagement in Suffolk, Virgina and on the way back, I saw it and just pulled in.  (I live on the edge like that.) It's everything the peanut festival should have been.  And it's just east of Hell - I mean Emporia. 

Look at this great peanut box!

They have some great peanut flavors - I love the regular salted - I also got Hickory Smoked, chocolate covered peanut brittle and peanut brittle crunch.  But they have loads of stuff - trail mix, other nuts, more peanut flavors (like Scorned Woman and Jamaician Jerk) and you can sample them all!  They even have peanut candy!  See those cuties?

The peanut patch even had peanut shaped erasers and a peanut Christmas ornament!  Woohoo!!  Peanut Heaven!

I thought I'd show you the Good Earth peanuts (on the left) and the Feridies peanuts (on the right):

The Good Earth peanuts are better than Planters, but not as good as Feridies.  Feridies just have a cleaner taste.  A bit less greasy, a bit less salty.  And their overall peanut quality is better - larger and more well formed peanuts.  Look, I've never thought about all this before, but someone had to have a Peanut Festival!
They even had peanut butter pound cake!

I'm glad I found it and tried it, but I was disappointed.  Bland.  A little dry.  Needs more peanut butter!!

I love peanut brittle and this was a time when adding chocolate really worked:

Completely addictive and totally delicious!  This is clearly the work of Satan!!  And I am SO in!!!

Lessons?

Not all peanuts are created equal.  Did you know?  I sure didn't. I've grown up with Planters - they are everywhere.  But they are actually lame.  Just because something is readily available doesn't mean it's the best.  The best takes a little more work to find. 

It's not about the destination - it's about the journey.  Larry and I had a great time - we melted, but we laughed a LOT.  And he was a great sport.  We had an adventure - you have to make those happen.  It's too easy to beg off and just run errands or laze around the house.  Emerson said we're always getting ready to live and never living. 

Now you know what THE QUESTION is.  But I still don't agree.  I don't think THE QUESTION is "What will happen to you after you die?"  I think THE QUESTION is "Will you really LIVE?"

Tomorrow wer're going to talk about peanut brittle without chocolate!  Hey, we're on a roll here!!

Rumble Cakes

I'm a big fan of Trader Joe's. I like their mixes and products...and certainly their prices. I always have frozen TJ desserts in my freezer in case I don't have time to make something.

Here's one of my favorite recipes direct from the Trader Joe's website.  You can buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe's or you can mix and match with your own items. The beauty of this recipe is that it's filled with all kinds of things and you can change them out, add or delete! Don't you just love the name? Rumble Cakes!

Let's Rumble!

RUMBLE CAKES

1 stick Sweet Butter
2  Eggs
1 box TJ’s Truffle Brownie Mix
¼ cup TJ’s Dried Tart Montmorency Cherries (I love these)
¼ cup Walnut Halves and Pieces
1 box TJ’s Frozen Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Bring the butter to room temperature and combine the eggs with the
butter and whisk/ mix.
Slowly add in the brownie mix.
Once the mixture is uniform, add in the cherries and walnuts; set aside.
Lightly grease a brownie pan and place the chunks of cookie dough sporadically around the bottom of the pan (there may be a few pieces of cookie dough left, do with them what you must).
Pour the brownie mix over the top, evenly coating the cookie dough.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Banana Swirl Brownies: Merging Recently-Made Recipes

Making the banana cupcakes and the supernatural brownies in the same week made me contemplate what would happen if I put them together. In one delicious chocolate creation. I whipped up some extra brownie batter, minus the chocolate chunks, and used some leftover banana cupcake batter to investigate.

Then I got to work in a loaf pan prepared with buttered parchment paper.

One thin layer of brownie batter.

One thin layer of banana cupcake batter.

More brownie batter? Yes ma’am.

And to keep things fair, top it off with more banana cupcake batter.

Swirl around with a knife to mix together the batters.

Pop into an oven pre-heated to 325° F. If making a full batch in a 9”x13” pan, you will want to start with half a batch of supernatural brownie batter and half a batch of banana cupcake batter, and leave it in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

They turned out a little cakey and a little heavy on the banana for my tastes, but I have not yet had trouble getting anybody to eat them. I may attempt a similar recipe with a more refined ratio of brownie batter and cake batter.