Brownies

Brownies are a personal favorite of mine, but they are most definitely not the easiest thing to make from scratch. In fact, few recipes turn out as well or even as close to as good as this one. When you can figure out how to make a good batch of homemade brownies, you've got a fantastic treat that will please any crowd.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

1/2 c Butter

1 c White Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1/3 c Cocoa Powder

1/2 c Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 in baking pan.

2. Melt Butter and mix in Sugar and Vanilla. Add the Eggs very slowly.

3. Combine Flour, Cocoa, Salt, and Baking Powder. Combine all the dry ingredients with the Butter mixture until smooth. Spread into greased pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. DO NOT overcook.

These brownies are fabulous. As long as you make sure not to overcook them, they will come out moist and chewy which is exactly how a good brownie should be. Normally I try to improve the nutritional profile of my recipes, but with brownies it's just too dangerous. They are too delicate of a pastry to remove the butter or sugar without completely sacrificing the integrity of the desert. I suggest sticking to the recipe when it comes to these treats!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

As a staple treat for most people during their childhood and throughout life as an adult, chocolate chip cookies are the perfect treat and so easy to make. They are such a great comfort food and appropriate, not to mention accepted, on every occasion. For the inexperienced baker, I would definitely suggest giving this recipe a try.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 c Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

3/4 c Butter, Softened

1 c Brown Sugar

1/2 c White Sugar

1 tbl Vanilla

1 Egg

1 Egg Yolk

1 c Chocolate Chips

1 c Walnuts

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sift together Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt and set aside.

2. Cream together the Butter, Brown Sugar, and White Sugar until completely smooth. Add Vanilla and Egg. Add the second Egg Yolk and beat well.

3. Mix in sifted ingredients just until blended. Add Chocolate Chips and Walnuts until all the ingredients are well integrated.

4. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown.

These chocolate chip cookies are just too good. They bake up beautifully due to the extra egg yolk and brown perfectly thanks to the brown sugar. I have been experimenting with different cookie recipes, such as this one, for a long time now. Mostly my goal is to be able to bake a great cookie with less butter and sugar and without compromising too much texture or flavor. After many, many tries, I have discovered a few secrets worth giving a shot.

First, replace some of the butter with apple sauce. I usually do about half of what the recipe calls for. This changes little in terms of flavor and all it does to the cookie's texture is make it a bit more cakey.

Second, I usually cut back the sugar a bit. It is important to note that sugar is responsible for the crusty outside that cookies have. Taking about 1/2 a cup out of a recipe like this one will eliminate a lot of sugary calories and have little effect on the flavor.

Last but not least, the easiest way to add a bit of nutrition to a cookie is to put things instead of trying to take things out. Adding some ground flaxseed adds some Omega-3, oatmeal offers a bit of insoluble fiber, or even some grated apples for some fruity vitamins.

Whether you choose to make the changes or keep the recipe the same, you can't go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie!

Simple Scones

Scone are a simple but tasty treat that is good for a quick breakfast or an afternoon tea party. There are so many different kinds of scones available, that it would seem silly to make just one variety. Here is a recipe for a basic scone that can be modified to any personal taste.

SIMPLE SCONES

2 c Flour

1/3 c Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

8 tbl Butter, Frozen

1/2 c Sour Cream

1 Large Egg

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together VERY WELL.

2. Cut butter into pieces and mix in with a pastry mixer. Dough will be very crumbly, like course meal.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg and sour cream. Mix into flour mixture with a fork until dough becomes elastic.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about a minute until it is easy to shape. Form the dough into a circle and cut diagonally into 8 pieces.

5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I love this recipe. I have tried many times to make homemade scones and it is very hard to get the right texture, but not with this. The come out with a fantastic crusty outside and a soft center, which is exactly what we want. After trying the original recipe, I decided to try and make a few adjustments.

First thing I always like to try is replacing sour cream with plain yogurt. It cuts down the fat while still providing the right texture. In this case, it worked perfectly!

The other thing I did was change the way they were formed. When I first made these, it was for an afternoon get together and just wanted something for people to snack on so instead of just cutting one batch into 8 pieces, I divided the dough in half and made 16 small scones. The only thing to note here is that with smaller scones you will need to reduce the bake time to about 10-15 minutes.

Now in terms of the different varieties of scones you can make, the possibilities are endless. I like to add about 3/4 c of chocolate chips to a batch for a nice dessert scone. Another good idea is to add 1 c dried blueberries and the zest of 1 lemon. This is a perfect breakfast scone that has a great fresh flavor.

Those are just some simple suggestions but get creative! Adding your favorite fruit or flavor might just unveil a treat that you'll be making for years.