S'more Brownies.

I love Rachael Ray. People dis her because she's got a chatty personality, some ridiculous TV deals, and she doesn't have kids. The gall of not procreating! Crazy lady.

I love her because her shows are entertaining and informative, and she is a big promoter of the time saving semi-homemade method of cooking without needing brag about it in the title of her show (like some people). Also I think she's cute and the whole not having kids thing is a turn-on for me.

S'more Brownies.



1 box of brownie mix (for 9x13 pans -- important!)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup crushed graham crackers (about half of one sleeve, i.e. 4 large cracker sheets)
6 large marshmallows, chopped**
12 large marshmallows, whole

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix up the boxed brownie mix as you do except sub milk for the water. Crush the graham crackers by hand, as you want medium-sized pieces. Snip the 6 large marshmallows into smaller bits. Stir in the chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallow bits into the prepared brownie batter. Spread the batter into the greased pan evenly. Place 12 large marshmallows strategically atop the batter.

Bake uncovered for 25ish minutes, until a toothpick comes out pretty clean or, as Rachael says, "moist crumbs" stick to the toothpick. Turn off oven. Cool completely and cut and yum!

Don't forget to break your eggs separately and take artsy reflective photographs of them as you do.

Just like making brownies in your youth, except now with your fancy grown up KitchenAid mixer.

I'm not a player. I just crush a lot.

This ain't Amsterdam, Vince. This is a seller's market.

Ben & Jerry are so jealous right now.

Anecdotes.

Spray the brownie pan. I don't care how hot of stuff you think you are. You could be who Donna Summer was looking for that evening - I DO NOT CARE. Spray that pan.

I use skim milk because that's what I keep in my house and rarely does the use of it destroy a recipe (unless you're making, you know, anything with "buttermilk" in the name), so just go ahead and do that. I'm a stickler about other baking rules -- "eggs" mean "Grade A large eggs" (as opposed to medium or extra large), "butter" means "unsalted butter," and other nuggets. Ideally I'd bake with whole milk but I'm not made of money to shell out for additional milk (my cheapness is further evidenced by the prominent use of Target brand products when available).

OMG though! Yes, I'm a cheapskate and like to consolidate purchases and whatnot but for the love of Jesus, buy smaller marshmallows instead of cutting up large ones. Even if you use your favorite and best kitchen scissors, you are going to get so mad! They stick to the scissors, they stick to your hands, they stick to the bowl you're cutting them into -- veto! Buy the little ones and just use the big ones for the topping.

Oh and whenever "chocolate chips" are not further categorized, I use milk chocolate chips. I am just itching to be diabetic before I turn 30.

I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?

Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting

I have been wanting to make Chocolate Cupcakes With. Peanut. Butter! Frosting!! for awhile, so when I heard my friend was having a b-day party and she was into that combination I jumped at the occasion. Then I realized two additional friends had birthdays that week, so it was time to get busy.

I'm not so secretly in love with Martha Stewart, so I made her One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes. I made the version from her Baking Handbook- it's a little bit different and calls for a slightly larger quantity of ingredients which worked with my plan of having enough cupcakes for all of my friends.

After filling the cupcake liners to what I believed was 2/3 full, I was horrified when I checked the oven. The cupcakes had risen over the edges and combined to form a cake mass over the entire pan! When it was finally time to take them out, I had to cut each cupcake out of it's blanket. So... that batch ended up at the karaoke bar where people couldn't see the edges of their cupcake. A few batches later and I had the proper amount of batter figured out.

Time for Peanut Butter Frosting. I used a recipe I found online, and I would totes make it again.

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar


• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature


• pinch salt


• 1/2 creamy peanut butter


• 2 Tbs milk

Beat together sugar, butter and salt until creamy. Add peanut butter, beating well. Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add confectioners/powered sugar. I used crunchy peanut butter and it was still good.

I had to make 2 batches- this probably is also because I stuffed these cupcakes. WHAT? It's true.

Stuff Your Cupcake

Defy physics and get frosting into a decorating bag. Get yourself some tips- I picked up this cute kit from Joann's. Because I had used chunky peanut butter, I had to use the widest tip in the kit. Then, simply push the tip into the cupcake, a quick squeeze, then spiral to frost the cupcake.

I think "Simply" is one of the funniest words that can be in a recipe so I added it in there. The first few cupcakes looked a little weird- good thing they were headed for that dimly lit Karaoke bar.

Fun!!!

Derby Pie.

The day of the Kentucky Derby has always been eventful for my family and me, and fortunately this excitement continued to be shared with my friends in Chicago -- Curt in particular. He and I are spending this Kentucky Derby with his family in New Jersey and as such are using his parents' fantastic granite to make our own Derby Pie.

Neither of us can knock store-bought-and-ready crust. Sometimes you just need a pie in your belly and the convenience of Pillsbury (or Jewel brand if you revel in a deal like I do) is undeniable, but homemade is homemade, friends. It's just better.

This morning while I slept, Curt prepared the crust for our Derby Pie. He also did all the grocery shopping but I swear I'm involved in more than just the documentation process.


Rollin' with my homies.



Dog butt optional.



The first five ingredients kind of look like an apparition of Marge Simpson's love child with Krusty the Clown...right?



Chipping the light fantastic.



The secret's in the sauce.



More proof that this pie crust is homemade!



Fortunately there was no pork contained in the pie so not hitting the recommended temperature wouldn't kill us/cause swine flu/whatever it does.


Derby Pie.

1 cup light corn syrup
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) pecans
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. Kentucky bourbon
1 unbaked 9-inch, deep dish pie crust

In large mixing bowl, combine first five ingredients and stir. Add in pecans and stir. Add in chocolate chips and stir. Finally, add in bourbon, stir, and pour mixture into prepared pie crust. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Turn off oven. Cool for 2 hours.


Mine That Bird!


Useless Tip: We read somewhere that the pie should be 200 degrees F in the center when it's finished. We could only get it to 170F before being afraid of burning the crust, so we went with the "spring back" testing method.

Useful Tips: Tap the top of the pie when you think it's done -- it will "spring back" if done.

I like to use a microwave-safe measuring cup and melt the butter right in that and use that measuring cup as often as possible. (i.e. For this recipe, I used a 1/2-cup measuring cup since the pecans require a 1/2-cup and all the other cup measurements are a factor of 1/2. Math = Fun!)

Also, I break each egg individually into a smaller bowl (or the 1/2-cup measuring cup! Reduce, reuse, recycle!) before adding it to the larger mixing bowl. One time I got a fertilized egg that was no good to use and blew it entirely by cracking it over cake mix so nothing was salvageable. Lame, but live and learn and la la la.

Banana Bread

If you're like me, you often buy fruits and vegetables with the full intention of eating them. Then it's Thursday and I'm making microwave s'mores for a snack instead of eating one of the five bananas in my fridge. So I ended up with a few very ripe bananas and suddenly the thought of some Banana Bread was very apeeling.

I distinctly remember that when I was a kid, my mom got me to eat ripe bananas by telling me the dark parts just had more sugar. Excellent tactic but probably a lie. With this super sassy recipe, you can eat your ripe bananas in bread form and stop the lies.

Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (2 bananas)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

3/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Sugar & Cinnamon mix for topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


2. Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, stirring just until combined. Fold in nuts if adding nuts.


3. Pour into a loaf pan. If you want to get super sassy, sprinkle a mixture of sugar and cinnamon on top. This will give you a nice crunchy and sweet top crust.


4. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50-60 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

Welcome to Girl Mix-A-Lot

Hello Friends!

We are starting this blog as a library of our favorite recipes and a consolidated location of baking related bragging. Facebook mobile uploads are no longer good enough.

We live in Chicago and love to bake.

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