Comfort Food: German Chocolate Brownies

I have written before about the healing power of chocolate (see Break-Up Cupcakes, September 2010 post). It is also one of the ultimate comfort foods in any form. Candies, cookies, cupcakes, brownies….a little chocolate goes a long way to lift the spirits and soothe the soul.

On Sunday, both of my daughters were quite unhappily doing their homework. It was a sunny late-afternoon, and instead of being outside, hanging with friends, or painting their toenails, they were sitting at the dining room table working away. They were not loving it—or me. I decided that some comfort food was in order. The idea of a rich, chocolate brownie came to me, but since I really wanted to pull out all of the stops on comfort food, I decided to top the brownies with German Chocolate Cake Frosting. The rich caramel frosting with pecans and coconut is a big childhood favorite of mine—and they love it, too.

It was surprisingly easy—and shockingly good. Very rich, chewy, chocolate-y and satisfying. So much better than multiplication and global history!

German Chocolate Frosted Brownies

For Brownies:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Spray foil with cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 25-30 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not over bake.) Cool completely. Use foil handles to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.

German Chocolate (Cake) Frosting

1 c. sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. nuts

1 stick butter

1 can condensed milk

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 can coconut

Combine ingredients and cook over low heat; stirring constantly until thickened, about 12 minutes. Add chopped pecans and coconut.

Spread frosting over brownies. When completely cool, cut into squares. Keep refrigerated in airtight container.

Comfort Foods: Snowball Cupcakes

Ole’ man winter hit hard this year. Starting with a white Christmas, we have had our share of snowstorms in January, including a snow day! Growing up in Ohio, I was used to lots and lots of snow—the blizzard of ’78 (coupled with budget cuts) closed schools in my hometown for a month. Even with a month’s worth of schoolwork to finish at home, it still gave lots of time to play in the snow and ice. When it snowed here two weeks ago, Sophie and I made snow angels, took pictures and tried to catch snowflakes on our tongues as we frolicked in the snow.

A dear friend and fellow food blogger, Linda Skelcy (www.thegoodcooknj.blogspot.com) posted pictures of her front porch transformed by the snow and ice on her food blog, along with her recipe for a Snowball Cake. Her recipe inspired me to make a winter comfort food treat for my daughter and her friends to enjoy with hot chocolate on cold winter days. We turned Linda’s recipe into cupcakes, and they are a rich chocolate, fluffy marshmallow bite of deliciousness. Perfect after ice skating, snow man making and igloo building in the snow.

Snowball Cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup hot coffee

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Put everything (starting with the dry ingredients) in a large mixing bowl. Plug in your mixer. Beat on low speed (trust me on this one) until well combined. The batter is very thin.

Pour into paper lined cupcake tims and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 20 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes

Cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove onto racks and cool completely before frosting.

Here comes the snowball part:

Marshmallow Frosting:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/4 salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag sweetened coconut flakes

Put all the ingredients except the vanilla and coconut into the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until the sugar is melted. Using a hand mixer beat the mixture for seven minutes or until light and fluffy. Remove from heat and fold in the vanilla.

Working quickly frost the cupcakes. Sprinkle the coconut onto the frosting.

May the Best Buckeye Win

This coming Saturday is the big college game day. My alma mater, Ohio State, plays Michigan in a match that has long been the biggest rivalry in college football. Some of my family will be at the game cheering for my Bucks, and my friend and fellow Buckeye, Debbie, is coming over with her family to watch the game with me.

Debbie is a diehard Buckeye fan. Her dog’s name is Wayne Woodrow Hayes (Woody, for short) after the infamous Buckeye coach of many years. She is worried that our TV is not big enough, that I will talk too much during the game, that I don’t know any of the player’s names, that I don’t have a scarlet and gray sweatshirt to wear and that I know nothing about football. She’s right on all fronts. I only care about what we will eat.

I decided to make an All-Ohio menu. We will be serving chili cheese dogs with Skyline chili (imported from Cincinnati), Buckeye potato chips (imported from Columbus) with a garlicky blue cheese dip topped with bacon. And for dessert, I will be making Buckeye candies—a delicacy that is served at many an OSU tailgate party. Little balls made of peanut butter and confectioners sugar are dipped in melted chocolate, leaving a cap of peanut butter at the top. Made to look like the buckeye nut—the fruit of the tree of my home state—these yummy treats are one of the best things about being from Ohio.

I am looking forward to game day. My daughters and I made a big batch of buckeyes, and in the spirit of good sportsmanship I shared some with a parent at Sophie's school who is a diehard Wolverine. And I’ll definitely tune in to the Ohio State marching band half time show—in between the chili dogs and dessert. Let’s Go Buckeyes!!!

Buckeyes

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 stick softened butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar (about 1/2 lb.)

4 cups good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tsps. vegetable shortening

In a large bowl (or the bowl or an electric mixer), combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar to the mix until it is well mixed.

Roll the mixture into 3/4" balls, using your hands, and place on a plate lined with waxed paper. Stick a toothpick in each of the balls (to be used as a handle for dipping in the chocolate). Chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

When the peanut butter balls have set, gently melt the chocolate and shortening in the top of a double boiler, stirring frequently, under smooth.

Dip the frozen peanut butter balls in the chocolate, holding them by the toothpick. Leave a small portion on the peanut butter showing at top so the candy resembles the fruit of the buckeye tree. Return the buckeyes to the plate. Gently remove the toothpick and smooth over the hole. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Comfort Food: Breakup Cupcakes

Last night, my sisterhood of girlfriends came together to console and comfort our beautiful, talented and divine friend after a recent breakup. Over wine and Thai food, we listened to her talk about the man who had recently been a force – and then a huge absence—in her life. She deserves so much more in her life than he could ever offer her, we reminded, and told stories and helped to lift her spirits as we nursed her bruised heart.

We offered to have her over for dinner over the holiday weekend, and it got me thinking about the foods I was drawn to when I was broken-hearted. My breakup comfort food usually involved chocolate in large quantities—rich, dark, creamy and delicious. As it turns out, there is something healing…and certainly very comforting, about nursing a broken heart with chocolate.

According to ask.com, chocolate mimics the feeling in the body that we get when falling in love via phenylethylamine, a drug created by our bodies that is similar in nature to amphetamines. As well, dark chocolate has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of some cardiovascular issues because of its naturally occurring flavonoids.

So when my lovely friend comes over this weekend, I will treat her to a delicious plate of Breakup Cupcakes. Known in some circles as Black Bottom Cupcakes, these devilishly delicious chocolate cakes have it all—a dense chocolate cake with a dollop of cheesecake baked into the middle. But wait—there’s more—since the cheesecake is dotted with rich dark chocolate chips. One bite of this dense, creamy, rich and chocolatey morsel and you will be ready to forget all about him…and remind yourself that there are better things waiting for you out there than someone who doesn’t love you for all of the wonderful things that you are.

Cream Cheese Filling

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1/3 cup white sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Cupcake Batter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a generous spoonful of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Comfort Foods: Farmer's Market Finds

While shopping at the local farmer’s market this weekend, I was able to sample some fresh white peaches and blueberries. It was a Proustian moment that brought to mind my mother’s delicious fruit crumbles and blueberry dumplings. I thought that something sweet, satisfying and so very fresh would be great for my friend Gabrielle—good comfort food as she starts chemo this week. Gabs is lactose intolerant, so I needed to rethink my recipes. After some quick food research, I adapted Mrs. Mountain’s crumble recipe using vegan buttery sticks instead of butter. While I didn’t set out to make a vegan dessert—it was so yummy that I asked a few friends (vegan and non) to give me their thoughts. It was a big thumbs UP from all!

So, while this is one of my go-to comfort foods—you can’t go wrong with super healthy blueberries. They are packed with antioxidant phytonutrients called anthocyanidins, and blueberries neutralize free radical damage to the collagen matrix of cells and tissues that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer. Anthocyanins have been shown to enhance the effects of vitamin C, improve capillary integrity, and stabilize the collagen matrix (the ground substance of all body tissues). They work their protective magic by preventing free-radical damage--staving off disease and helping to prevent cancer (please see more about the health benefits of blueberries at www.whfoods.org).

If you are not lactose intolerant or vegan, you can use butter in place of the vegan buttery sticks. Get to your local farmer’s market or fruit stand while you can and get your fresh blueberries and peaches to whip us this healthy, comforting dessert.

Blueberry and White Peach Crumble (Vegan or Not)

1-4 oz vegan buttery stick (I use Earth Balance, available at Whole Foods) or 1 stick unsalted butter – chilled and cut into bits.

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup organic brown sugar

½ cup flour

½ cup chopped pecans

2 cups fresh blueberries

2-3 fresh white peaches, washed, cored and sliced (I leave the skin on)

1//2 cup apple juice

In a bowl, mix together butter, oats, sugar, flour and pecans. Blend well until a good, crumbly mixture is formed (don’t be afraid of chunks, they are delicious when baked and crispy!) Set aside.

In a buttered 9x12 inch bake pan, mix blueberries and peaches together and spread evenly. Pour ½ cup apple juice over fruit. Top with crumble mixture, covering fruit. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.

Comfort Foods: A Little Slice of Heaven

My good friend’s daughter Lauren is spending the summer with us while she completes a college internship at Sport’s Illustrated. I was happy to welcome Lauren, who I did not see enough of growing up. What we did not realize was how easily she would fit into our little family, and how much we would all love and appreciate having her with us. She has been a gift, and the girls love having her around as a big sister as much as I love having her as a surrogate daughter.

She has approached her time in New York with an incredible sense of adventure and wonder, and has loved exploring food and cooking in New York. She has also been honing her chef skills by helping me cook. When she made her family’s favorite recipe, a delicious almond cake, we all agreed that it needed to be blogged about!

This cake is amazing. A simple, single layer cake featuring almond paste--it is moist, yummy, sweet and incredibly satisfying. We loved it dusted with powdered sugar on its own, and with fresh summer berries as a healthy accompaniment. And…even as a delicious dessert, it packs some healthy nutrients, since almonds are a powerful antioxidant, loaded with vitamin E, magnesium and potassium to support heart health. Almonds also have cholesterol-lowering effects through the LDL lowering effect of the nuts’ monounsaturated fats.

We have served this cake a few times this summer, and it is a great, easy dessert, breakfast cake, and treat. It has become part of our favorite things…a little slice of heaven…just like Lauren!!!

Almond Cake

¾ cup sugar

½ cup sweet butter, room temp

8 oz. almond paste

3 eggs

½ tablespoon almond extract

½ cup flour

¼ tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and almond paste together, and blend in sugar until evenly mixed. Mixed in eggs, one at a time, add almond extract. In another bowl, sift flour and baking powder together and fold into wet batter. Pour cake batter into greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (cake should be firm on top). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to cake rack to finish cooling. Dust with powdered sugar, garnish with fresh berries.

Healing Foods: Watermelon with Lemon Mascarpone Cream

Ahhhh, Summertime. Picnics and barbecues, swimming and sparklers, so many lovely memories come to mind when I hear that word. Living in Manhattan, I really miss barbecue grilling and alfresco picnics in the summertime, which in my family were fun events with delicious food. And after a sumptuous barbecue, we kids were treated to a big slice of juicy watermelon, and my friends and I would sit on our patio spitting the seeds as far as we could into the garden. Good times.

Watermelon is packed with some powerful antioxidants, and is an excellent healing food. It is a great source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A through its concentration of beta-carotene. My favorite of the melons, pink watermelon, is also a source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene. Lycopene neutralizes free radicals, which can cause heavy damage in our system by oxidizing cholesterol, which can cause heart attack and strokes. Free radicals also add to asthma severity by causing airways to close, and they increase arthritis inflammation. Vitamin C and beta-carotene help rid the body of these harmful free radicals and prevent the damage they would otherwise cause. As if that were not reason enough to enjoy delicious watermelon, it also stimulates and cleanses the kidneys.

While there is nothing more satisfying than a sweet juicy slice on the rind, watermelon recipes have evolved considerably since my childhood, and one of my favorites is a dessert salad of watermelon with lemon mascarpone cream. While in France this summer, I tasted this amazing dessert again while dining outdoors on a beautiful night with great friends. It is a sweet/tart, crunchy/creamy combination that marries perfectly. So good and so good for you, who could ask for more than that?

Watermelon Salad with Lemon Mascarpone Cream

3 cups watermelon, seeded and cut into bite sized chunks

1 tablespoon lemon zest, chopped fine

Juice of 2 lemons

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup sugar

Fresh mint sprigs for garnish

Peel, seed and slice watermelon. Put into a bowl, cover and keep chilled.

In a separate bowl, whisk mascarpone, sugar, lemon juice and sugar. Whip mascarpone mixture (I use a food processor) until it is a creamy, spoonable consistency. Adjust with lemon zest, sugar or lemon juice according to your taste to get a tart/tangy but creamy sauce. Spoon mascarpone onto dessert plate, top with watermelon and garnish with fresh mint.

Comfort Food: Isabelle and Sophie's Favorite Cookie

When I showed my daughter Isabelle the food blog, she looked at it and immediately said "Mom, you have to put our chocolate layer cookie in there--it's Soph's and my favorite comfort food!"

This bar cookie has been in my family for years. My aunt used to make it for holidays, and it made its way into our family's holiday cookies as well. It's easy, rich, dense, chocolatey and yes, very comforting with a glass of milk or cup of tea. I used to only make it around Christmas time, but now it's made fairly regularly when knees are scraped, homework is unbearable, or when we just decide to cuddle up and watch a movie together.

So from our kitchen with love, the Mountain Family Chocolate Layer Cookie.....

1 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter or margarine

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor, or in a bowl until a soft crumble is formed. Remove 1/2 cup for later, and press the rest of the crust mixture into a buttered 9X12 inch pan. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle over crust:

1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup crumbled crust mixture

Spread the above ingredients over the crust and press down lightly into crust. Drizzle one can sweetened condensed milk over topping bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool, cut into bars. Enjoy!