Caramel Brownies

It has been snowing quite heavily for about 24 hours where I live.  I have helped shovel the drive, but have been inside for most of the day.  

Days like today are the perfect type of day to bake and eat decadent baked goods like these brownies.  It is a perfect day to snuggle up with a good book and eat a brownie. 

Bangor Brownies

I heard a really funny story today.  I was taking an Uber.  I took the cheaper option, and so there were other travelers in the car.  When we dropped of one of the passengers, the driver told me that the man who had just exited the car was pretty upset.

The man hadn't realized that he was taking an Uber pool instead of the single passenger option.   In short, it took this man two hours to get home from the airport.  The driver hand picked up multiple passengers and dropped them off by the time the man arrived home.  The drive would have probably taken about 45 minutes without stops.  He would have arrived home sooner if he had just taken public transportation.

Chocolate Brownie Swirled with Peanut Butter Blondie

I have been eating my fair share of sugar recently.  It all started with these brownies.  I then made a cake a week later.  I went to a bakery a few days ago and ate two brownies for dinner.  

I have an insatiable sweet tooth.  Some people complain that a certain dessert is too rich, but I have never encountered that problem.  I take great pleasure in rich, chocolate desserts.

Samoa Brownies

We finally got some snow this year.  There was a little snow flurry earlier in the year, but there was no accumulation.  Last Monday night and early Tuesday morning it was a certifiable snow storm.

Work wasn't canceled, but I had a three hour delay.  I slept in, did some laundry, and even cleaned the bathroom.  Most of my coworkers worked from home that day, and the office was as quite as a tomb.

Orange Brownies

I made these brownies for New Year's Eve.  I was still at home visiting my family for New Year's Eve.  We celebrated at my aunt and uncle's home.  I celebrated last year at their home as well.

They have a set of musical pipes that gets taken out at least once a year on New Year's Eve.  There are over twenty pipe.  Each pipe has a distinct number at note.  Each person is given a pipe and a nail to hit the pipe with.  My aunt directs us when to play with music written by the tone's  number.  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

My downstairs neighbor is listening to salsa music right now.  It is very uncharacteristic of him.  He usually listens to heavy metal.  

It is good he is opening up his horizons.  The music makes me want to dance, but unfortunately I don't really know how to salsa dance.  You can't really dance salsa alone either.

Brookies with Oreos

Last week was a busy week.  I went to San Diego for a work conference.  I decided to take a little vacation after the conference over the fourth of July weekend.  I traveled to San Francisco.  

It was my first trip to San Francisco.  I had a great time.  I saw Land's End, Coit Tower, Fishermans' Wharf,  the Golden Gate Bridge, the Mission neighborhood, Chinatown, the Asian art museum, Lombard Street, and Angel Island, among other places.

Flourless Chocolate Brownie

I don't think you can have too many brownie recipes at your disposal.  You may be in the mood for Cream Cheese Brownies,  peanut butter swirled brownies,  or brownies with a peanut butter and chocolate ganache.  

These Mississippi mud caramel brownies had a ribbon of caramel running through the center and were topped with pillowy marshmallows and silky glaze.   They were very decadent.

Cream Cheese Brownies

I have recently started waking up before my alarm clock.  My alarm is set for 6am, which is early enough.  Regardless, I'll wake up forty to thirty minutes before six a couple of times a week.

Sometimes I'll lay in bed waiting to fall back asleep.  This morning I couldn't get my mind to relax.  I knew that sleep was out of the question.  I ended up listening to a podcast.  

Mississippi Mud Caramel Brownies

I made these brownies for my birthday.  Carrot cupcakes were my main birthday treat, but I felt like I needed something chocolate too.  The carrot cupcakes were amazing, but it just seems weird not to eat a chocolate dessert for my birthday.  I had to have both.

Chocolate is made from cacao  Unprocessed cacao is naturally quite bitter.  They are fermented to make them more palatable.  The seeds are then dried and roasted.  The shells are moved.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies with Butterfinger Baking Pieces

On Saturday I ran a half marathon.  I ran the same race two years ago.  I'm pleased because I ran it faster than two years ago.  I cut over 15 minutes off my overall time.

Improving my time has given me enthusiasm to continue running.  My neighborhood has a 5k every Friday evening in April, and I plan on running several of them.

Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips and Peanut Butter Frosting

I googled "how to make good brownies" after making these brownies.  It would have been more useful to learn about good brownie technique before making them, but now I have a reason to make brownies again soon.

The Huffington Post says you should not over stir the flour.  There should still be streaks of white after folding in the flour because you don't want to work the gluten.  They said to use room temperature eggs.  Cold eggs make a denser brownie.  Of course, I like a dense brownie...

Brownies with Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache

I participated in a Toastmasters competition today.  Toastmasters is this public speaking club where you give speeches in front of your fellow club members and someone critiques you.

I joined about a year ago.  I get nervous when I speak to crowds, and this seemed like a good way to overcome some of that anxiety.

Brownies with Mint Icing

Brownies could be my favorite baked good.  They are so rich and tantalizing, but incredible simple too.  Sometimes the best things in life don't take hard work.  

These are homemade, but I don't turn my nose up to a under baked brownie from a box.  I usually avoid semi-homemade things that come from boxes, but brownies are the exception.  

Caramel Brownies with Candy

There is an age range in which dressing up for Halloween is not cool.  It's just after you are able to go trick or treating yourself. 

I didn't dress up for Halloween at that time because I didn't want anyone to confuse me for someone young enough to go trick or treating.  

Brownies with Caramel Kisses and Caramel Frosting

Today is Mother's Day.  I am not near my mother today, but I am going to call her after I finish posting this recipe.  

My mother is a very competent cook and baker, but she doesn't like to do it.  She is very artistic and creative.  She is also a bit of a perfectionist.  At least she seems that way to me.  I'm often in a rush to get something done, but my mom takes her time.  She is willing to redo things if they don't meet her expectations.

I'm very similar to my mother.  I often realize that something I say or think is similar to what my mom would say in that situation.  

My mom had five children, and she scarified many years of her life and many comforts to raise us.  I didn't always appreciate the scarifies she made for us.