CULINARY MAKEOVER #22 – FROM BROWNIES TO FUDGE BROWNIES

Old Brownies – dried out
For those of you who have been reading my ‘Makeover’ Articles, you probably know by now that I love to recreate new dishes from old leftover (yet viable) ones. This addiction started when I purchased my first Blender many years ago. The Blender of course, then advanced to the Food Processor which has been a ‘must have’ in my kitchen almost ever since it hit the U.S. market.
Our household now consists of only two people and our appetites aren’t what they used to be and even if they were, we would be pounds overweight if we consumed everything that I baked (let alone cook) and since I hate to throw away good food (especially when i created it), I have the fun of turning these dishes into new ones.
This weeks was turning my Husband’s Brownies into new Fudge Brownies. Ev is supposed to watch his sugar content but he still loves his chocolate and has to have his fix every night after dinner (even if it is smaller than what he had been used to in previous years.) Sometime I manage to remember to divide the batter in half and freeze one and bake the other one. Of course, this takes smaller pans to do so and it isn’t always feasible.
So I took the leftover Brownies which were dried out but still good and cut them up into small pieces which I then put into the Food Processor with the Chopping Blade. I pulsed the Brownies pieces until they were broken up into much smaller pieces. I then turned the Processor on full speed and chopped up the small pieces to resemble a coarse flour or meal. Next step was to measure the resulting Chocolate Crumb.
The ingredients including the Chocolate Crumb are listed below:
2 cups Brownie Crumbs
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream (1/2 cup Butter can be used instead)
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup Marshmallows (quartered)
DIRECTIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Return the Chocolate Crumb to the Food Processor.

Measured Crumbs in Processor
2. Add the Flower, Cocoa Powder and the Sugar.

Remade Batter
3. Pulse, just to combine the ingredients.
4. Add the Eggs and Sour Cream (or melted or softened Butter) and Pulse, just until the
ingredients are combined.
5. Stir in the Chocolate Chips.
6. Butter or Spray a 9 x9″ baking dish; add the quartered Marshmallows to the bottom of the dish.

Cut Up Marshmallows
7. Spread the Batter evenly over the Marshmallows.
8. Bake in a preheat (350 degree) oven for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. The Brownies may be served warm or cooled. And they are delicious served with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Remade Fudge Brownies
Categories: Cales, Cookies, Cooking for Kids, Culinary Makeovers, Dessert Ideas, Family Fun, Leftovers, Main, Quarantine Cuisine Tags: baking, Children's Cooking, Chocolate, Cookie Recipes, Dessert Ideas, Eggs, kids cooking, Leftovers
Pumpkin Drop Cookies
One quick and easy baked good for the week of Halloween is Pumpkin Cookies. These are a drop cookie and easy to whip up, bake and serve. All you need in addition to the usual baking ingredients is a small can of pumpkin. Anyone who can read, follow safety procedures and be able to reach the counter can easily make these cookies.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Pumpkin Puree 1 cup Butter, softened
3 cups All-Purpose Flour 2 cups Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Salt ½ tbsp. Vanilla
2 tsps. Baking Powder 2 Eggs
1 tsp. ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground Cloves 1 cup Seedless Raisins (optional)
¼ tsp. ground Ginger
DIRECTIONS:
- Adjust the oven racks to the 2nd and 4th positions and preheat to 375 degrees.
- Combine the Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Cinnamon and Cloves in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the Butter with the Brown Sugar.
- Beat in the Vanilla and Eggs until very well mixed.
- Add the Flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Stir in the Pumpkin Puree and the Raisins.
- Drop by the tablespoon (or use a # 60 food scoop) to shape the Cookies.
- Place them on a greased cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.
- Bake the Cookies for 20-25 minutes or until a deep golden brown.
- When the Cookies are done, place the pans on cooling racks; when the Cookies are cool, use a spatula to remove them from the pan.
- Store in an airtight container.
Categories: Baking, Cookies, Cooking for Everyone, Halloween, Main Tags: baking, Cookie Recipes, cooking with children, kids cooking
NATIONAL WAFFLE DAY TREATS
Today is ‘National Waffle Day’. Here are some Waffle Treats for you to make for your friends and/or family.
Sweet Potato Waffles – a great way to use leftover Sweet Potatoes or just to use your Sweet Potatoes. Good for Breakfast and or Dinner instead of Potatoes.
Gingerbread Waffles – this is definitely a ‘makeover’ using leftover Gingerbread pieces. This may not be appropriate for ‘National Waffle Day’ in August but keep it mind for your Winter Breakfasts or Desserts!
Hong Kong Waffles – a favorite of mine – fun to make and fun to eat. These Waffles are sold as ‘Street Food’ in Hong Kong but can easily be made with your Belgian Waffle Iron.
More Waffles – just an overview of the types of Waffle Irons and recipes available today!
Try one or more of these today or for your weekend Brunch, Lunch or Supper
RECIPES FOR CINCO DE MAYO
Cinco de Mayo will be here in 2 hours or earlier for East Coasters. Here are a few recipes you can use for your Celebrations tomorrow.
We will start with Appetizers including Salsas and conclude with Rice, Empanadas and Lemonade.
Mango Salsa which makes use of fresh Mangoes, Limes, Red Bell Peppers and Jalapenos if you wish.
Nachos – start with good quality chips, Cheese Sauce with Jalapenos (if desired) and serve with Salsa and Guacamole.
Salsa Cruda – incorporates diced fresh Tomatoes, Jalapenos or Serranos, Cilantro, Lime Juice and a little Salt.
Beef Empanadas are more traditionally an Argentine Dish but they can also be found in Mexican Cooking. The Empanada can be filled with whatever you please – diced Steak or Chicken or Ground Beef along with Tomatoes, Onions, Cheese and maybe some Chilies.
Sparkling Lemonade – we first had this in Acapulco and I have been making Lemonade this way every since. It is delicious, refreshing and a great accompaniment to any meal.
Categories: Beverages, Condiments, Cooking for Kids, Dinner Ideas, Family Fun, Food Festivals, Holiday Ideas, Holiday Meals, Holiday Tidbits, Main, Mexican, Tropical, Tropical Food Tags: Appetizers, Avocadoes, Chlies, Cinco de Mayo, family dinner, holiday recipes, kids cooking, Limes, Mexican, National Food Days, Rice, Tomatoes
CULINARY MAKEOVERS # 18 – Sweet Potato Waffles
Our ‘Culinary Makeover’ today is a relatively simple one. Mashed White Sweet Potatoes turned into Sweet Potato Waffles which I served with Chili con Carne.
A very delicious meal, but with only 2 people in the household we had Waffles left over which we in turn toasted for Breakfast the next day. They tasted really delicious with melted Butter and Maple Syrup!
The Sweet Potatoes I purchased had red skin and I had forgotten that the Red Skinned Sweet Potatoes are not red inside but White. They were a little more starchy than the gold ones but they still tasted good and were perfect for making Waffles.
For the Waffles I used:
2 cups mashed Sweet Potatoes
3 Eggs
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsps. Olive Oil (melted Butter can be used instead)
I had forgotten to put in a leavening agent which would have been maybe 1 tsp. Baking Powder, but the waffles came out very well without it. You can use any type of Sweet Potato or even Russets that had been mashed for dinner the night before. Try your hand at it and see what you can come up with!
Categories: Breakfast Ideas, Dinner Ideas, Leftovers, Main, One Dish Meals Tags: Chili, Eggs, family dinner, kids cooking, Leftovers, Sweet Potatoes, Waffles
GINGERBREAD APPLESAUCE CAKE – Culinary Makeovers
Here we go again! Remember the Gingerbread Waffles made from the leftover pieces of Gingerbread Houses? Well, with only a 2 person Household, you can only eat Gingerbread Waffles so many days in a row and since I hate to throw good food away, I did it again! I decided to make cookies with the Waffle Batter and wouldn’t you know, I did not think about putting extra sugar into it – Waffles don’t need a lot of sugar since you usually pour syrup on them or top with sweetened fruit and when we tasted the cookies – uh oh! They tasted like Gingerbread Biscuits – not very palatable – so instead of throwing the cookies away, I just dried them out and pulverized them again just like I did with the leftover House pieces. I then used my Zucchini Bread Recipe as a guide and made a delicious moist Gingerbread Applesauce Cake with Raisins. This was a delicious and satisfying Breakfast Delight!
So here is how I made the Gingerbread/Applesauce Cake. The recipe can be adapted for use without the leftover Gingerbread pieces. Just let me know and I will change it for whoever would like it.
Pictured below are the cookies – i left them uncovered for a couple of hours to dry them out – they were a moist cookies and would have been really good with some sugar and maybe some raisins added to them.
Place the cookies in your Food Processor and chop them up, using the PULSE BUTTON at first; once they are broken up, then turn it on and run just until they are a fine crumb – not more than a couple of seconds at a time.
Measure the crumbs – if you do not have 2 cups of crumbs, adjust the other ingredients accordingly
Gingerbread Crumbs
The remaining ingredients that you are going to need are:
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. ground Cloves (optional)
3 large Eggs
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Applesauce
1/2 cup Raisins
The Applesauce pictured below was homemade chunky Applesauce
This cake was all made in the Food Processor, but if you don’t have one or prefer not use it, you can do this with a Portable Mixer, Standing Mixer, or even with hand implements.
Once you have your crumbs, Applesauce and Rasins prepared and measured, begin making your cake.
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat to 350 degrees.
- Butter, or spray an 8 or 9″ round or square pan and set aside.
- Combine the Flour, Salt, Baking Soda and Spices in a medium size bowl.
- Place the Eggs in the Food Processor and run until they are well mixed.
- Add the Brown Sugar, Butter and Vanilla and mix again.
- Add the Applesauce and Pulse until it is well distributed.
- Add the Flour Mixture and run until well – mixed. (DO NOT OVERMIX!)
- Add the Raisins and pulse, just until they are distributed throughout the batter.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan; tap lightly to level and then bake for 45 minutes or until a pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack before inverting onto a serving platter.
Serve warm or at room temperature with Vanilla Ice Cream or top with a Cream Cheese Frosting.
Categories: Baking, Cookies, Dessert Ideas, GINGERBREAD HOUSES, Main Tags: Apples, baking, Cookies, Dessert Ideas, family dinner, Fruit, kids cooking
GINGERBREAD WAFFLES – A Culinary Makeover
Baking is one of my favorite things to do and during the Winter Holidays I make Gingerbread Houses and I teach other people how to make Gingerbread. This past December, in addition to my classes I baked and built four different houses. One for the Cancer Support Community’s Holiday Boutique, one for a sample for my class, one for home and one as a gift. There are two ways to bake the houses – one is to cut out the pieces from the unbaked dough and the other is to bake the dough first before cutting out the pieces. The advantage of the second method is that the pieces will all fit together without additional trimming after the baking process. The disadvantage is that there are going to be a lot of sections of cookie that will not be big enough for any house, except for the chimney and how many of those do you need? Now we do love to eat the leftovers but when there are a lot of leftovers, you can only so much.
As I said, Baking is one of my favorite things to do, but another one of my favorite culinary activities is to turn leftovers into new products and that is what I did with the leftover Gingerbread pieces. I pulverized them to a fine crumb in my Food Processor and turned them into a Waffle Batter. If you like Gingerbread, then you certainly will like Gingerbread Waffles. Here is how I did it.
- Break up the leftover Gingerbread pieces into sections that will fit in your Food Processor that has been fitted with the Chopping Blade. Use the Pulse Button to break up the pieces into small pieces and then turn it on to finely chop the Gingerbread pieces. You should end up with a medium to fine crumb.
- Measure the Crumbs – 2 cups of Gingerbread Crumbs will make enough waffles for 3-4 people.
- Use your Food Processor (do not wash out the bowl) or a large mixing bowl. Beat 3 Eggs until well mixed and then add 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk and blend together.
- Combine the Gingerbread Crumbs with 1 1/2 cups of All-Purpose Flour, 1 tsp. Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger and 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda. Add to the Buttermilk/Egg mixture and Pulse, just until mixed. If doing in a bowl, with a whisk, just mix until the Ingredients are blended – DO NOT OVER-MIX! (Over-mixing Waffle, Pancake or Muffin Batter will make the product tough.
- Stir in 1/4 cup Melted Butter.
- Heat your Waffle Iron until the indicator light tells you the Iron is hot. If necessary, lightly oil or spray the surface of the Iron.
- Pour approximately 1/2 cup of Batter on each section of you Waffle Irons Grids (this will vary, depending on the size and shape of our Waffle Iron)
- Close and Bake until the steaming stops. Keep the baked Waffles warm in a low oven until you are ready to serve them.
- Serve with Fruit Compote and or Maple Syrup and melted Butter. The Waffles in the Feature Photo are served with crisply cooked bacon.
- For the Fruit Compote,I melted about 2 Tbsps. of Butter along with Brown Sugar (2-4 Tbsps.). I then added pitted and halved Cherries, Blackberries and fresh Pineapple pieces. This will work with just about any fruit – Apples are great with Gingerbread as well as Bananas, Mango or Papaya.
And this is how you use leftover Gingerbread to make Waffles! As a convenience, I have also listed the ingredients below.
2 CUPS Gingerbread Crumbs
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground Ginger
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
1/4 cup melted Butter
Categories: Bread, Breakfast Ideas, Cooking for Kids, GINGERBREAD HOUSES, Holiday Meals, Main Tags: Apples, baking, butter, Buttermilk, Eggs, family dinner, Fruit Compote, gingerbread, holiday recipes, kids cooking, Waffles
NATIONAL HOT DOG MONTH
July is ‘National Hot Dog Month’ and nothing is probably more American than a Hot Dog except for perhaps a Hamburger. These two popular foods though made thoroughly American have their roots in Europe and mainly Germany. It’s just that we have so thoroughly Americanized these products that if this were a hundred years or so ago, they wouldn’t even be recognized in Europe. Thanks to vastly improved communication, Hot Dogs and Burgers are seen not only in Europe but all over the world.
We all have our favorite Hot Dogs and will probably remember at least one Hot Dog Stand as ideal. Since as a child I never had Hot Dogs outside of our home (except once) I cannot remember one single Hot Dog Stand. However, my sons have a whole repertoire that they can recite to you – many of which are of course my adult favorites too. The most recent addition to our locale is Dayne’s Chicago Dogs. Dayne’s is located on Thousand Oaks Blvd. in the city of Thousand Oaks and their specialty is the Chicago Dog. What makes a Chicago Dog different from other dogs? The points are listed below.
1. A Chicago Dog has to be in a natural casing – it just isn’t a Chicago Dog unless it has that crunch to it.
2. It also must come with Tomatoes, Green Relish and Peperoncini in the bun along with the Dog. And of course don’t forget the mustard.
Also pictured with Dayne’s Dog is Garlic French Fries. If you are a Garlic Lover these are ‘Heavenly’.
One of the oldest Hot Dog Stands in the city of Los Angeles is Pink’s which is on La Brea and ironically is practically right next door to where I went to school. Oddly enough, I never heard of Pink’s until maybe a dozen years ago. However, I’m sure I did have a Pink’s Dog unknowingly which was given to me by the Aunt of a girl who I was playing with at the time. This was the first time I had ever had a Chili Dog and quite honestly at 9 years old, I did not like it. More recently though, I did a class that featured the most popular Hot Dogs in and around the Los Angeles area. While I do not like Hoffy Dogs (which Pink’s uses) the toppings at Pinks were outstanding but oddly enough the item I liked best at Pink’s was their Coconut Cake.
Probably my favorite San Fernando Valley Hot Dog was Cupid’s. I first noticed the Cupid’s stand when I was about 11 years old and we had just moved to the Valley. By the time I got around to eating at Cupid’s their main stand was at Victory and Tyrone and it is still there today. The other stand that they have that I have frequented is across the street from Cal State Northridge. For years, Cupid’s only sold their Dogs one way and that was in a bun with mustard and Chili and Onions. As I recall the last time I was there they have added a few things to their dogs such as cheese.
My favorite Dog to cook at home has to be a Kosher Dog with a crunchy skin. I usually buy Vienna as they fit the bill. Boar’s head is second best for at home purchase. Today for lunch I had a Coleslaw Dog made with Boar’s Head Hot Dogs, Homemade Coleslaw and home-grown Yellow Roma tomatoes.
Last year when we were on Kauai, I had a Pineapple Dog – certainly something you would expect to get in Hawaii if nowhere else. It was delicious – just the right amount of sweet/tangy compliment to the Hot Dog.
If you have a favorite dog and pictures of such please feel free to comment and share your photos.
On an ending note, Hot Dogs can be boiled, grilled, barbecued, baked with beans broiled and/or wrapped in pastry. Take advantage of ‘National Hot Dog Month’ and frequent your favorite local Hot Dog Stand.
Categories: Cooking for Kids, Dinner Ideas, Family Fun, Lunch Ideas, Main, National Food Days Tags: Buns, Children's Cooking, Chili, family dinner, Hot Dogs, kids cooking, National Food Days
VALENTINE POPS TO MAKE WITH YOUR CHILDREN
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and the weather is wintry – rainy, snowy or windy! What better way to spend an indoor afternoon or morning making Valentine Lollipops with your Children. Children very often make paper Valentine’s to give to their friends, but Chocolate ones are even better. They taste good and Chocolate is good for you!
What you will need to make these treats is:
Candy (Heart-shaped Lollipop Molds) – available at your local Cake Decorating Store or Craft Shop such as Michael’s or JoAnn’s.
Pre-tempered Chocolates (Wilton’s)
A sheet of waxed paper or a flat pan to put the molds on.
A melting pot or double boiler If you don’t have either you can make a double boiler by placing a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water.
To make the Pops first set up your molds. Make sure they are clean and dry. Water and chocolate do not mix and your pops will not set up properly. The best thing to do is to wash and dry them 24 hours before you are going to use them. When you are finished with them, wash (DO NOT USE SOAP) just hot tap water and dry and then after 24 hours place them in a sealed plastic bag so that the next you need them they will be ready to go.
Place the molds on the waxed paper or sheet pan. Place the sticks in the molds (make sure that at least one inch of the stick is in the candy portion ) If you are using a Melting Pot place the Candy (the melting pots will hold a 12 oz. bag of candy) in the Melting Pot and set it to MELT. Once the Candy has thoroughly melted turn the setting down to WARM.
Once the Candy has melted you can then spoon it into the molds. Be sure and completely cover the Lollipop Sticks. DO NOT fill the mold to the top. Once they are about 3/4 full, stop and tap the molds to get rid of the Air Bubbles. If there is still space left in the mold slowly add additional candy until the mold is full.
Allow at least an hour for the candy to set at room temperature or about 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator or 15-20 in the freezer.
Once the Candy has set up turn the molds over onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper and gently press on the backs to un-mold. If they are not going to be eaten right away place into bags (lollipop bags can be purchased at Cake Decorating Stores, Party Stores or Craft Stores). Tie with red curling ribbon. These lollipops are a great replacement for Valentines.
For heat loving Valentine recipients you can add a little bit of Chili Flakes (Old Boney Mountain Grotto Dust) available at http://www.oldboneymountainhotsaucecorp.com/
NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER MONTH
November is ‘National Peanut Butter Month‘. Peanut Butter as we probably all know is made from grinding Peanuts. Now, technically Peanuts are not actually nuts. The Peanut does not grow on a tree but rather from plants that are much like Vegetables. Peanuts are also known as ground nuts because of this reason. But to repeat, Peanuts are not actually nuts; they are legumes. Unlike legumes, Peanuts are not usually cooked as a vegetable or even as a main dish. Instead, they are treated much like the tree nuts – they are roasted and salted and eaten out of hand. They are chopped up and added to baked goods. But probably the most popular use for Peanuts is that rich spread we all know as ‘Peanut Butter’.
Peanut Butter has long been a favorite of kids and adults alike. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches not withstanding, how many different ways can you think to use Peanut Butter?
My favorites are Peanut Butter Cookies, Thai Peanut Sauce (made with Peanut Butter) and Reese’s Pieces. There is Peanut Butter Fudge and Peanut Butter Brownies just to name a few. So to observe ‘National Peanut Butter Month‘ I am going to share with you a couple of my favorite recipes. If you have any favorite recipes using Peanut Butter please feel free to share them with my readers.
/One of my very favorite things is the Peanut Butter Sauce served with Chicken and Beef Satay in Thai Restaurants. Technically, Satay is an Indonesian Dish but it has become a popular mainstay in Thai Cuisine. And it is the sauce that really makes the dish! Try this recipe – if you don’t like Chicken you can always substitute Beef or Pork or even Lamb! chicken-satay-with-peanut-butter-sauce/
For lunch today I made a Salad with leftover Shrimp Taco Ingredients. The salad consisted of shredded Lettuce, diced Tomatoes, Cilantro with a squeeze of Lime and Dressed with Spicy Thai Peanut Dressing. Very delicious and taste bud pleasing.
Growing up, Peanut Butter Cookies were always a favorite in our household. Probably the most intriguing thing about Peanut Butter Cookies is those ‘Criss-Cross’ marks made with a fork. Why, I don’t know but if the cookie does not have them, there is definitely something missing! It is those tell-tale marks that tell us that the cookie is a Peanut Butter Cookie. I know of very few other cookies that use this decoration. Instead of plain Peanut Butter Cookies, try this recipe that mimics that childhood favorite – the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. cookies/peanut-butter-jelly-cookies/
Everybody loves Rice Krispy Marshmallow treats and what better than Rice Kirspy Marshmallow treats with Peanut Butter added to them! Try it for yourself or your kids and you will never make them without the Peanut Butter again! /peanut-butter-rice-krispy-candies/
In Hong Kong there is a favorite street food known as Hong Kong Waffles. They are soft waffle that can be rolled up. Before they are rolled they are usually spread with Nutella or Peanut Butter. They are quite delicious and not at all hard to make if you have a waffle iron. deserts/hongkong-style-waffles/
Last but not least there is Chocolate/Peanut Butter Fudge. This contains two favorites – Chocolate and of course Peanut Butter. This is a really simple fool/proof fudge recipe that anyone can make in a very short amount of time. So if you are a Chocolate and Peanut Butter Lover, be sure and try this recipe. candy/peanutbutter-chocolate-fudge/
Then there are the items that we don’t need recipes for. Celery stuffed with Peanut Butter, Crackers with Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter and Jelly or Honey Sandwiches, etc.
All in all, enjoy ‘National Peanut Butter Month’ and see which ways you come up with to enjoy this all time favorite.