Brownies, Homemade, Yummy & Easy

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/2 c flour

1/4 t salt

1/4 t baking powder

Oven to 350  Pan 8×8

In a saucepan, melt butter, add sugar.  Remove from heat.  Beat together eggs & vanilla.  Slowly temper egg mixture into butter mixture.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Spread in a pan.

Check every few minutes after 20 minutes until done to your liking.




Apple Brownies (Courtesy Tammy’s Recipes)-Revised for Us

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup peeled chopped apples
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Powdered sugar
Instructions:

1. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir well. Stir in apples and nuts.

2. Spread batter into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until brownies test done with a fork and slightly browned on top.

3. Cool; dust top with powdered sugar and cut into 24 squares.




Banana Quick Bread (untried)

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups mashed bananas*
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped nuts or seeds (optional)

Sift together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, beat eggs; add oil and sugar; cream together. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix well. (Stir in nuts, if using.) Spoon into two well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.




Maple Cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup real maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies in before cooking

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg, syrup and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir into mixture until well blended. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and flatten slightly.
  3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool on wire rack.



Banana Chocolate Chip & Walnut Muffins

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 overripe bananas
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray 2 muffin tins (20 muffins positions) with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts, chocolate chips and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about a little over halfway.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.




Maple & Walnut Pie

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 1/2 cups maple syrup

3 eggs

6 tb butter, room temp

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 cups chopped toasted walnuts

1 tb vanilla

1/4 tsp ( or less) freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Prepare the pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.  Prick bottom and sides with a fork and line crust with a double thickness of foil.  Bake 8 minutes, remove foil and bake another 5 minutes and cool.  Lower oven temp to 350.

In a small saucepan bring maple syrup to a boil, reduce to a simmer, uncovered for 10-12 minutes or until syrup has reduced to about 1 cup.

Beat eggs with electric mixer on medium-high until thick and lemon-y colored, about 5 minutes.

In another mixing bowl beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar and brown sugar.  Beat in syrup and eggs.  Fold in walnuts, vanilla and nutmeg.  Pour into pie crust.

Bake pie on a baking sheet lined with foil for 35 minutes or until set around the edges are set.  Let cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.




Walnut and Dried Fruit Bars

12 bars, serving size: 1 bar

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (make your own the day before)
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 egg, beaten to mix
  • 1 egg white
  • 3/4 cup chopped dried tart cherries (or other dried fruit)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/4 cup apricot preserves

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, oil, egg and egg white until well combined. Stir in the oatmeal mixture until well combined. Add the dried cherries and walnuts.

Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out

clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Put the preserves in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the bars come out of the oven, brush with the preserves. Cool completely and cut into 12 bars, about 4 by1 1/2 inches each.




Shortcake

2 c. flour
5 T. sugar
4 T. butter, softened
4 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk

Mix dry ingredients and work butter in with a pastry blender. Add milk and stir. Press into a well-greased 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan, sprinkle top with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the top begins to (ever so slightly) turn golden brown. Will be the texture of homemade biscuits. Cut into slices and serve warm.




Zucchini Bread

  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.




Pineapple & Coconut Loaf

1 1/2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cup of flour (all-purpose)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
20 ounces pineapple (fresh or canned, minced & drained)

Preheat oven to 350.

Toast 1 cup of coconut by spreading it evenly across cookie sheet and bake for about 6 minutes or until golden brown; set aside to cool. Prepare loaf pan using baking spray or butter/flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, salt and baking soda, set aside.

In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat until well incorporated. On a low speed add 1/3 of flour mixture then 1/2 of sour cream then 1/3 flour mixture then 1/2 sour cream and end with last bit of flour mixture.

Fold in pineapple and toasted 1 cup of coconut, spread into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of coconut over the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 65-70 minutes. Cool most of the way in the loaf pan and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. This loaf will remain okay at room temp, wrapped for up to 2 days. I much prefer mine to be refrigerated. It’s tasty cold and lasts a day longer.