Killer Kahlua Brownies from Mary Kennedy, author of Dead Air

Mary Kennedy, a Twitter and Facebook friend, and I share a mutual love of Chocolate and Mysteries. It's funny how the Internet unites people. I also do a team building event called Operation Military Giving through my company TeamBuilding Unlimited, and Mary also sends boxes to the troops with homemade goodies. Worlds Collide. Now Mary's first adult mystery, Dead Air, came out this month from Penguin and Reel Murder will appear in June, so I asked Mary to Guest Blog and share a chocolate recipe. Her Kahlua Brownies are Killer!

Mary Kennedy, author of Dead Air (Penguin, January 2010):

TAKE TWO CHOCOLATE BROWNIES AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

Like Dr. Maggie Walsh, my heroine in DEAD AIR, I’m a licensed clinical psychologist. Of course, Maggie is a radio show host in sunny Florida and I live and work in not-so-sunny Delaware. But both Maggie and I love chocolate.

Why do we use chocolate for a quick boost, a way of making ourselves feel better? Some scientists believe it’s because chocolate contains a high level of phenylethylamine, which raises dopamine levels in the brain and is related to falling in love.

When I sent a goodie box to the troops in Iraq, I included Janet Rudolph’s wonderful “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles” along with Kahlua Brownies. And a copy of DEAD AIR, of course. If you’d like to try the Kahlua brownies, they are easy and delicious.

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cocoa, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/4 cup boiling water, 1/4 cup Kahlua
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:
Directions for chocolate brownies
In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda; blend in 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water and Kahlua; stir until well blended. Stir in sugar, beaten eggs and remaining 1/3 cup butter. Stir in flour and salt. Stir nuts and the chocolate chips into chocolate brownies batter. Pour chocolate brownie batter into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until chocolate brownies are firm and begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool before cutting into squares.

These are absolutely fabulous!--Janet

National Croissant Day: Make Them Chocolate

Maybe we were sophisticated (I don't think so) or maybe my mother was a Francophile, but I remember croissants every Sunday mornings. From a bakery, I'm sure. I still adore croissants, and Chocolate Croissants are my favorites since I love bread, butter and chocolate: the three food groups.

I'm lucky enough to live in the San Francisco Bay Area where are there so many fabulous bakeries. I have sampled multiple chocolate croissants, multiple times, and my favorites are always the ones with a big chunk of chocolate in them, rather than chocolate chips, but in a pinch, I'd eat those too. One major requirement: the croissants must be light and buttery to make the entire experience perfect.

I used to bake a lot of bread, and I've made my own croissants, but as I mentioned, no need anymore. But in case you don't have great bakeries near you, here are two quick ways to have great tasting Chocolate Croissants at home.

Easy Chocolate Croissants with a Hat Tip to Nigella Lawson
These are tiny, so I give you permission to eat more than one!

1 package frozen all-butter puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours
1/4 cup broken up dark chocolate, 65-85% cacao-about one bar.
1 egg beaten with a tiny bit of water (egg wash)
gray sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Unfurl the sheet of pastry and then cut it into 6 squares.
2. Cut each square diagonally to give 2 triangles (they will appear quite small). Put the triangle with the wider part facing you and the point away from you.
3. Place broken chocolate place about 3/4-inch up from the wide end nearest you.
4. Then carefully roll from that chocolate loaded end towards the point of the triangle.
5. You should now have something resembling a straight croissant, seal it slightly with your fingertips and curl it around into a crescent. Make sure they're sealed or your chocolate will ooze.
6. Place the chocolate croissants on a foil lined baking tray and paint with egg wash (beaten egg with a little water) and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and puffy and fabulous!

***

Don't have time to do make these, but still want Chocolate Croissants for breakfast, Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants to the rescue! One caveat. Take these frozen croissants out the night before to defrost. The next morning when you're ready, brush with eggwash, sprinkle with a tiny bit of seasalt (optional) and bake. You'll think you're in Paris. Cost: about $4 for 4. Can't beat that! Rumor has it that this is a very similar product (same chef?) as the Croissants from Williams-Sonoma at a much higher cost.

Celebrate the Day!

Whoopie Pie Pan from Williams-Sonoma

I've blogged about Whoopie Pies here and here, now Williams-Sonoma is selling a specific Whoopie Pie pan! I haven't had a problem making them by hand, but build a better mousetrap? Maybe.

According to the Williams-Sonoma Catalogue (online), the pan is designed with shallow wells to bake a dozen round cakes that pair together to make the tops and bottoms for six 2 3/4" diameter whoopie pies. Constructed of heavy-gauge aluminized steel, the pan features the signature Goldtouch™ ceramic-reinforced nonstick surface. Cakes bake evenly and release effortlessly every time. 14" x 10 1/2" x 1/2" high. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive. $24.95

There are actually lots of other chocolate uses for this odd pan including muffins and cookies. This is a Chocolate Blog, so I'm only thinking chocolate here, but if you get creative, you can make other foods in individual portions. But the real question is Do You Need this? I just have so much room. I like all the unique bundt pans Williams-Sonoma sells, and the Brownie Pan is great especially if you like your brownies with a crunchy outside. Sadly, I don't have these pans since I never have enough storage. So for the few times a year I make whoopie pies, I'll have to resort to the old fashioned way of dropping them onto a cookie sheet. I kind of like their misshapen appearance. But if you MUST have this, go for it! I must say that the Williams-Sonoma photo of stacked Whoopie Pies with piped filling is very cool.

Green & Black's to go 100% Fairtrade

The Guardian U.K. reported today that Green & Black's will be 100% Fairtrade by the end of 2011. This will make Green & Black's the world's leading manufacturer of organic Fairtrade chocolate. I find this great news, both for the environment, people, and my personal chocolate pleasure, as I really love Green & Black's chocolate.

Organic chocolate maker Green & Black's today pledged to switch its entire worldwide food and beverage range to Fairtrade by the end of next year, so it's much more than chocolate.

And, here's a piece of information I didn't realize. The company's Maya Gold chocolate was the first official Fairtrade product to go on sale in Britain 15 years ago. Its extended range of chocolate bar and beverage products in the UK will start to carry the distinctive blue and green Fairtrade logo from late 2010, and it is hoped that full conversion of the entire chocolate bar and beverage range in more than 30 countries will be achieved by the end of 2011.

Go, Green & Black's. And, yes, I know that G&B is a subsidiary of Cadbury, but the company has always been pioneers of fairtrade in the U.K. which they've been able to do with the big company backing.

Read the Full Article Here.