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Sunday, July 26, 2009

King Arthur Fudge Brownies & Coffee Slushy

I've noticed something interesting. At work the other day, a customer came to my window (I'm a drive-up teller). He showed me a pre-printed deposit slip that said, "For ID Only" on it. Having never seen this done before, I was a bit confused. He just handed this deposit slip and a check for me to cash, and repeated, "This is for ID only." Not really understanding his point, I innocently asked him if he had his ID on him. To which he replied, "No, I don't, that's why I've put this deposit slip in here." Now, I don't know if you've ever been a bank teller, but this is not generally an accepted form of identification. I took in his check and deposit slip, and asked the people around me, "Does anyone know Mr. So & So?" To which, a co-worker replied, Oh yes! He's a very good customer, he has a lot of accounts with us. He walked over and said hello to the customer, with a little bit of butt-kissing. The customer told my co-worker THREE TIMES in the following conversation, "Do me a favor, tell that bank teller who I am." Apparently, because he has money, I was supposed to know his identity and break the rules for him. It just kind of made me think, I don't really care if you have a gajillion dollars, or negative gajillion dollars... please don't treat me like that. I was standing righttttt thereeeee.

For some reason, this event reminded me of my two most recent dessert-making experiences. Take these photos for example:





You'd probably think the brownies were much much better, right? Well, it wasn't the case! The brownies were so-so, and the edges were down-right trash-worthy. But the Coffee Slushy... the gloppy, melty, ugly, spotty Coffee Slushy... was Too Die Forrr. I don't care how pretty ya look, as long as you taste good. In a weird way, it reminded me of my encounter with Mr. So & So. I don't care how much money you have or don't have, as long as you're not a doodie-head to me. Sound like a stretch? Maybe. Maybe it's all the frozen coffee deliciousnesssss talking.
*** V.I.P.U. (Very Important Post Update :) -- We retasted the interior slices (not-edge pieces) of brownie later on that night and even the next day... Okay, they tasted much better. Very good and very fudgy! They improved greatly with time! ***

Anyway, on to the recipes. Unfortunately, there will be no SMS this Sunday. But I have two other things to share with you!
First, the delectable Coffee Slush.



I found these instructions for making a nice frozen coffee treat. And since Daniel had just picked up some freshly roasted Snickerdoodle flavored coffee (gasp!) I thought... I'm soooooo there. I only made a few alterations. Here is what I did....

Ingredients:
Slightly less than 2 tablespoons coffee grinds in your favorite flavor
1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 C Low Fat Milk
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:
Whisk the cornstarch into a half cup of cold low fat milk, beating until lumps are gone. Set aside for a couple of minutes.
Add to the rest of the milk (1 cup). Add sugar and simmer on low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Take 2 - 3 tablespoons of the warm sweetened milk and add to the coffee powder in a cup and beat vigorously with a handmixer until it becomes creamy.
Add this to the heating milk and stir till the custard thickens and is able to coat the back of a spoon without dripping off.
Take it off the heat and cool in an ice-bath for 10-15 minutes.
Put in the frig for about an hour. When thoroughly chilled, put in your ice cream maker for the amount of time your ice cream maker recommends.
Serve in a tall glass topped with whipped cream. DELICIOUS



ON TO THE BROWNIES!

I saw amazing reviews of the King Arthur Flour Fudge Brownies. So, I decided to give this recipe a go for our Sunday family night dinner. When they came out of the oven, I threw a few chocolate chips on top and the warmth of the fresh baked brownies was enough to melt them enough to be spread into a smooth topping with an offset spatula. So, they looked pretty darn pretty! But to be honest, I was a little disappointed. The edges were SO CHEWY that we had to throw them away. But the inside slices were pretty good... Nice and fudgy. I might have preferred the brownies to be a little bit MORE cakey. It was SO fudgy and creamy that it was almost like biting into a slice of fudge.
But judging from the 120+ Positive reviews on King Arthur's website, perhaps something went wrong for me. I might give it a try again and see if it comes out any better. Don't get me wrong, they weren't bad! In fact, I'm sure the family will have no problem gobbling them all up! But I'm just sayin'... I've had better. I followed along with the pictures and instructions from the KA Baker's Banter Blog. The only thing I did differently was to do the butter-sugar heating in the top of a double boiler, rather than the microwave. I DID notice that my chocolate-egg mixture was considerably thicker than theirs looked. Perhaps I'll try again next time with the microwave method.
*** Post Update!! After a re-taste later, these brownies turned out to be quite yummy. Sorry I was so quick to judge you, little chocolately fudgy brownies! ***







Please see King Arthur Flour's website for the Fudge Brownie Recipe, since I didn't really make any changes to it.

PS - Please make sure to check out my super-cool apron if you haven't yet. :) [shameless promotionnnnnn]
PPS - Just wanted to make a shout-out to Karen who purchased one. Hope you're enjoying it, Karen!!

13 comments:

Megan said...

Wow! Those brownies look great - too bad you weren't impressed with them.

And that coffee slushy - sounds perfect for a hot day.

Patrizia said...

Not a stretch, it makes a lot of sense because life is similar to desserts sometimes, hehe. It's just too bad the brownies didn't taste fantastic.

My favorite brownies are Martha Stewart's Fudgy Brownies.

Donna-FFW said...

The thought of the coffee slushy along with your rave review is making me bookmark this immediately. I love a coffee flavored dessert.

Your brownies look picture perfect, too bad they weren't up to par!

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

That's so weird that these didn't turn out for you - these are pretty much my favorite brownies! I added mint chips and peppermint extract and they were fantastic! At least you enjoyed your slushie! It looks great!

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Pontch said...

Your brownies look amazing.
its looks so chocolaty and yummy..

Ingrid_3Bs said...

What a jerk!

I've gotta say the brownies DO look awful good! And to be honest so does the coffee slushy. I don't drink coffee but my honey does and will have to give this a try for him.
~ingrid

Anonymous said...

YOur brownies look perfect! And please pour me a coffee slushy. YUM.

Unknown said...

The KAF brownies are my favorite. Although I noticed on their website the brownie bite recipe calls for a tablespoon of espresso powder while the regular brownie one calls for a teaspoon. I use a tablespoon. I also cook them on a baking sheet so they are thinner. When I make them they don't look quite as dense as yours do, but if you like cake-like brownies then I can understand why you wouldn't like them. And I agree, being rich does not give you a license to be rude.

RecipeGirl said...

Droooool! The brownies look entirely wonderful... it's too bad they weren't a hit. Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies are my fave brownie recipe so far. They're forgiving, and you can add-in goodies without trouble.

Q. said...

Those are my kinda brownies - I like them fudgy and dense. (Sometimes I wonder why I bake them at all...I might as well just eat raw better:) Glad they ended up redeeming themselves.
Coffee Slushy looks amazing!!!

Karen said...

Wow - my own personal shout out! I'm honored! The apron is too cute, Stephanie! I can't wait to use it this weekend! All of your "followers" should order one! :)

eat the daisies said...

I just made the coffee slushie. Well, actually, I just put it in the fridge to chill. I used soymilk, though. It looks delicious, I can't wait until it's ready.

Anonymous said...

If I was Mr RichRudeMan, I'd be glad for an employee who double-checked if I had so bleepin' much money in your bank. I cannot stand that kind of arrogance. Good job! And on the slushy & brownies too. LOL! I'm incorporating "doodie-head" into my vocabulary now too.

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