Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Thank heavens.

• 6 oz. low-fat vanilla yogurt (or greek yogurt – do not use fat free)
• 1/4 cup skim milk (or almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 and 1/4 cup sugar, divided (no substitutions)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 Tbsp reduced fat cream cheese, softened (no substitutions)
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 8×8 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Place yogurt, milk, egg, salt, baking powder, 1 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and oats into a blender. (Yes, a blender!) For easier blending, place the liquid ingredients into the blender first. Blend until mix is smooth and oats are ground up. You will have to stop the blender and scrape down the sides a few times. Batter will be thin.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish.  Prepare the pumpkin filling by mixing together pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup sugar, cream cheese, and spices. Drop filling by spoonfuls onto the batter, swirling gently with a knife to create a marbled effect. (Try not to overmix!)
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Brownies will be extra fudgy, so be sure to wait until COMPLETELY cooled – I stuck mine in the refrigerator for 1 hour, which allowed them to be cut very easily.
Cut into 12 squares.  I enjoy mine cold and suggest storing in the refrigerator.

Source: sallysbakingaddiction.com

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge

makes 36 fudge squares

 

For Cookie Dough

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, soften to room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp half-and-half (or milk or cream)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For Fudge

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup half-and-half (or milk or cream)
• 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line 8×8 square baking pan with aluminom foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
For the Cookie Dough, combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand or handheld mixer.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Mix in vanilla, salt, and half-and-half.  Add flour and mix until just combined.  Do NOT overmix.
To prepare the fudge base, combine brown sugar, butter, salt, and half-and-half in a medium saucepan.  Stir over medium-low heat until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat. Slowly stir in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until mixture is smooth and sugar is incorporated throughout.  Stir in vanilla.  Add more confectioners’ sugar if desired.  The more powdered sugar you add, the thicker, firmer, and sweeter the fudge will be. I used 5 cups.
Add cookie dough to the fudge base and stir to combine.  At this point, the mixture should have cooled to room temperature.  If not, continue to stir until it is no longer warm to the touch.  Fold in mini chocolate chips and spread fudge into prepared baking pan.  Chill until set, about 3-4 hours.  Cut into squares and enjoy!
*Fudge will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.

Source: sallysbakingaddiction.com

4-Minute Chocolate Mousse

Okay, this one's Chef Ramsay's recipe so of course I need to keep it. Here it goes:

Ingredients
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) broken up into pieces -
300ml double cream
50g caster sugar
1 large egg white
chocolate shavings, to garnish
2 tbsp Amaretto or other liqueur (optional)

if you are not able to acquire pasteurized eggs, or are concerned about having an egg white in the recipe, try substituting in meringue powder!

From user HollyMeeker:

• 2 teaspoons Wilton Meringue Powder
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1/4 cup super fine sugar (Use the recipe's suggestion to make the granulated sugar fine.)

In a large bowl, combine meringue powder, water and 1/4 cup minus 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Whip at high speed for 5 minutes. (A stand mixer makes this whole process much easier.)

Gradually add the rest of sugar and continue whipping at high speed for 5 minutes until meringue is stiff and dry. Makes the the equivalent of one egg white.

Use according to your recipe. Meringue powder can be used to replace egg whites in your recipe if egg white is beaten with sugar before adding to ingredients.

Just a note: Chefs say that using a copper bowl to beat egg whites will make them higher and lighter.

It's difficult to chronicle the order of events. Angry Chef recommends this step before the next, but I prefer them in reverse order. I'll let you make up your own mind about it.

• Break the chocolate into small pieces and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat half of the cream until it begins to boil

Note: this happens faster if you preheat the saucepan before adding the cream

• Turn off the heat, add the chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl set over a large bowl of iced water and add the rest of the cream and Amaretto, if using.
• Using a hand-held electric whisk, beat the mixture to soft peaks. Remove the bowl from the iced water.

• Separate egg white into a bowl
• Whisk the egg white with a hand-held electric beater until stiff peak.
• Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue whisking to a soft meringue.

• Carefully fold the meringue through the chocolate mixture, then spoon or pipe into chilled serving glasses.
• Top with chocolate shavings or cookies or mint sprigs!
• Try not to eat the whole thing at once or you may require a trip to hospital

With enough practice (and believe me, once you try this, you'll be more than willing to Try, Try Again!), I'm sure you can pare this process down to four minutes. But for the first time, maybe cut yourself a break and allow at least 10!

This is even better after chilling!

These looks good, must try this as soon as possible. Like right now lol..enjoy!

Loves,
Mochiposh