Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 20, 2009
Kay’s Cooking Corner
Kay Bona
The season for giving is here. As if there should be a season for that! That thought aside,
during the months of November and December when both Thanksgiving and Christmas are being celebrated, people typically share more of themselves and their money to friends, family, churches, schools or even at work.
Well, Don and I visited the new Williams-Sonoma store thisweekend, and let me tell you—they are making it really,
really easy to give of yourself, financially anyway!
In fact, that whole new shopping center, a very nice and interesting place, is all about spending! And I’m sure that even if you can’t find what you want for that someone special, you will, no doubt, be able to find something for yourself.
However, Williams-Sonoma is a cook’s dream! And even if you aren’t necessarily a good cook, there are plenty of boxed mixes and demonstrations to remedy that problem. With the offerings they provide, Don, who doesn’t even know where the coffee cups are kept in our kitchen, could
fool someone. (Other than me!)
When Don and I were in San Francisco last year, we visited a Williams-Sonoma store located downtown that was three stories tall. And there were cooking demonstrations on every floor. Seriously, they have the answer to most of your cooking dilemmas, only be sure and bring your wallet!
Well, I don’t have a boxed mix to offer you in the recipe below, but it is fairly easy from scratch, even for a beginning cook. It is a really good dessert to make and give to someone
special, use for a fall bake sale or just as a dessert after your fabulous holiday meal.
They have black and white layers of chocolate and vanilla—they are dotted with both white chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. They are very rich, so cut them into smaller
portions than normal.
Chocolate Fantasy Brownies
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed
light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoon baking
powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup unsweetened
cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate
chip
1 cup pecan pieces
Topping:
6 ounces semi-sweet
chocolate
1 tablespoon shortening
(not butter or margarine)
Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 13x9 baking pan with non-stick foil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder
and salt.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add flour, half at a time, to creamed butter mixture, mixing until thoroughly combined. Beat in sour cream and pecans pieces. Mixture will be very thick. Divide mixture in half.
In another bowl, blend together cocoa powder and melted butter. Stir into one half the flour mixture. Spread evenly in foil-lined pan baking pan. Press white chocolate chips onto top of the chocolate layer.
Carefully spoon remaining white batter on top of chocolate layer and gently spread to cover with a spatula, taking care not to disrupt chocolate layer. Sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate chips on top and press gently into dough.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes in center of the oven. Cool on a rack to room temperature.
For the topping, melt 6 ounces chocolate with 1 tablespoon shortening in microwave until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Gently spread melted chocolate over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to set the chocolate.
Cut into bars. Store leftovers in covered container. About 24 large or 36 small bars.
|
|