Eight years have passed since I shared one of my signature recipes: it is time to revisit Cadbury Egg Brownies.
These homemade brownies taste like the Cadbury Eggs I was obsessed with as a kid. If you’re not familiar with this candy, it features a hollow chocolate egg the size of a real large chicken egg. Inside is a gooey super-sweet filling that is white and yellow to simulate the white and yolk of a real egg.
These special brownies are not hard to make; if you can make brownies from scratch, you can do this recipe. There is some extra planning involved, though, as the layers must be worked on in spurts, with chilling time in between.
Truly, these Cadbury Egg Brownies are a showstopper recipe. They look cool. They taste amazing. Keep in mind that this recipe makes a lot, so do make sure you’re sharing these with a crowd.
These Cadbury Egg Brownies taste like the candy, but better, as the brownie base balances with the acute sweetness of the top layers. This recipe produces a full 13×9 pan of goodness; make this to share with a crowd!
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: bars, brownies, chocolate
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
9×13 pan
aluminum foil or parchment paper
uneven spatula
microwave safe bowl or double boiler
Ingredients
For Brownies:
1 1/3cupall-purpose flour
1/4cupcocoa powdersifted
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonespresso powderoptional
12ouncesmilk chocolatechopped
1cupunsalted butter(2 sticks) cut into cubes
1/2cupwhite sugar
1cuplight brown sugarpacked
4large eggsroom temperature, lightly beaten
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
For Cream Filling:
1/2cuplight corn syrup
4tablespoonsunsalted butter(half stick) room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/4teaspoonsalt
3cupsconfectioners' sugarsifted
yellow food coloring gel
For Glaze:
8ouncesmilk chocolatechopped
4Tablespoonsunsalted butterhalf stick, cut into cubes
Instructions
Brownie stage
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, making sure to overlap the sides to create handles. Cover with nonstick spray.
Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt (and espresso powder, if using) in a small bowl and set aside.
Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or in slow increments in microwave. Stir until smooth. Whisk in sugars and stir until dissolved and mixture has cooled slightly, then add eggs and vanilla extract until just combined.
Fold together the chocolate and flour mixes until just incorporated. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Cream filling stage
Beat together corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed until smooth. Add powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, mixing until creamy.
Dump 3/4 of the cream mixture on top of cooled brownies and spread into an even layer. Add a drop of yellow food coloring gel to remaining cream mixture and stir until evenly colored. Drop dollops of yellow cream on top of white layer, and then swirl gently with a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.
Glaze stage
Slowly melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler or microwave bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour over cream filling, carefully spreading into a thin, even layer.
Chill in the fridge long enough for the chocolate to not quite harden, 15-20 minutes, OR let it chill for several hours and then let set at room temperature for about 15 minutes. The chocolate needs to be soft enough to cut through without cracking, but not soft enough to smear with each cut.
Use the foil/paper to lift the entire block out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, cut into 2-inch squares. Keep in sealed container in fridge; brownies will keep upward of a week.
These Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies taste eerily like birthday cake. They are super-sweet, vivid in flavor and color.
I confess, I love rainbow sprinkles. They are just so FUN. They are so easy to customize, too. Go classical just-because, or to celebrate pride. Or use colors of a favorite team, or to designate a certain holiday.
Note that the cookie dough here needs to chill for at least a few hours, but can also wait in the fridge for a couple days. I think this dough is a great one to make ahead to spare yourself some extra effort on baking day!
These super-sweet cookies really do taste like a cookie version of birthday cake! Note that the dough needs to chill prior to baking.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: cookies, sprinkles
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
plastic wrap
parchment paper
cookie scoop or spoon
Ingredients
1cupunsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
1 1/2cupswhite sugar
2large eggs room temperature
1Tablespoonvanilla extract
1/2teaspoonsalmond extract
2 1/4cupsall-purpose flour
3/4cupbread flour
2teaspoonsbaking powder
2teaspoonsbaking soda
2teaspoonscream of tartar
1teaspoonkosher salt
2tablespoonsmilk or half & half
1cuprainbow sprinkles plus 1/2 cup for topping
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat butter and white sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla and almond extracts.
In another bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture along with the milk. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make certain everything is incorporated. Fold in the sprinkles.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and set to chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
When it is baking time, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Place the topping sprinkles in a small bowl.
Shape the cookies by using a scoop or a spoon. Dip the top of each round into the sprinkles. Set spaced out on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until set. Let them rest on the sheet about 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Pack into a sealed container and store at room temperature.
These Roasted Cherry Brownies are thick, soft, and cakey, the strong chocolate flavor complemented by cherries in most every bite.
I looked to two older recipes of mine for inspiration as I came up with a new recipe: Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Brownies and a Roasted Cherry Brownies version I did on the original LiveJournal Bready or Not.
The result of this combo? Lush brownies that are the perfect melding of chocolate and cherry. This may become your new favorite brownie recipe.
Sugary roasted cherries take these brownies to the next level! These are truly indulgent.
Course: Dessert
Keyword: brownies, cherries, chocolate
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
rimmed cookie sheet
cherry pitter
9×13 dish
aluminum foil
uneven spatula
Ingredients
Cherries
2cupsfresh red cherries
3Tablespoonswhite sugar
Brownie Batter
3/4cupunsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
8ouncesdark chocolate
1 1/2cupsall-purpose flour
1/2cupcocoa powder sifted
1/2teaspoonsalt
2cupswhite sugar
6large eggs room temperature
1 1/2cupssemisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips or a mix
Instructions
Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Wash and pit cherries, then cut them in half. Place on rimmed cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and stir. Roast for 10 minutes then remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325.
In a large microwave-safe bowl or in a pot on the stovetop, melt together the butter and dark chocolate until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Line a 9×13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
Return to the large container with the melted butter and chocolate. Stir in the white sugar until no pale streaks remain. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Gradually fold in the dry ingredients until no white is visible. Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips and most of the cherries.
Pour batter into the prepared dish. Use an uneven spatula to spread it into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate and cherries over the top.
Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Set on a rack to cool for at least an hour, speeding process in fridge if desired. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board to slice up. Store in a sealed container at room temperature. Keeps for at least 3 days.
Four of my poems were nominated for the Rhysling Award long list! A jury will decide the finalists from here. This is the first year that the Hugo Awards have a poetry category, and I’m hopeful that people will consider these already-recognized poems for that award as well.