Before I get into the brownies, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend like I did. My parents and brother were here and I couldn’t have asked for a better time with them and the rest of the family. My mother-in-law and father-in-law gave me a new camera and I can’t wait to start using it. I got some of the most thoughtful gifts from my husband and sister-in-law. I have to share them with you, their gifts made me cry.
My wonderful husband worked together with his cousins to get this for me. His cousins are very talented and do beautiful embroidery work. I now have an apron and an awesome tote with my website name and url embroidered on it. As soon as I opened it I started to tear up. The thought put behind it meant more than the gift itself.
My sister-in-law and her husband gave me the next most thoughtful gift. A recipe book that has some of my recipes and family photos all through it.
She did a beautiful job on it, which I’m not surprised. The girl is a scrapbook professional!
There was one page that made me cry like a baby. For years I have been bugging my mother and my Aunt for my great-grandmother’s pierogi recipe. I had never gotten a copy of it. Christmas Eve I find that my mother and Mandi have been talking and she had the recipe printed in the book. I can’t even begin to explain how much that has meant to me.
The final gift was passed on to me from my mom. She developed her fudge recipe about 25 years ago. I have only made it once or twice in my life because it was always my mom’s fudge and it just tasted better when she made it. She has given me everything she ever uses for making the fudge. She gave me the pot, candy thermometer and most of the ingredients needed. My dad wrote a beautiful poem about how this will be passed to me and then onto my kids.
Thank you to all my family who made this a memorable Christmas. I love you all!
Were you wanting a recipe for these yummy looking brownies?
I made the brownies for the huge Christmas Eve gathering we had. My husband’s family is really big and every Christmas Eve everyone gathers in one place. I wanted something special for the evening and I turned to Ina Garten. I took Ina’s outrageous brownies recipe and kicked it up a bit. I added white chocolate chips to the brownies as soon as they came out of the oven. I let the chocolate chips sit on the hot brownies for a few minutes to melt. I then took an off-set spatula and spread the white chocolate all over and added the crushed candy cane. I honestly think the brownies tasted better the next day. These would be great for a New Years Eve party!
Outrageous Brownies with Crushed Candy Canes
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 6 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 11.5 oz bags white chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
- 34 mini candy canes, crushed (place them in a ziplock bag and lightly pound them till crushed)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.
- Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature
- In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Remove from oven and add the white chocolate chips evenly on top of the brownies. After 4 minutes, or until the white chocolate is soft, spread the white chocolate evenly over the top of the brownies. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly on top.
- Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut.
Slightly Adapted from Ina Garten via Food Network
