Oh My! Chai

Last year I had my first Chai Tea Latte and they have quickly become a favorite of mine. Besides being a fabulous Personal Chef, my friend Leslie is also a Tastefully Simple representative. One of my favorite Tastefully Simple products is their Oh My! Chai tea mix. It's a great alternative to a $4 cup at a coffee place.

Our friends Erin and Scooter had their son baptised yesterday (and I stupidly forgot my camera... he may just be the cutest baby on the planet). After the baptism they had a small open house and I decided I wanted to bring a sweet over to their house. Brownies sounded like a good idea and to spice them up I added some Oh My! Chai mix to them. They were delicious! The hint of Chai Tea was perfect. I'll definitely make these again.

Chai Tea Brownies
Adapted From: Hershey's Best Brownies


Ingredients
:1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4tbsp Oh My! Chai tea mix

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, tea mixture, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle additional Chai mixture on top.

Perfectly Perfect

Perfectly chocolate, perfectly moist, perfectly simple.....perfectly prefect. These babies most definitely live up to their name:

Hershey's Best Brownies
Source: hersheys.com



Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional) I decided to add Heath Bits instead
CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING(recipe follows) omitted this, these are are plenty good on their own!


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Prepare CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING; spread over brownies. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.

CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. About 1 cup frosting.

Brownies

Even though my picture for these brownies isn't very good, they are pretty tasty. Lately I've been on a brownie kick. I haven't blogged about any of the recipes yet because my pictures never turn out any good. I'm not real sure why I decided to blog about this, but I am.

I made these tonight b/c I was certain my cookie carnival recipe was going to be a huge flop. Luckily I was wrong and now I have two very tasty treats in my house. These aren't the best brownies I've ever made, but still good. I'd give them a 7.

Coconutty M&M's Brownie
Source: The Cookie Bible



Ingredients:

6 squares (1-ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate I used 4 oz semisweet 2 oz bittersweet
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups "M&M's" Chocolate Mini Baking Bits, divided
Coconut Topping (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly greased 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan.
2. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate, sugar, and butter over low heat; stir constantly until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl beat eggs, oil, and vanilla; stir in chocolate mixture until well blended.
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture.
5. Stir in 1 cup "M&M's" Chocolate Mini Baking Bits. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.
7. Prepare Coconut Topping: Spread over brownies; sprinkle with remaing 1/2 cup "M&M"s" Chocolate Mini Baking Bits. Cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container.

Yields: 16 brownies

Coconut Topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
3/4 cup chopped pecans1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare Coconut Topping:

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and corn syrup; stir constantly until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in remaining ingredients. Spread over brownies. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup "M&M's" Chocolate Mini Baking Bits.