Dessert is Served!

I wasn't sure what to write about today. Not much happened other than going to Mayo Clinic for Paul's blood transfusions and oh yeah, I may have sorta committed to learning how to ride a Harley. Mostly because people laughed when Paul told them I was going to. Now, I think I shall learn.

Anyway, not what this post is about.

 It's about Dessert!!!

(As suggested by my friend, Julie, on Facebook.)

 Being diabetic, I relish desserts. I savor them. I eat desert way more often than I should. But I appreciate them.

To start out, I'm going to tell you about a good, lowfat choice that's easy!

Weight Watchers Fruit Dip

Low fat Cool Whip

Strawberry Yogurt

That's it. Buy them both, mix them together. We don't dip fruit in it around here. We eat it with a spoon. Bam! dessert. You can add miniature marshmallows if you want to be a fancy pants and your kids haven't left the bag of Jet Puffs open making them crusty and unusable. (I may have some experience with this.)

Okay, on to the good stuff. Along with not caring so much about sugar, fat doesn't matter that much either. And this is where I'm going to start munching on baby carrots in effort to not make the box of brownie mix in the cupboard. Speaking of....

BROWNIES!!!!!

Not just brownies, Extreme Brownies!

Here's a brief history on brownies: I have no idea. Here's my brief history with brownies. My best friend in high school, Marianne, and I were at her (my?) house and had yet to go to bed so we went to the kitchen and made brownies. At two a.m. Actually, we laughed and talked and ate most of the batter then made brownies, but it became both a sleepover tradition and an inside joke between us. I still eat too much of the batter prior to pouring it in the pan. I now compensate by making two boxes or use a smaller pan, as well as think about Marianne.

When I Googled Most Pinned Desserts, the brownies pictured above came up as well as the website they came from called Buns In My Oven & Not the Baby Kind. She admits she prefers box mix brownies. I have to admit I prefer them as well. The kind that comes in the red box. Betty Crocker, I'm pretty sure. Pillsbury is in a blue box and I tend to stay far, far away from anything that says Duncan Hines, so yes, I prefer Betty Crocker brownie mix. (I am still munching on carrots, btw)

When I'm in town tomorrow, I'm gonna get the ingredients to make these bad boys. I'll have to research where to get the espresso powder, probably HyVee since they like to carry more specialized products, and I DEFINITELY want a bit of a coffee flavor to them.

Good Ol' Homemade Brownies

Ingredients:                                                          

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.
Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until well combined.
Spread into prepared pan (batter will be very thick and sticky) and bake for about 30 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked. Cool on a wire rack.

recipe from King Arthur Flour

NOW, this little missy genious cooking buns girl amps these up a bit and  AHHH (Imagine light shining from Heaven and soprano angels singing) We get these:

Brookies, Buckeye Brownies and Cookie Dough Brownies

Click here  for her instructions and recipes!

(Carrot sticks, Sarah, carrot sticks)

One desert that isn't for me? Ice Cream. I don't like ice cream.

Cookies!!!!

I'm not going to give you any cookie recipes, I'm going to tell you about my friend, Mary, and her cookies. They're delicious. They're Beautiful!!!!!

Not only are they delicious and beautifaul, all proceeds go to a good cause. Check out Mary's Cookiepalooza Facebook Page.

(If you don't understand how imbedded links work, click Facebook Page to get to Mary)

Well, my brownies are done. I mean, my carrots are gone, so I'll catch you all tomorrow for another Duck Dynasty Robertson Family Reveals!

(No carrots were harmed nor eaten during the making of this blog)