S'more Brownies

This is the first time in a long time I went forward with a recipe I made up in my head as I attempted to satisfy my craving for chocolate. My parents also grabbed a huge box of like six Ghirardelli mixes from Costco and I felt the need to do something with it.

The last time I made s'more brownies was in my sophomore year of college to thank a friend of mine for moving a birthday gift to my friend Maria's apartment. It was a heavy af artist's drawer set full of supplies and made of heavy wood and I felt so bad, but it was definitely a good birthday present s/o to Safa for arranging it all and finding it.
(Still can't believe I'm a college graduate because I feel like everyone I see on college campuses looks older than me.)

And of course, my family asked me if the marshmallows were halal after I took it out of the oven. Smh

Here's a video I filmed during the process.

Ingredients:

1. Triple Chocolate Ghirardelli Brownie Mix

2. 1 egg

3. 1/3 cup milk

4. 1/3 cup vegetable oil

5. 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

6. 4 tbsp melted butter

7. 1/2 cup HALAL marshmallows.

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and follow the recipe for the brownie mix. I don't think I've ever made brownies from scratch because the Ghirardelli mix is just too good to beat. Combine milk, oil, egg, and mix together.

2. Use 4 tbsp melted butter to combine with the cracker crumbs as the base of the brownies. Use your fingers and the back of a spoon to set it in place. 

3. Pour the brownie mix evenly into the pan and use a spatula to even it out more so that placing the marshmallows on top will be a smooth process.

4. EVENLY sprinkle marshmallows on top of the brownie mix, and put it in the oven for 40 minutes.

After 15 minutes of baking

2 minutes before baking is finished

5. I didn't wait for it to cool for more than 5 minutes, but I'd suggest a 15 minute cooling period before you dig in. :)

Maple Pumpkin Bread

I know it's almost mid-November, but I finally got around to making a fall-themed dessert. Fall is probably my favorite season despite the anxiety I have attached to this time of the year. I finally gathered the strength to finish a baking project from start to finish and am excited to share the result. Also, at the end of the video is a clip of my cat :)))

Here's a video detailing the recipe from start to finish.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

Instead of using all the ingredients highlighted in brown, I added 4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice powder.

• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, save the paper to grease the pan
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 cups pure pumpkin (one 15 oz. can)

For the maple glaze: I just combined equal amounts of powdered sugar and maple syrup until I reached the optimal amount and consistency. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease two 9” x 5” loaf pans with butter and dust with flour.
2. In a medium-sized bowl: whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until blended. Add egg, maple syrup, and vanilla and continue beating until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin and mix until combined.
4. Change the mixer to the low setting, beat in flour mixture until incorporated.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, stick a toothpick in the middle of the loaf and see if it comes out clean. Let pumpkin bread cool in pan about 10 minutes before removing it onto a wire rack.
6. Pour the maple glaze over the loaves and enjoy.

This image shows how the loaf pan should look after being greased and dusted over with flour, and how the batter should look before you put it in the oven! 

I added walnuts just to give the bread texture. 

Glaze is important

Was super excited to put this apron to use again s/o Saleha :)