February 2017 – Luv Cooks

Brownie Recipe Round-up + 5 Fridge Must-Haves!

Brownie Prep! — Brownie shot from Food Faith Fitness blog!

Lovelies!

Today is a fantastic day. You know why? Because, BROWNIE RECIPES! As you know, I share a deep, deep love for brownies, wish they were a part of the food pyramid (*awkward! I realized this no longer exists, hah, as you can see in my Luv Cooks video for the week) and I have a unique ability (some say it could be considered an athletic ability) to relentlessly daydream about recipes. Caramel, pecan, peanut butter, spicy chili, coconut, dark chocolate, cookie dough- name the add-in, I’ll eat it. Well, unless it contains cricket flour. But that’s for a whole other discussion.

Rest assured that none of this week’s recipes involve cricket flour-and oh my geez MY STOMACH IS GROWLING thinking about these!!

Coconut Almond Skillet Paleo Brownies– WHAT?!! Do you SEE these photos? I am seriously going to make a surface like that as soon as I can. Stunning! And how cute is Taylor?!

2. Bailey’s Brownies– I am a sucker for Bailey’s, and that cream layer on the top?! Dreamy! This recipe and photo from Spend with Pennies looks delicious!

3. Yammie’s Flourless Crunch Marshmallow Brownies I was literally so excited about these brownies that I clicked to open them three times from Pinterest. They have: peanut butter, Rice Krispies, chocolate, marshmallows, more marshmallows…

4. Salted Caramel Brownies– My mouth is now watering. Something Swanky is the cutest site! Full of so much color, fun, and mad dessert love. My kind of gal!

5. Tiramisu Brownies: You had me at COFFEE BROWNIES! These photos and recipe by Broma Bakery are so beautiful, so lovely, and so perfect for breakfast. And dessert. And a snack. And really anytime you feel you need a tiramisu brownie.

Also this week- The 5 Things I Keep in My Fridge!! Because who doesn’t like to spy in other people’s refrigerators? **

**Note: Cleary there is often MORE than five things in my fridge. Especially if I am prepping for a food shoot (normally I am banging my head against a shelf in my freezer during that time; Lord send us a double fridge!). But on a weekly basis, Jake and I have developed some staples that keep us going and on a (somewhat) healthy track. After all, what is a routine if you don’t have easy access to coffee bombs?:)

So, here’s our list in a non-video form:

Almond milk: I love unsweetened vanilla almond milk! I drink it all the time with cookies; add it to my cereal, and smoothies, and to powdered peanut butter. I also sometimes substitute the unsweetened original flavor for dairy in soups! It’s a good swap if you need it. We buy ours in the three-pack from Costco.
Yogurt: Whole milk, plain yogurt has become a fridge staple for us. I love Stonyfield Organic whole milk yogurt and my current FAVE thing to do with yogurt is stir in some powdered or regular peanut butter, cocoa powder, a bit of stevia and cinnamon, and voila! It’s like a pseudo peanut butter cup.
Green apples: Green apples cold from the fridge are the best! I chop them up, toss them with cinnamon, add them to oatmeal, dip them in peanut butter- lots of fiber and possibilities there.
Eggs: We also get a 24 count flat of these from Costco! My favorite use is to soft-boil them. Just lower eggs into boiling water, cover, and then take your pot off the heat for about 8 minutes. Rinse the eggs under cold running water and peel. The centers are beautifully runny and fabulous on toast and in broth or with Asian food.

5. Coffee bombs: Y’all know how passionate I am about Ladybird Provisions and their coffee bombs. They are a part of my coffee routine on the daily and I try to always have stacks of them in the fridge! The smoothie above was made with a coffee bomb in it:)

Happy weekend everyone! May your tummies, and fridges, stay full!

Peanut Butter Swirl GF Brownies + Baking in a Cast Iron Skillet

Morning my lovelies!

I hope your week has been full of joy and fabulousness. Mine has been a bit crazy, as my husband threw his back out yesterday, our dog had to go to the vet and have an X-RAY OF HIS STOMACH because he swallowed our bathroom drain, my husband’s favorite baseball hat, and the back end of two of my razors, and our dishwasher almost fell out of the wall.

Yep! I know what you are thinking, bless our hearts! Praise the Lord we made it!

Now, as part of this month’s one recipe four ways series, it is finally time for me to give you a full-throttle indulgent recipe that is the epitome of comfort food. If you’ve had a stressful week (#puppies #hubbies #life) then this is the PERFECT way to unwind. Baking is my stress therapy, and these brownies, along with a glass of white wine and Jane the Virgin episodes- that’s a pretty perfect wind down on a Friday night.

Also this week I discovered the awesomeness of BAKING in my cast iron skillet. Cue childhood drama and/or a bit of a back story on my relationships with cast iron skillets:

Growing up in the South, one’s relationship with the cast iron skillet was, and still is, a status symbol. Inevitably, you invite your neighbor/Southern friend over to eat at your house and, very politely, albeit inconspicuously, said person would start to wander around your kitchen, eying your cookware, looking for your skillet- only to judge it’s state of readiness to fry a piece of bacon or chicken at a moment’s notice. Seasoned and ready to go? You obviously know your way around a biscuit.

Rusted and/or hidden from site? Good luck with your future.

But a great cast-iron skillet is a bit like having a puppy. It requires a good amount of care, training, and persistence to function at peak performance.*

CUE Bigbsy (our puppy) and I’s YouTube video here!

That’s why baking in a cast iron skillet is pure brilliance. I first learned about all the reasons why this is awesome from Serious Eats‘ J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, and his book The Food Lab. This has become my BEST cooking and food styling resource- it is one of the best purchases I’ve made in my career as an at foodie girl boss. I highly recommend it.

Kenji explains that cast iron’s specific heat capacity is lower than aluminum (what some cookware is made of) and because it is so dense you get double the amount of heat retention (for the same size pan). Which means- the pan DOESNT COOL DOWN when you add food to it. Other pans may drop in temperature up to 300 degrees, but cast iron should stay at about it’s original temp. In other words, your cornbread, pies, rolls, even brownies- get a crisp, evenly browned crust around the batter. Also, if you have an ahem, older…. oven like myself it’s ability to maintain heat even when your oven temp fluctuates is awesome. It ensures that even if the temp sways, your dark, fudge brownie crust will not.

These are all great things! However- here is the trick with cast iron. Until a great layer of seasoning has built up in your pan, things (baked goods, eggs, vegetables) will stick to it. So you have to take lots of care, especially when baking, to make sure the surface of your pan is properly greased.

And this leads me to this week’s recipe from @thekitchn. This is why their team knows what they are talking about and are brilliant in baking. They understand a Southerner’s pride in their cast iron skillet and the science of proper lubrication on the cooking surface. In their gluten-free skillet brownies, you melt the butter in the cast iron skillet, THEN use that butter to prepare the pan’s surface and stir into the batter. Perfect.

So, in the spirit of all things warm and Valentinesish (yes, that is a word), I want to encourage you to whip out your cast iron pans this weekend as they are the BEST way to feed your guests a bunch of brownies while they are still hot.

In fact, choose to invite those people over who may be eying your cookware, looking for a skillet. They’ll be surprised to find that you thought ahead- and, at the end of the meal, pulling your skillet brownies out of the oven pretty much qualifies you as a cast iron rock star.

Peanut Butter Swirl Skillet Brownies (adopted a bit from The Kitchn Speculoos-Swirl Brownies)

This brownie is amazing on two levels: first, it utilizes a cast iron skillet for baking, which ensures an evenly crisp brownie crust and fudgy center. Second, the bake time is around the 35 minute mark, and you can wow guests at the end of the meal with a dessert everyone can dive into.

What You Will Need:

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup almond flour, sifted
3/4 cup peanut coffee nut M&M’s (Any M&M will do, but the coffee flavor is fun here. If you are concerned about gluten contamination, you could do the standard M&M just in case!)
2 heaping tablespoons peanut butter (Nutella or almond butter would be awesome too)

What You Will Do:

Melt the butter in an 8- or 9-inch cast iron skillet over a medium heat.

2. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl, leaving a film of butter on the pan (make sure you swirl the butter around in the pan to evenly coat the surface and a bit of the sides).

3. Whisk the cocoa powder into the bowl with the butter. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.

4. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then sift in almond flour through a strainer (this avoids lumps). Whisk well. Fold in the M&M’s.

5. Pour the batter into the pre-greased cast iron skillet.

6. Melt the peanut butter on high for 30 seconds; stir, then 15 more seconds, until it is runny. Drop dollops of the melted nut butter over the top of the pan, from around the rim to the center of the brownies. Using the pointed tip of a steak knife, gently swirl the speculoos into the brownies, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise, and making swirls too- really any way you feel!

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Test the brownies by inserting the tip of your steak knife into them to make sure the tip comes out clean.

8. Either serve the brownie in scoops to your guests and top with ice cream, or allow to cool completely before cutting into wedges and eating. ENJOY!!!

*This example, and all of the verbiage on cast iron cooking and science, taken from The Food Lab!! Can’t say enough about that book!

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4 Ingredient PALEO Brownies + Brownie Eating Philosophy

It’s Friday, it’s Friday! That is a cause for celebration. And, we get to take the celebration up another notch because YES it’s time for brownie recipe number two!

This week’s brownie recipe is a huge treat because this has been the best way to get me to eat protein powder during the week (in a dessert) and Gimme Delicious, this week’s recipe creator, is a healthy brownie genius.

Did I mention, like her site says, these treats are also gluten-free and vegan? So everyone can get in on the party!

And as some of you know, healthy eating does not come naturally to me. I grew up in a Southern household, which means that the four main food groups were casseroles, pretzel salad (yes, this counted as a vegetable), sausage and/or bacon, and Cocoa Puffs. Those were the glory days.

But now that I am a bit older, I’ve realized that it’s probably better to practice some balance in my everyday life. And for my hubs and I, eating Paleo during the week has been the easiest transition for us. It involves meat, of which I am a fan, and lots of vegetables, of which my hubs is a fan, and sweet potatoes. Which I love. So, it works!

However, we are all for the weekend splurges, so get ready because next week’s recipe is going to be a party in a pan!

But for this week, and the every day, I highly recommend these paleo brownies. They only involve FOUR ingredients (which you probably have in your pantry right now), have a quick bake time, and taste fudgy and nutty, with the addition of the almond butter. I threw a little coarse kosher salt on top for that salty/sweet combo that heightens the cocoa powder flavor.

AND check out this week’s video for my current brownie eating philosophy:

There you have it my loves! Paleo brownies. Next up, the Southern/homestyle/splurge version. Happy weekending!

4 Ingredient Paleo Fudge Brownies from Gimme Delicious

These gluten-free, vegan, and paleo brownies are the closest I have come in gluten-free baking to that cake-y, yet fudgey, consistency I love in a decadent brownie. With only four ingredients (well, five counting the sea salt on top), you probably have all you need in your pantry right now!

What You Will Need:

2 cups mashed banana (about 6 medium, overripe bananas)
1 cup almond or cashew butter
½ cup vegan chocolate protein powder
¼ cup cocoa powder
coarse kosher salt, for topping

What You Will Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a dark metal, 8 by 8 baking dish with olive oil cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas and nut butter and use a fork to whisk until fully combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the protein powder and cocoa powder.
Pour batter into a greased pan, and gently smooth the top with your spatula. Top with a smattering of coarse kosher salt.
Bake for about 25-27 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Cover the leftovers and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I highly suggest enjoying these with a tall glass of vanilla nut milk! Soooo good!!

Month of BROWNIES!! This week: Vegan Chocolate Chip

Y’all!!!

It’s February!! My second favorite month of the year (second only to December=Christmas), which means it’s the time of the year where we ALL get to celebrate my favorite thing in the entire world: love.

That’s right- the mushy, flowery, glittery, pink-red-and-white everything kind. My heart is for celebration and hospitality, and this is the time where we get to take a second, think about the people in our lives we adore, and write their names on Valentines in gold sparkles. It’s the time to bust open the craft kit, pull out that glitter pen, and get to gluing my friends! It’s also time to treat show yourself some love. AND, as I’ll show you this month, with food (my preferred love language) it can look however you choose! Whether it’s vegan, Paleo, Southern/homestyle, or a inspiring list of recipes from the interwebs- you are going to be inspired to get your brownies on.

Let’s also discuss briefly my deep, abiding, let-me-send-you-a-Valentine level of affection for brownies.

Oh brownies. The reasons why I love this dessert could take an entire post, but for your sake’s I’ll keep it short. First, you are made almost entirely of chocolate. More than likely your recipe involves a combination of a few levels of chocolate- a fat (oil, butter, nut butter), cocoa powder (the darker, denser, and higher quality, the better) and a binder of some sort (eggs, flax eggs, bananas, coconut flour), with chocolate chunks either topped or stirred inside. In fact, the simpler, less-ingredient recipes I’ve tried have tended to be my favorites.

And speaking of favorites, this recipe, by Beaming Baker, is one of my favorite vegan brownies. EVER. These dense, chocolate squares have a beautiful balance of texture and richness from the coconut oil and cocoa powder, and a pure level of sweetness from the maple syrup. This recipe also uses flax eggs (Bonzai Aphrodite) and whole wheat flour as the binders, which is super healthy.

Also, y’all- check out her DESSERTS! Oh my gracious, beauties!

So, my loves, my readers, my friends. Enjoy the start to your month of love! I want to hear about all the ways you plan to enjoy it in the comments below:) You can reach me on Facebook and Instagram too.

For me, this week’s love looks like these brownies, a giant glass of cold almond milk, and a lazy Saturday with this book.

Much luv!!

Best Vegan Brownies by Beaming Baker **

This is the best, most fudgey and delicious vegan brownie I’ve EVER tasted!! It’s fantastic, only has a 30 minute bake time, and is pure delight served warm with a cold glass of almond milk.

What You Will Need:

¼ cup natural peanut butter
½ cup organic dark brown sugar or coconut sugar
⅓ cup pure golden maple syrup
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons melted butter flavored coconut oil
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water whisked together, set for at least 15 minutes in the fridge)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
½ cup vegan chocolate chips

What You Will Do:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray an 8×8 dark metal baking pan with olive oil spray.
Prepare your flax eggs by whisking together 2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed and 6 tablespoons water. Cover, and put back in the fridge to set for at least 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and hot, melted coconut oil. Whisk until it resembles caramel (This process is easiest if you do it right when the coconut oil is hot and melted! Otherwise get ready for an arm workout!)
Add cocoa powder in ¼ cup increments, whisking until shiny and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in vanilla extract and salt. Stir just a few times to gently incorporate.
Add flax eggs, whisking until well incorporated. In thirds, whisk in the flour. As the batter gets harder to whisk, switch to folding with a rubber spatula. Fold until well incorporated and no flour patches remain.
Pour batter into pan, and spread to the sides of the pan. Using a rubber spatula, smooth batter into an even layer. Top with chocolate chips.
Bake for 30 mins, or until a knife inserted in the brownies comes out relatively clean. Cool for 1 hour, or until completely cool. (I put mine in the freezer to speed up the process; I couldn’t wait!) ENJOY!!

**This recipe is by Demeter, I just made a few tweaks:)

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