Brownies

The trick to heavy, fudgy brownies is to use chocolate, not loads of cocoa powder. Making chocolate is a sensitive chemistry the chocolatiers perfect, and it should not be replaced with cocoa powder. IF you choose to replace it, you will end up with chocolate cake, and not brownies. This recipe calls for only 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder. The picture above is kinda dark because my current camera sucks. Im in the process of getting a better photo camera, so that I my pics will have better definition of texture without all the reflective glare (seen in the pictures below).

The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of butter, but I used 1/4 cup oil + 1/4 cup applesauce instead. I didnt compensate for the extra moisture from the applesauce in my baking time, so they turned out a tad undercooked. In the picture above, they were cooked for exactly 30 minutes. Next time I will cook for 40 minutes. Aside from that, the texture and flavor are great. They cut nicely and are not cakey at all.

Fudgy Brownies
6 oz Semisweet Chocolate
1/4 cup Oil
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 cup Sugar
3 Large Eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup Flour
1/4 tsp salt

1) Melt chocolate with oil in a mixing dish over a pot of simmering water.
2) With a wisk, stir in cocoa powder and sugar.
3) Beat in eggs, applesauce, and vanilla.
4) Stir in with a spoon: flour and salt. Do not over-stir.
5) Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes in an 8x8 pan.
6) Cool, cut, and enjoy.

Baby Apple Pies

The crust comes out nice and flakey. It tastes really good, but next time I will see if I can cut half the oil but substituting applesauce. I will also crumble the pieces of crust on top, instead of making little domes like I did in the pictures above.
Baby Apple Pies
Crust:
3 cups white flour
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp soy milk- Silk
1 cup Vegetable Oil
Filling:
4 apples, peeled, and chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

1) Mix flour sugar and Salt.
2) Beat soy milk and oil in a cup. Add to flour.
3) Make dough ball.
4) Press dough into large muffin tins.
5) Mix filling.
6) Fill tins a bit over the rim. Place any extra dough on top.
7) Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dairy Free Sinful Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup Vegetable Shortening
3/4 Cup Brown sugar
3/4 Cup White sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs
8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

1) Mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
2) Beat together shortening, sugars, and vanilla.
3) Beat in eggs.
4) Slowly add flour and mix in chocolate chips with a spoon.
5) Bake at 375F for 10-14 minutes.
Note: Do not over bake. Pull out of the oven as soon as they start to change color. They will finish cooking as they cool off. I like to bake them on a piece of foil over a cookie sheet. Then I let them cool off on that foil on the counter before I plate them.
Yeild: about 32 cookies: if you dont eat all the dough first.

Perfect Carrot Cake Muffins

I found this recipe on SparksRecipes website. It was perfect. It needs no oil or butter, and is great for people who cant have dairy. There is no need for frosting because they are perfectly sweetened.

Perfect Carrot Muffins
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2/3 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1) Mix together dry ingredients. Set aside.
2) Beat together wet ingredients in a cup. Stir in applesauce.
3) Add shredded carrot to dry ingredients and mix well.
4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix till moistened. Do not beat or over mix the batter.
5) Pour into greased muffin cups and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. I got 6 large muffins from this batch

Elegant French Bread

French Bread
5-6 Cups White Flour
3 Tsp yeast (or 2 1/2 packages active dry yeast)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups warm water
1 egg white
1 Tbsp water
cornmeal-to sprinkle

1) In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour, yeast, and salt.
With a wisk, beat in warm water.
2) With a wooden spoon, mix in additional 3 cups of flour.
3) Kneed dough on a lightly floured surface with additional flour (up to 1 cup, if needed).
4) Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes (During cold months, I usually preheat my oven to 200F and turn it off. Then I set the dough to rise there).

5) Punch dough down, separate into two balls, cover, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
6) Grease a pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. In a small bowl, beat egg white and water. Preheat oven to 375F.
7) Roll each ball out into a rectangle, Roll up the rectangles and pinch ends in.

8) Place dough on a greased pan sprinkled with cornmeal.
9) Cover and let rise for 30 more minutes in a warm place.

10) Cut 3-4 diagonal slices on each loaf and brush on egg white.Bake for 20 min, brush more egg on, and bake for another 15-20 minutes.