TwD: Expresso Cheesecake Brownies

This week's pick by Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell is....Expresso Cheesecake Brownies! Sound overloaded and completely rich??? It is...and then some. I have to say that this sort of brownie is right up my mom's alley. She downs at least one French press of coffee a day and has always had a weakness for cheesecake that leaves me with a stomach ache. I can eat copious amounts of almost any confection...cheesecake being on the limited edition list. So while I enjoyed these, I leave the real yay or nay to my mom, who enjoyed them muchly. We both agreed with other TWD bakers in thinking the brownie a little dry. However, the second day the brownie wasn't as dry, and was a nice, solid base for the cheesecake. Quite a structural piece. I love the marbled top. It seems so promising. I cut one row of brownies while the brownies were still warm, and the cheesecake cut much better - after cooling, they stuck to the knife and I ended up eating an entire brownie top while "cleaning the knife."

TwD: Applesauce Spice Bars

Thanks to Karen of Something Sweet by Karen for the pick this week! These bars are definitely a little taste of fall.

These were very moist and even better the next day. I scraped the bowl after the batter went in the pan...and after the glaze went on. Brown sugar, butter, and cream! Did burn my tongue a bit though. These were so moist that little chunky bits of raisin and pecan and apple fell out through the cooling rack. More treats for the cook! It's like the crunchy bits of fried food - it's the best part and it doesn't count if no one sees you snag it.

TwD: Brownie Buttons

So I've been M.I.A. lately, mostly because I've been busy getting out of MIA...moving. Ah moving. The excitement of an adventure and a move to the next big thing, and the sadness of leaving behind good friends and good times. Mostly I'm excited, though moving can be a bit tiring. Which is one reason why this week's recipe chosen by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen was perfect. It was easy, miniature, and yummy. I thought the brownies were a bit dry but Mom and Sister loved them. I skipped the orange zest (for lack thereof) and am thinking it might have helped after reading Jayma's blog. I also skipped the white chocolate topping (for the same reason as the orange zest) and replaced is with a German chocolate-esque caramel coconut glaze. Some of the brownies got crowned with an almond, and after trying both, they all got stuck with one. These little addictive brownies were too poppable to stay around long. Thankfully, I only made half a recipe that gave me 12 little brownie buttons.

Oh, and I love the name Brownie Buttons. I think Dorie must have fun with the names sometimes.

Coconut Topping

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup sweetened coconut

Heat butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla over medium-low heat until boiling. Stir frequently and boil rapidly. The color will appear lighter. Add the coconut and continue to boil until it returns to a rapid, frothy boil. Continue to boil until it thickens slightly. Spread over cooled brownie buttons. The topping with hardened slightly after cooling, but will remain gooey.