HELP! Another Brownie question

[Alix]

rather than adding more coffee, try adding a teensy pinch of salt to the frosting. That usually pulls all the flavors together in a very good way.

Really? Why? Do you know the science on that one or is it just a TNT tip. (Either way I'm going to try it, but inquiring minds want to know)

 

[pacanis]

I thought that was what MSG was for...

 

[Alix]

I thought that was what MSG was for...

LMAO! I have to spread rep before I give it to you again. Stop making me laugh so much dude!

 

[ChefJune]

Really? Why? Do you know the science on that one or is it just a TNT tip. (Either way I'm going to try it, but inquiring minds want to know)

Because is nature's best flavor enhancer. Not much is needed to make a world of difference.

The salt that there is "too much" of in our food is in processed foods, not mostly the food we make at home.

[Pacanis, I'm not going to countenance your remark with a reply. That stuff is POISON!]

 

[Alix]

Thanks June. I'll give it a go. I'm even going to be empirical in my data collection and do two batches to compare. I'll enlist the aid of our dinner guests and do a blind taste test.

 

[bakechef]

I never omit salt in baking. I always put some in my icings and buttercreams, it is surprising how it will bump up the flavors, and in buttercreams temper the sweetness slightly.

 

[msmofet]

rather than adding more coffee, try adding a teensy pinch of salt to the frosting. That usually pulls all the flavors together in a very good way.

There is salt in the brownie and the frosting. I ALWAYS add salt to sweets to bring out the sweetness. Example - homemade hot chocolate without the salt tastes flat. It needed more coffee flavor not more salt but thanks anyway.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I created this recipe while explaining cookies on my blog. To my surprise, it tasted and felt like a very good brownie. I used it to make ice cream sandwiches for Mother's Day. The cookies/brownies were a huge success.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg
• 3 tbs. water
• 1/8 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder

You can add chopped pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts to this recipe if you want.

Combine the egg and melted butter. Add the sugar, vanilla, and water, and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Form into 1" balls, slightly flatten, and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 11 minutes at 375' F. When the time has elapsed, remove from the oven and onto a cooling rack. You can simply slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto the rack. Reline the cookie sheet and repeat until all cookies are made.

Enjoy.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[msmofet]

I created this recipe while explaining cookies on my blog. To my surprise, it tasted and felt like a very good brownie. I used it to make ice cream sandwiches for Mother's Day. The cookies/brownies were a huge success.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg
• 3 tbs. water
• 1/8 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder

You can add chopped pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts to this recipe if you want.

Combine the egg and melted butter. Add the sugar, vanilla, and water, and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Form into 1" balls, slightly flatten, and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 11 minutes at 375' F. When the time has elapsed, remove from the oven and onto a cooling rack. You can simply slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto the rack. Reline the cookie sheet and repeat until all cookies are made.

Enjoy.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Sounds good.

 

[ChefJune]

Sounds good.

Is there such a thing as a brownie that doesn't sound good?

 

[msmofet]

Is there such a thing as a brownie that doesn't sound good?

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Upon careful HMMMMMMMMMMM the answer is a resounding ............................ NOPE!! LOL

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Really? Why? Do you know the science on that one or is it just a TNT tip. (Either way I'm going to try it, but inquiring minds want to know)

This is Goodweed's theory. I believe that both salt and MSG wake up the taste buds, and help ballance the flavors of other foods. Salt enhances all meats, makes smoky flavors pop, makes home-made hot fudge richer in flavor, and compliments the flavors of all grains and veggies that I can think of.

Flavor is a complex mixture of signals from the nose and tongue. There is a man whose name I can't remember, that recently won the Nobel prize for figuring out how our brains and odor and taste receptors work together to sort out the tangle of chemicals compounds in foods to give us flavor.

Most foods are a combination of varying degrees of sweet, salty, umami, bitter, and sour. Each food has it's own signature mixture of these flavors. How much of each, and in what order they trigger the responses in out nose and tongue determines the flavor of a substance. Salt isn't a mixture of flavors, but one of the basic flavors.

Think of it like this: Red is a basic color. But by mixing in varying amounts of blue, you can alter the overall color that your eyes see. You can go all the way from bright red, to dark violet. And when you start blending in other primary colors, you can create any color you want.

That's how salt is in food. It alters the overall flavor by adding more for the brain to interpret.

Chocolate is made more rich by the addition of salt. But too much salt will overpower the other favor components, just as too much blue will change red to purple to the point that you will no longer recognize the red influence.

Hope that helps answer your question.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[pacanis]

GW, can you make your recipe in a brownie pan, or does it work better individually as described?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

GW, can you make your recipe in a brownie pan, or does it work better individually as described?

It works great in a brownie pan. I'm bow thinking a a new bar type thingy. It's not a brownie, but should have the same texture. I want to make a banana flavor cookie bar that can be used with vanilla ice cream to make a "Banana Split" ice cream sandwich. When I get it figured out, I'll share it. I'm thinking this desert could be used to make the ice cream sandwich, or cut into squares, and topped with ice cream, strawberry freezer jam, hot fudge and pineapple to create a really tasty desert.

If anyone has made a banana-bar cookie that fits this idea, please share so I don't have to re-invent the wheel.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[ChefJune]

It works great in a brownie pan. I'm bow thinking a a new bar type thingy. It's not a brownie, but should have the same texture. I want to make a banana flavor cookie bar that can be used with vanilla ice cream to make a "Banana Split" ice cream sandwich. When I get it figured out, I'll share it. I'm thinking this desert could be used to make the ice cream sandwich, or cut into squares, and topped with ice cream, strawberry freezer jam, hot fudge and pineapple to create a really tasty desert.

If anyone has made a banana-bar cookie that fits this idea, please share so I don't have to re-invent the wheel.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

off the top of my head: how would it be to use dried bananas in a Blondie?

Let me know what you come up with. Sounds like my kind of dessert!