Brownies anyone?

Sometimes, it's ok to indulge in a little sweet, especially if it's a one bowl miracle. That's right, this is a "one bowl brownie". No need to whip out your mixer; but alright, you do need to sift your flour and cocoa powder. I made this for a new friend I met. I hope she liked it. :)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
1eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter it up.
3. In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa and stir until cocoa is dissolved.
4. Add sugar and mix well.
5. Add egg, vanilla extract, sifted flour and salt, but don't overmix.
6. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.

ENJOY!

Blender Blunder Won't Stop Me!

I just realized it has been quite awhile since my last post. Various events (and laziness) are the culprits, but I finally gathered myself together and took some photos of an edible gift I shall present to my friend as her belated birthday gift.

When you don't own much disposable income, cooking/making something is the best birthday gift alternative. I wish I could treat my friend to a 5 stars restaurant meal or buy her brand name items on Fifth Avenue (hmm...these words are sounding more like a blues lyrics...), but then again, wouldn't spending time to create something from scratch be more genuine, meaningful, and thoughtful? Well, that is if my edible gift is, well, edible. But I think I got it down.

The other day, I bought two pounds of flour because they were on sales. Then at Trader Joe's, I discovered some cocoa powder. So the combination would yield...ta da! Chocolate brownies! Yes! I made my first trial two days ago (my mother as my guinea pig). Unfortunately, that try busted my hand blender. Oh no! But I shall not be so easily discouraged. Since a brownie batter asks for melted butter (not cold butter like for pastry), thus it's easier to mix by hand than let's say a cake batter. Also, I find that using a hand blender might toughen the batter, whereas you can control the strength of the mixing if you're doing it by hand. So the second attempt came out quite well! And I also added two secret ingredients...hopefully, my friend would be able to taste the slight difference.