brownie fruit pizza + homemade cream cheese frosting

It's Memorial Day - the unofficial kick off to summer! We're laking and pooling and gathering on porches and patios from coast to coast! And this Brownie Fruit Pizza is a dreamy bite of sweet for your get together! The brownie is sweet and cakey, the homemade frosting will knock your socks off, and the fruit serves as the perfect tart bite! And y'all, it's just so pretty. Sure to become a favorite! Here's to grassy little bodies playing in the sprinkler, grilled hot dogs on paper plates, pink shoulders, and freckled noses! Happy summer to you and your people!

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BROWNIE FRUIT PIZZA

with cream cheese frosting

1 family-sized brownie mix

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs + 1 egg white

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Several drops of red food coloring or gel

3-4 tablespoons milk 

Fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries

Mint for garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 15" aluminum pizza pan with baking spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the brownie mix, oil, water, vanilla, and eggs. Pour batter onto prepared pan and spread evenly around the pan, leaving a 1-inch border. Bake for 20 minutes; remove and allow to cool entirely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese for a minute until smooth. Add in half of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the almond. Mix on low until combined. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and a tablespoon of milk at a time until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Stir in the food coloring to get a pretty pink shade!

Spread the cooled brownie with the frosting, leaving a 1-inch border. Cover the top with berries and mint leaves. Refrigerate before serving. Slice into narrow wedges or cut the circle into smaller squares and serve. 

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lemon blueberry crumb bars

Oh my word. These crumb bars. All of the things I love. Buttery, shortbread-y crust. Sweet fruity filling. And tart, zest-y lemon goodness! I made this recipe on my cooking show not long ago, and I had a gal tell me she made a pan that her family ate entirely! So she went back to the market and made a second pan for the next day! They’re just that good, and they're equally suitable for breakfast or dessert! You will want to let them cool 1000% in order to cut them because similarly I had a report from another gal that she rushed the cool so the bars fell all to pieces. Don’t be that gal. Be the first gal. And make two perfectly awesome pans!  Enjoy!

LEMON BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS

Makes one 9x13 pan

-for the crumb-

1 cup sugar

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Zest of one lemon

1 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 large egg

-for the berries-

Juice of one lemon

½ cup sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

4 cups blueberries

Set the oven to 375F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment with enough parchment overhanging to lift out the entire pan of bars once cooled.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and zest. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter and egg until a crumbly mixture forms. Gently press half of the mixture into the bottom of the pan.

In a separate bowl, mix together the lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberries over the bottom crust, using your fingers to evenly distribute. Cover the berries with the remaining crumb mixture. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is golden and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool entirely. Don’t rush the cool or the bars won’t cut cleanly.

In a small bowl, mix together the juice of one lemon, 1 tablespoon of milk, and enough powdered sugar to make a drizzly glaze. Carefully lift the entire slab of bars out of the pan using the parchment sheet overlap for lifting. Drizzle the glaze off the end of a spoon over the entire pan just before cutting and serving.

peppermint cream cheese brownies

Click here to watch this recipe on Cooking Today! 

 

The holidays are here!!! And there are more reasons to bake than my heart can hold! Classroom parties, neighbor treats, teacher gifts, cookie exchanges, office gatherings...you name it!

Of course, if you live at my house, any given Tuesday at 4:37pm is a good reason to bake. 

And because there are so many occasions for treats, I get lots of texts and emails asking what are my favorites! And this. is. one of them.

Peppermint cream cheese brownies. 

Let's take a minute to thank Jesus for Christmas and for brownies.

Amen.

Before we go any further, it's important for you to know that my household has been divided between cake-like brownies and fudgy brownies. We have warred over this deeply significant issue for years. And this recipe has brought peace to the nations.

Lathered in cream cheese frosting and covered in peppermint white chocolate baking bits, these peppermint cream cheese brownies will undoubtedly be the belle of the ball at your holiday treat-giving events!

PEPPERMINT CREAM CHEESE BROWNIE

{makes a 9x13 pan}

-for the brownies-

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons good vanilla extract

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp espresso powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter and remove from heat. Let cool about 5 minutes or so. While the butter is cooling, crack the eggs in a small bowl and whisk together with a fork to combine. Then to the melted butter, stir in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then stir in the remaining dry ingredients until combined. Don't overmix the batter; just stir til it's combined. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes or so or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean-ish but a maybe a little tiny bit fudgy. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

-for the peppermint cream cheese frosting-

1/2 block of cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp good vanilla

Several tablespoons of milk

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tsp peppermint extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add one cup of the powdered sugar and beat. Add another cup and beat. Then add in vanilla, a couple tablespoons of milk, and peppermint extract. Beat well. Add the remaining cup or two of powdered sugar and another few tablespoons of milk until the consistency is good - not too thick and not too thin. Perfectly spreadable!

Spread on cooled brownies and cover the top with Andes peppermint crunch baking bits available at most groceries in the seasonal baking aisle.

Hooray! And Merry Christmas!!

easy valentine's day crinkle cookies

I don't make cookies often. They're a lot of work that requires babysitting batches from the scoop to the oven to the cooling rack to the platter. So I don't have just a gob of cookie recipes in my arsenal.  But with Valentine's Day coming up and my sister-in-law's birthday this week too, I wanted a sweet, seasonal cookie that would be just right for both!  And these little crinkles are perfect, y'all!

I posted a sneak peek of the red velvet dough yesterday morning on the @EunaMaes instagram and even had a little guessing game giveaway for the first five who guessed correctly what I was making! And out of more than 80 guesses, I announced the five winners last night! It was fun to hear what y'all thought! If you're not following @EunaMaes on instagram, you should! We have fun and communicate and visit from our kitchens over there! 

Not only did I make classic Valentine-y red velvet crinkles, but I also made a batch of strawberry lemonade crinkles!  They are delicious and sweet with a little sour bite from being rolled in powdered sugar and pink lemonade mix; and the red velvet crinkles are a little chocolatey like we anticipate red velvet to be! These cookies are soft, chewy and moist. My kids went crazy over them, and I confess that I've eaten my fair share.{I just ate one and licked my fingers 5 seconds ago.} I even packaged stacks of 5 crinkles in little paper berry baskets and tied them in clear bags to make adorable Valentine's Day treats!  

Now there are some amazing from-scratch recipes for crinkles that you should definitely try some time! BUT this recipe is a super easy way to make these cookies - starting with a boxed cake mix! And these easy crinkles are something you can make in the kitchen with your kids. They can make the dough balls and even roll them in the sugar coating! A great recipe! Kid friendly! And makes a lovely little gift!

-click here for printable recipe- 

EASY STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CRINKLES

{makes 20-24 cookies}

1 box strawberry cake mix

2 large eggs, room temperature*

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon good vanilla extract

zest of one lemon

1 Tablespoon plus 1/4 cup powdered pink lemonade mix {not crystal light}

powdered sugar for coating

granulated sugar for coating

*Euna Mae's is a Great Day Farms brand ambassor.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Prepare two shallow bowls for the coating. One bowl will contain about 3/4 cup powdered sugar. In the other bowl, combine 1/4 cup powdered pink lemonade mix and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla, zest, and 1 Tablespoon of pink lemonade mix. Mix until it forms a nice dough.  Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment or a silicone mat, and form into a ball. 

Make 20-24 one-inch dough balls by rolling them in your hands. Then coat each ball by first rolling the ball in the sugar/lemonade mix then rolling the ball in the powdered sugar. Place coated dough balls about 1 1/2" apart on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely. You may wish to sift a little additional powdered sugar over the cookies if you like. 

EASY RED VELVET CRINKLES

{makes 20-24 cookies}

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon good vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon coffee extract

2-3 drops of red food coloring to intensify the shade

powdered sugar for coating

granulated sugar for coating

Follow recipe and steps above, coating in granulated sugar first then pure powdered sugar second. Bake as directed above.

euna mae's double chocolate blondies

If you follow Euna Mae's or me on social media, you've no doubt seen these blondies. Like, two days in a row. I made a 9x13 baker of these bars for my family on Super Bowl Sunday. Then with a snow day and 17 teenagers at my house on Monday, I made a double batch in a baker's half-sheet pan. The first batch I served cooled at room temperature; the second batch, I served warm. And the verdict is in: both are divine. 

These blondies have been so in-your-face on social media that I'm getting texts, messages, and Facebook posts like this:

"These blondies of yours have caused quite a stir! And it seems every time someone comments on one of your blondie pictures they show up again in my feed. It's messing with my head- one can only resist temptation for so long!"  - Nancy Bunch

The wait is over. Here's the recipe and the low-down on these unbelievably, buttery, brown-sugary, chocolatey, bars!

First, let's clear up the definition of a blondie. When it boils down to it, it's basically a blonde version of a brownie. A blondie is minus the cocoa powder that makes brownie batter brown, but it is heavy on butter and brown sugar instead. Blondies can have nuts, chocolate or white chocolate chips stirred into them. This particular recipe has two varieties of chocolate chips in them plus optional walnuts...which, in my opinion, shouldn't be optional because they're so fabulous. 

I've had blondies in the past that were too dry or too cakey. So I've steered away from them for years because of my bad experiences. But listen to me: these are buttery and moist, and there's not a dry bone in its body. {I realize that idiom doesn't appropriately suit a blondie reference, but y'all know what I mean.}  The only part of this blondie bar that isn't tender is around the edges where the dough gets crisp-just-right like the best chocolate chip cookie ever.  My sister-in-law texted me that she was eating her way around the edges of the whole pan!   

Maybe the best news of all - you probably have every ingredient in your fridge and pantry to make these today. Run, don't walk. And get your sticks of butter on the counter to soften right. now.

-click here for printable recipe-

EUNA MAE'S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BLONDIES

{makes one 9x13 baker}

inspiration

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons good vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature*

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

a scant 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional 
-Euna Mae's is a Great Day Farms brand ambassador -

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baker with baking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl preferably with a pour spout, combine the flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.

If you're using salted butter, reduce the sea salt by a little to compensate.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter, packed brown sugar, and sugar on low speed at first to incorporate; then cream at high speed for a few minutes. It should be light and fluffy. Scrap down sides as needed.  Reduce the speed to low, and add the vanilla and one egg at a time, mixing until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the flour mixture a little at a time. If you have a bowl shield, use it to avoid a flour cloud! Mix until incorporated. You'll have more of a dough than a batter.  Using a heavy wood spoon or utensil, stir in chips and nuts by hand. 

Spread dough in the prepared baker, and bake in the center of the oven for 29 minutes. No more, no less.  Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

White Chocolate Cranberry Chunkies

I hope y'all had a good Thanksgiving! I sure did! We housed and hosted Hannons and had a ball. My husband is the middle of three boys, and they retell the same stories year after year, and we howl like we've never heard them before! We push back our chairs with full bellies and cry tears we laugh so hard. I like to think we're burning calories after we stuffed our faces. We ate pie for breakfast for three days and cold macaroni and cheese as an afternoon snack. And we watched football - both live high school playoffs on Friday night AND every single rivalry game that aired on Saturday.

The Auburn game, y'all. I'm embarrassed to say how we acted when they won; and quite frankly, I can only recall some kind of football euphoria that was deafening and rambunctious and resulted in a 32oz lemonade being knocked across the room. I'm really not sure what happened. But the bottom line is - we celebrated. Big time.

Now on to cookies!

I love cranberries. I cooked fresh cranberry relish for Thanksgiving dinner. And I love them in cookies, breads, cobblers and more. I'm a big big fan of anything tart. So it's no surprise why I adore cranberries. And it's no surprise that I adore these cookies. A divine, buttery cookie dough with dried cranberries, macadamia nuts, and white chocolate chips stirred in.  The. dough. is. to. die. for.  And the cookies are so pretty. I make absolutely certain to rotate the dough balls just right on the sheet so that there's a pretty red cranberry or two right on top. So between seasonal deliciousness and beauty, these cookies have everything going for them.

You will notice that I rarely make cookies because they require a lot of effort. Scooping, baking, moving to a cooling rack, scooping again, baking again, etc. I generally stick with a one-dish dessert that bakes one and done. The reason I say this is so you know that if I ever post a cookie recipe, then it must be good. These are worth the extra effort. So get your cooling rack out and grease your stirring-elbow....

WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY CHUNKIES

{yields 36 small cookies}

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 eggs, slightly beaten*

1 tablespoon good vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (or pecans if you'd rather)

1 cup dried cranberries**

*Euna Mae's is a Great Day Farms brand ambassador

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream together both sugars and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; add slightly beaten eggs and vanilla. 

On low, add flour mixture one cup at a time until just mixed. Stir in chips, nuts, and cranberries by hand with a heavy wood spoon or sturdy utensil. Be sure to spend a little extra time getting the add-ins all stirred in well so every bite has a little somethin.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes until just set. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before moving to a cooling rack. Cookies will sink slightly.

It is important that the cookie dough be kept chilled between batches so they don't spread. So while one batch is baking, put the bowl in the refrigerator until time to scoop them onto your baking sheet. Or scoop ALL of the dough balls at once and chill them until time to put them on a sheet to bake. Whatever you prefer, just keep the dough cold.

**A friend suggested using Trader Joe's orange-flavored cranberries!

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

It seems that I have heard several people say lately that they have tried about a thousand different chocolate chip cookie recipes and haven't ever landed on The One. I, too, have been in that boat. I swear I tried 57 different recipes; and while they were all just fine, they were all just fine. I wanted more.

I wanted chewy but crispy. I wanted more depth of flavor in the dough. I wanted a variation in the bites of chocolate. And I wanted salt. 

After all of the years of wandering in the desert, I have found the chocolate chip cookie recipe to satisfy all of my desires. My family begs for them. My kids' friends love them. And they're easy to make...especially since the dough can be made ahead and then scooped out as you need them over a period of several days.  Or over a weekend like we did this past weekend. 

I'm eating one right now. True story.

My recipe is a variation of the New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. I've added cinnamon for warmth, and I've combined a couple of different flavors of chips so the bites of chocolate are a surprise each time. And remember when I said 'salt'? Well, I mean, every single cookie is sprinkled with sea salt on top which is what puts them over the moon. Over. The. Moon.

Notes before you read the recipe: Yes, it matters that you use two different types of flour. Yes, it matters that you use unsalted butter.  Yes, it matters that you use sea salt. Yes, it matters that you use a big scoop. Yes, it matters if you use two kinds of chips. Trust and obey, y'all. Trust and obey.

SALTED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

{makes 24 big 4" round cookies}

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons of cake flour

1 2/3 cups of bread flour

1 1/4  teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature*

2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

1 10oz bag of Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels

 8oz of Nestle Milk Chocolate Morsels

Sea salt for sprinkling
*Euna Mae's is a Great Day Farms brand ambassador

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; whisk together well till combined. Whisking also adds air. Air is good. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes on medium. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. On low speed, add in vanilla. Continuing on low, add dry ingredients in two additions, mixing just until combined. Do NOT over-mix the dough once you have added the flour because it has gluten; and over-mixing will affect the texture.

By hand, stir in the chocolate chips. This will take muscles. So you're burning pre-cookie calories. You may cover the bowl with clear wrap pressed down directly onto the dough to prevent drying out, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment or use a silicone mat. Using a rounded ice cream scoop, scoop 6 3.5oz. mounds of dough onto the cookie sheet, rolling them gently in your hands to make them rounded and more clean dough circles if needed. They will be the size of generous golf balls. Sprinkle each dough ball with sea salt and baked until lightly golden about 16-18 minutes. I check mine at 15 minutes then I stand there checking them about every minute until the sides start to look golden brown but the tops are still a little light. In my oven, it's rare that they ever bake for 18 minutes, unless you're running the vaccuum cleaner and don't hear the timer go off. (Another true story.) Allow to cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then remove to a wire cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cold milk chasers optional.