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Monday, May 20, 2013

Sourdough Sharing - Brownies

This month's sourdough challenge was brownies.  I decided to try a blondie recipe that I have made in the past and a new brownie recipe.

Now I love to eat them - both brownies and blondies but often seem to have trouble with the centres falling.  Help anyone?  It doesn't seem to matter which recipe I try (regular or sourdough) my brownies often have a cakelike texture around the edges and are almost sticky in the centre.  If I bake them longer, the edges get too dry with the centre usually not being much different from before (just a little more cooked).  Ideas?  Suggestions?

My brownies were taken from Rita Davenport's Sourdough Cookery book.  
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies.

Ingredients
1/4 c butter
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (I substituted 3 Tbsp cocoa and 1 Tbsp butter for each square.)
1 c sugar
1/4 c peanut butter (I used chunky)
2 eggs
1/2 c sourdough
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

You are to melt the butter and chocolate over low heat.  Then add sugar and peanut butter.  For this step, I just used very soft marg. and my mixer.


Add eggs, sourdough and vanilla.  Mix dry ingredients and stir into batter.


Spread in a greased 9" x 9" pan.  Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool and then frost, if desired.  I don't usually frost mine.


Here you can see the sunken middle.  :(


Here is one middle piece and one edge piece.  The brownies taste great with the chocolate and the peanut butter.  I will try them again, once I get help with the sunken middle problem.




The blondies are from a Robin Hood Flour pamphlet on sourdough.
Sherwood Blond Brownies

Ingredients
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sourdough
1/4 c butter, melted
1 egg
1 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c chopped nuts or coconut

Beat together sugar, sourdough, butter and egg.  Again I used softened not melted butter.  (You don't think that is my problem, do you?)  Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.


Spread batter in a greased 8" x 8" pan.  Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes. 


Again you can see the dropped centre.  It is not as bad as the chocolate ones, though.


Again you can see how much higher and drier the edge piece was compared to the middle piece.  These taste great with the brown sugar and nuts - a nutty butterscotchy flavor.



 
Check below for other great brownie and blondie recipes to try.  Enjoy!  ;)
  


22 comments:

  1. Peanut butter and chocolate, ooh lovely. And coconut in the blondies means I'm with you!
    I've had the problem with an undercooked centre because of my wonky oven. But after reading about baking from a cold oven, I started doing that and now I get brownies/cakes that are cooked all through.

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  2. I've read that oven temperature can definitely lead to the sunken middle. Additionally, there could be too much air incorporated into the batter. You mentioned that you used softened instead of melted butter so maybe try with melted so there is less beating to see if that makes a difference. You probably won't get s cake-like consistency either.

    My friend loves the peanut butter and chocolate combination and would be drooling if I showed her this.

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    1. Thanks! I'll definitely try them again with melted butter. Plus I think it is time to check my oven temp!

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  3. Your flavours sound amazing. I'm particularly craving those warm butterscotch-y coconutty blondies, yum.

    Yeah, my brownies sometimes bake more evenly, sometimes not. I'm never quite sure why! :S

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    1. Thanks! They were tasty even in their unevenness! ;)

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  4. I agree with Psycho Twin that beating brownies could lead to uneven baking. You don't want air in brownies, I've always used melted butter. Also, I'm now craving a chocolate peanutbutter brownie, and throw in a butterscotch one for good measure!!

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    1. Thanks! I do love the chocolate peanut butter taste. I'll try them again using melted butter and a lighter hand.

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  5. As a few people already mentioned, beating the softened butter might be the problem... A brownie batter made with melted butter is a thick fudgy thing, rather than light like a cake batter, and it stays pretty flat throughout baking. However, I'm a fudgy brownie kind of girl so a sunken middle (which I assume is gooey-er than the edges) wouldn't be a problem for me! Your peanut butter brownies sound wonderful :)

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    1. Thanks! And you are right about the centre. I didn't share that part - it was too gooey to serve to anyone else. Oh the sacrifices we make! LOL! ;)

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  6. I always go melted butter for brownies, but I have no problem with cakey brownies, either, so it wouldn't bother me either way :) You sure had a lot of deliciousness going this month! Great job!!

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    1. Thanks! Yup, next brownies = melted butter. But which new recipe to try! Yum!

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  7. Delicious job! Both your blondies and brownies look amazing! And I bet they tasted great! And ditto on the melted butter and oven temp!

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  8. These treats just might convert me to eating peanut butter - or at least make a batch for my PB-loving husband to devour in one afternoon.

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    1. Thanks. Chocolate and peanut butter do taste great together!

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  9. Your brownies look delicious~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines

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  10. Chocolate and peanut butter brownies oh my! Two of my favorite things. Oh and those blondies look divine. Yum!

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    1. Thanks! We did love the chocolate peanut butter combo!

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  11. YUM...I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter!!!

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  12. Both of those look fantastic!!!

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