Rocky Road Butterscotch Brownies

Brownies are my guiltiest pleasure. They are in between a cookie and a cake, chewy and sweet, and have a calorie count that rates as "Scary". You would have thought my blog would have more recipes on them.  The reason? I either buy them already made or I buy the mix.

This recipe was originally for a butterscotch pecan brownie. But because I like to make sure everyone can enjoy a piece, I made it nut-free.  The result was to "rocky road" it!  Oh, I also added dried cranberries -- for, ahem, the health factor.

The brownie texture was soft and chewy as promised -- the marshmallows added some extra gooey-ness too. It was also very sweet. I suggest to have the toothbrush ready in case the cavities raid from after the last bite.

Rocky Road Butterscotch Brownie

¾ cup of butter

2 cups of brown sugar

1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour

1 tsp of salt

2 tsp of baking powder

2 eggs

2 tsp of vanilla

½ cup each of chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F

1.      On stove top, melt butter in a small pot;

2.     Add brown sugar to melted butter and mix until there are no lumps in the mixture;

3.     In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well.

4.     Small bowl; mix eggs with vanilla.

5.     Add brown sugar mixture to flour mixture and mix lightly. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.

6.     Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows and cranberries.

7.     In a greased 9 x 9 baking pan (I used a 9 x 7 because that was all I had), pour batter in pan, spread evenly.

 

8.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

It should look slightly undercooked or soft. This makes the brownie have its chewy texture.

Mochi

I have made mochi once but the texture was a bit dry.  Also, I stuffed it with red bean and rolled it in coconut.  Nice but not quite what I was expecting in a mochi.

So here is my second attempt and this time, it is closer to the chewiness I was looking for.  The recipe is just as simple and I used the microwave method instead of the steamer.

Mochi

1 cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour)
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn starch (for dusting and handling)

food colouring (optional)

1. In a bowl, combine rice flour and sugar and mix.


2. Add water and mix well.  The mixture will be runny (not batter like)

3. If you want to make coloured mochi, add 3 drops of food colouring of your choice.

Note. If you wish to make more than one colour; pour in to separate bowls before you add colour.


Because I was making pink hearts, I added 3 drops of red to get the light pink colour and I made a chocolate one by adding a tsp of chocolate milk powder in a another bowl (from dividing the "batter").

4. Pour each bowl of batter into a microwaveable shallow dish.  Cover with plastic wrap -- make sure it does not touch the batter.  Be sure to have a small edge open to allow steam to escape.
5.  Microwave for 5 minutes and check after it reaches 4 minutes.  When it bubbles, it should be close to being cooked.  The centre will be set and gummy in texture.
6. Let cool for 15-20 minutes.
7. Dust your working area with corn starch; pour the cooked mochi unto the starch.  Add more starch if needed as it will be sticky to work with.  Using a plastic knife makes it easier to cut into pieces.
9. Dust each piece with corn starch.


Different ways to pretty it up:
1. Melt chocolate chips.  Roll out mochi into a rectangle shape.  Spread melted chocolate and then roll into a log.  Cut into pieces and serve.

2. Before dusting them, roll mochi into circles and fill with jam/ice cream/custard.  Close into a tight ball. Then dust them with corn starch. Freeze if filling is ice cream.