I Am a Window.....But At Least I'm Eating Butterscotch Brownies

I am so excited to post today. I had one of those mornings where I woke up and was feeling very "WOOT"!  I think its probably the adrenalin rush I am having because I am seeing bf for the first time in a month today and it involves the beach and I am so pale I am see through. Like a window. See-right-through-me kinda pale. Yes, long distance is lame. I am aware. Well either way, after work today I am off to Delaware to bask in the sun and enjoy some time with bf and his friends from DC! I cannot wait.  I am going to sit under this all day: 

(source)

Hopefully I will get some color so I wont be as pale as I was during reunion. 

Ok, well moving on.  I wanted to share a new recipe I created with you guys.  I made these Chocolate Butterscotch Muffins which I will from this point on call Chocolate Butterscotch Brownies.  I am a dummy and put them in muffin tins but they should not be punished for that. So, brownies it is.

Super easy to make. I am a fan.

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup milk

2 Eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup fat free vanilla yogurt

2 teapsoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Steps: (easiest ever)

1) Preheat over to 375 degrees F

2) Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well.

3) Put in a pam-ed brownie pan

4) Bake for 20 to 30 min (until you can poke with a toothpick and it comes out clean)

5) Enjoy.

Personally, I really enjoyed these brownies! Especially when hot from the oven (or microwave as I obviously keep heating them up and taking them to the face).  However, there is something about butterscotch that is really tricky to bake with. It is a really strong flavor. I think that these deserve a Star Fabulous Rating of 6/10.  They are good but I am not bringing the left over to Delaware this weekend... and I bring left overs everywhere. 

Star Fabulous Rating: 6/10

Everyone enjoy their weekend!

Confused Pancake Cookies

It is only because I promised to deliver both the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, that I am writing this post.

As I am sure many of you thoughtful people already know, this week is Administrative Professionals Week!  Our team of fab people over here decided we wanted to show our favorite person in the office how much we appreciated her so everyone got a job!  One woman grabbed a beautiful card, the team ordered a gorgeous orchid and I was in charge of bringing a tasty treat! Being comforted with the fact that I had back-up PB &J Bars, that I knew people would love considering how well they have been received, I took a simple and stable recipe from the fabulous  Tina.. and fiddled... bad move Jessica.

Now before I tell you what changes I made to this easy, simple and classic recipe, I think it is essential to make this note. 

I have learned from experience (ahem... this recipe) that certain classics can only be tweaked to be made healthy so much before you take the tweaking too far.

 

Tina's treats are both scrumptious, and healthy and should have been left alone. 

With that said, here goes nothing. 

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

1/3 cup liquid egg whites

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2) Mix all ingredients in one bowl

3) Make into 12 portions and place on pam-ed sheet

4) Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.

5) Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool

Now it should be said that these cookies did not taste bad by any means.  The problem was simply that replacing all oils and butter (fats) with applesauce unfortunately removed the crumbly delicious texture of  cookies that makes them as good as they are.

The results... according to my taste testers, were that the cookies tasted less like cookies... and more like:

(Picture Source)

Needless to say I did not subject the office to these confused pancakecookies and they are currently under tinfoil on my kitchen counter (hoping maybe they are like Peeps and are a little better stale?)  

The team got exactly what they wanted with the rest of these goodies.

The best thing that came out of this exploration however... I feel a delicious pancake recipe brewing in this dome. 

Now, if treated like cookies, these suckers probably deserved something along the lines of 2 maybe 3 stars on the Star Fabulous Rating System (edible, but hey so is gum, doesn't mean you should swallow it).  I believe it is important, however, to recognize these for what they truly are, no matter the original goal. 

Star Fabulous Rating if treated like Confused PancakeCookies: