Raspberry Cream Brownies--A Quick But Special Dessert

With a bumper crop of raspberries this year, I have lots and lots of raspberry jam to use. Perfect for use in this easy but elegant brownie recipe.

Whether using homemade jam or a jar of preserves off the store shelf, the addition of jam and a cheese cake like mixture makes a box mix just a little more special. Most of the time, brownie mixes are cheaper than baking from scratch and these little upgrades should satisfy even the most picky chocolate fanatics.

My latest batch went so fast, there was only one left to get into a photo. As you can see, these are chewy, moist, the best kind of fudgy brownie with the added panache of raspberry. Enjoy!

Raspberry Cream Brownies

1 brownie mix--the size that makes a 9 X 13 pan
eggs, oil, and water for making the brownies
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt
1 egg
1/3 c sugar
1 t vanilla
2 T flour
about 1/4 c raspberry jam or preserves

1. Prepare the brownies as directed on the package, EXCEPT, use only about half the oil called for in the recipe. Spread in a well-oiled 9 X 13 pan. (May also be put in two 8 inch square pans for slightly thinner brownies.)
2. Beat together the cream cheese, yogurt, egg, sugar, vanilla, and flour until smooth.
3. Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoons evenly around the brownie batter. Then, using a teaspoon, place the jam in small dollops in between the cream cheese areas. Using a knife or thin spatula, gently swirl the cream cheese and jam through the brownie batter. You should mix just enough to have delicate ribbons of the cream cheese and jam without mixing everything together.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, a little less if using two 8 inch pans. Do not over-bake. (If using glass pans, bake at 325 degrees.)

About half a cup of coarsely chopped walnuts can be added to the brownie mix if desired.

HINT: If you are making these at the last minute and want to soften the cream cheese quickly, just cut it in cubes, put in a microwave-safe dish and heat on medium for no more than 25 to 30 seconds.

Quick and Easy Cornbread

This cornbread is truly a "frugal, fast, and fun" accompaniment to chili or soup. While I rarely buy canned vegetables, I keep some creamed corn on hand just for this recipe. The chiles can be omitted, but they add just the extra flavor boost needed to make this bread stand out. And don't hesitate to spread a little homemade jam or apple butter on the cornbread even with the chiles--the mix of sweet and savory is really good.

Quick and Easy Cornbread

2 packages corn bread mix (the size that makes 6 corn muffins)
2 eggs
1 15 oz can creamed corn
1/2 to 1 4 oz can diced green chiles, including liquid (if you use only half of the can, the remaining chiles can be frozen for another batch later)
1 to 2 T butter
1 T canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put the butter and oil into a glass, ceramic, earthenware or other heavyweight 9 X 13 pan OR 10 inch cast iron skillet and place in pre-heated oven.

Meanwhile, stir all the remaining ingredients together. When the butter is melted and just beginning to sizzle (don't let it burn!), remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. While this is best served warm, it is good the next day with leftover soup and chili too.

This serves far fewer than you might think, because everyone comes back for seconds and more!

The frugality? In early 2011, I can buy the cornbread mix for 33 to 35 cents a box. I watch for sales on the green chiles (Cinco de Mayo in May and Mexican Independence Day in September are good times for all things Mexican to go on sale) and stock up. Half a can is enough to give the bread good flavor, so that is one way to reduce the cost of the bread more.

Fast? With all the ingredients on the shelf, this can be put together in about 3 minutes, so the longest time required is waiting for the pan and butter and oil to heat.

Fun? Adult help will be needed with the heating of the fats, but the rest of the recipe can easily be handled by young cooks, so it's a good starter recipe for kids.

Zucchini Brownies

It's that time again, when every gardener supposedly looks for ways to push zucchini on to unsuspecting neighbors, family, and friends, and the table at church yesterday was piled with lots of the ubiquitous squash.

Others may not want this bounty, but it's been good for me, since I have somehow not yet been able to find the zucchini gardener secret. In three years, I have been able to harvest a grand total of two zucchinis.

Two.

This year at least, my butternut squash is thriving and taking over most of the garden, inundating the bush beans and peppers (which weren't doing too well anyway) and threatening to keep the three red cabbage plants from ever starting to head up. So I am always happy to accept anyone's zucchini and summer squash offerings. Between a couple of donors, I have had plenty to work with this week. On my way to a meeting where I have offered to make the dessert, I decided to try my hand at zucchini brownies, having done cakes and breads and lots of main dishes in the past. The following recipe didn't rise quite as high as regular brownies and is more cake-like than fudgy-chewy, but it is also much lower in fat and higher in fiber than the usual.

I had brownie mix on the shelf from a 79 cent sale awhile ago, so these turned out to be quite inexpensive--free zucchini, two eggs at 16 cents (priced under a dollar right now, eggs are another bargain) and the mix added up to less than a dollar for at least 24 brownies. Admittedly, the nuts added to the cost, but they are completely optional; I used them only to cover over any suspicious hint of "chunkiness" that the zucchini might have given. A dusting of powdered sugar provided a quick and inexpensive topping. Start to finish, they took little more than half an hour, since the baking time is only about 20 minutes.

Zucchini Brownies

1 package brownie mix for 9 X 13 pan--do not use low fat brownie mix for this recipe
2 eggs
1/4 c water
1 c finely shredded zucchini, firmly packed
1/4 to 1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Spray a 9 X 13 inch pan with nonstick coating and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together until smooth and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until just done; do not overbake.
4. When cool, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.

A couple of things to keep in mind:
These brownies are best eaten the first day or so, as they seem to become a little gummy over time. And while I only dusted them with powdered sugar, adding a chocolate frosting would probably make them more welcome to brownie purists.

Strawberry Applesauce Cupcakes

Two factors came together today for an easy, relatively inexpensive dessert that has been a real hit: first, I had some 99 cents a pound strawberries that needed to be used up quickly and I needed to find a dessert that I could make and finish within an hour and a half. Fortunately I still have a lot of frozen unsweetened applesauce that needs to be used up to make room for this year's harvest, so I modified a cake mix recipe to fit what was on hand and came up with some light, refreshing cupcakes. This would make at least 2 dozen regular sized cupcakes, but I made a dozen miniature cupcakes and still had enough for 19 regular ones.

The applesauce thawed quickly, but the microwave could have been used if necessary. This would probably work just as well with frozen strawberries (NOT in syrup) when fresh ones are not available at a good price.

Cupcakes can be a good choice in the summer, since they do bake a little more quickly than full-sized cakes and can be frozen so that you can thaw only as many as you need on a really hot day without heating up the oven again.

Strawberry Applesauce Cupcakes

1 package yellow cake mix
8 ounces unsweetened applesauce
approximately 8 ounces strawberries
2 eggs

Process strawberries and applesauce in blender until smooth. You should end up with one and a half cups of puree; if you need more, you can add more strawberries or just enough water to make that amount.

Combine the cake mix, eggs, and strawberry applesauce puree; when all the ingredients are well-mixed, continue to beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in muffin tins; spray each paper lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the batter into the cups, filling each just over half full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the center springs back (or use a toothpick or skewer to test for doneness). If using miniature muffin pans, bake for only 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool. When ready to frost, pull the liner away from the side of each cupcake just far enough to cut a slit in the middle of the cupcake--don't cut all the way through. Spread a little frosting into this slit and press the cupcake together, pressing the paper liner back against the cake. Spread the top with frosting. Makes about 24 cupcakes. Store in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Frosting and Filling

1 T soft butter
3/4 c fresh strawberries, finely chopped
powdered sugar--approximately 2 to 3 cups
1/2 t almond extract
1 t lemon juice (may use bottled or fresh)

Stir strawberries and butter together and then mix in a cup or so of powdered sugar, the almond extract and lemon juice. Beat with a fork until quite smooth. Continue adding powdered sugar until quite thick. Place in refrigerator for at least half an hour. As this stands, the acid in the strawberries may cause the mixture to thin out, so you may need to add more powdered sugar. Warning: this will probably never develop a really creamy consistency, staying much more like a glaze.

If desired, add a small strawberry or strawberry slice to the top of each just before serving.

Not too late for rhubarb

A crazy month and a lot of catching up to do! There is still time to use the rhubarb in your backyard...or your neighbor's--here in the upper Midwest, it seems like rhubarb is sometimes like the zucchini of spring, with many gardeners so overly blessed with these ruby red stalks, they are delighted to share with whoever can use the stuff.

I'll admit that I have never been a very big rhubarb fan, but everyone I know seems to love the stuff. If you live far enough north to be able to grow it, by all means start a couple of roots, as it becomes a virtually free food source after the first year. The plants grow easily here in Minnesota, with some homeowners still harvesting stalks for decades. Once established, the "fruit" is virtually free, so it is a good choice for frugal breads and desserts. It freezes well too; just wash, slice, and wrap tightly, squeezing out as much air as possible from the bag.

Another advantage of rhubarb is the nutritional boost it provides for only 26 calories per serving. Of course, its natural tartness means that virtually every recipe that includes it will also have quite a bit of sugar. Still it does qualify as a good nutritional choice, with a lot of vitamin C. You can find a full breakdown of its attributes at http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2056/2

Strawberries are often teamed with rhubarb, a good way to make the generally more expensive strawberries go further. The Strawberry Rhubarb Cake is extremely quick to make and is a good last minute recipe to keep in mind. If you use frozen rhubarb or strawberries, drain the fruit and use that for part of the liquid in the cake mix.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

1/4 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
2 c diced rhubarb (my cake today actually had only about 1 3/4 cup)
2 c sliced strawberries
white or yellow cake mix, two layer size
eggs, water, and oil as directed on cake mix
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dice the butter into the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan and put in oven just long enough to melt. Remove and mix with sugars and cinnamon in the pan, spreading the mixture evenly.
Dice the rhubarb and slice the strawberries and spread evenly over the sugar and butter mixture. Press the fruit down into the mixture with a fork, so that it is well mixed.
Prepare the cake mix as directed on the package, adding the cinnamon and nutmeg with the other ingredients.
Pour the prepared cake batter over the fruit and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then invert on a serving platter. Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream if desired.
NOTE: This cake is so tender, I used about a tablespoon or so less oil in the batter, still with good results.

With a cake mix I had gotten on sale for less than a dollar a few weeks ago and the strawberries and eggs on special this week, the total cost of the cake came to just over $2; the "free" rhubarb really helped to keep the cost down.

The rhubarb pie my kids grew up loving came from their grandmother who had herself received it from generations before. It is a simple dessert and also can be made inexpensively if you have backyard access to rhubarb. Though I don't mind making piecrust, this is an area where the convenience of a pre-made crust may not be much more costly than from scratch—and it may mean the difference between you trying the recipe or passing it by. Since even homemade piecrust is not really what anyone would call a health food, opting for the more preservative-laden pre-made crust might be worth an occasional splurge.

Grandma's Rhubarb Custard Pie

2 to 3 c diced rhubarb
2 to 3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c sugar
3 T to 1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 c milk
cinnamon
9 inch unbaked pie shell

Spread rhubarb in the prepared pie shell. Mix all the other ingredients, except cinnamon, together until smooth. Pour over the rhubarb, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set. To test custards like this, insert a table knife near the center. The blade should come out with none of the mixture clinging to it.

NOTE: As you can see, this is one of those old-fashioned recipes where everything is VERY approximate! I have found that three cups of rhubarb is a good amount to make the filling a generous depth. With the larger amount of fruit, you will want to use three eggs and the full quarter cup of cornstarch. The key is to be sure that you don't end up with a filling that never quite sets.

Oh--and the original recipe called for "top milk," that creamy layer on top of farm milk that had not been homogenized. I have always used skim milk, but you will have a richer custard by using half and half or whole milk.