spicy mocha brownies

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to bake - A LOT - maybe too much according to my husband's expanding waistline! (He says I'm a 'feeder', but in reality he just can't resist the goodness that comes out of my oven.) Anywho...I was sitting there on Sunday trying to decide what to bake. I found a lot of great ideas online, but had to table them for later due to a lack of certain ingredients. So, I decided to make good old brownies, but not just any brownies, brownies with a twist! I had some white & semi-sweet chocolate chips in the freezer so I figured I'd throw them in. Somehow the combination of white and dark chocolate made me think of Caribou's Spicy Mocha (I developed a slight obsession with these this winter) and BAM! Spicy Mocha Brownies were born. Here's the recipe for anyone who'd like to try them. Enjoy.

Melt the butter in the microwave-safe bowl.

Add the granulated sugar and stir.

Mix in the eggs.

Next, add the vanilla.

Now let's make it a brownie by adding the cocoa powder!

Time for the spices! I used 1 tsp. of cinnamon and 1tsp. of cayenne pepper, but if you don't like things really spicy, use less. And, if you can get your hands on ancho chile powder, give that a whirl (that's what Caribou uses, but I didn't have any at home). And then 2Tbsp. of instant coffee granules.

And finally, add the flour and give the batter a good stir.

Next, toss in 1 cup of chocolate chips or pieces (I did 1/2 white and 1/2 semi-sweet).

Choose your favorite brownie-cooking vessel and lightly grease it. I like thicker brownies so I always use an 8"x8" pan.

Pour your batter into the pan and pop it into your preheated oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until set.

Mmmm...my favorite, the ooey-gooey center pieces! :o)

SPICY MOCHA BROWNIES

• 1 cup Butter
• 2 cups White Sugar
• 4 whole Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ⅔ cups Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 tsp (or less) Cinnamon
• 1 tsp (or less) Cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Instant Coffee Granules
  
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8"x8" or 9"x13" pan. Melt butter. Remove from heat and add ingredients in the order listed, stirring well by hand. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until set. Cut and serve.

SUPERBOWL

The Packers are going to the Superbowl and I couldn't be more excited!!! I've been training my little cheerleader to recite the "Go Pack Go" chant and do the touchdown signal. Now I must find her a new Packer outfit for the big game (she's outgrown all her old outfits). I'll try to post a video of her soon. GO PACK!

what's new?

1. Peyton is ONE! Well, technically almost 14 months now, but seriously where has the time gone?? We had a nice Pooh-themed party at the beginning of December for her and she had a great time. She absolutely loved the balloons Daddy picked out for her and they remained in our house for at least 3 weeks. :o) She's been a full-time walker since she was about 10 months and is enjoying running all around the house - pulling things out of every basket, cupboard, nook and cranny. She is right on track with her growth and development too. I believe at her one year appointment she was 50th percentile for her height, 75th for her weight and 100th for her head (poor kid got her parents' big head). She is talking up a storm too - mostly in 'alien' as I like to call it, but she usually attempts at least the first syllable of every word we teach her. Some of her more recognizable words are Pu-pup (puppy), A-pah (apple), Nana (banana) and she does a pretty good bye-bye. She also knows the sign for 'more.' She also learned about (and met) Santa this year and if you show her a picture of him or ask her what Santa says, she makes the cutest little "o" face and says "ho, ho, ho."

2. I got a new job! I now work for TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press website) in St. Paul. It's a bit of a commute compared to my old 10-minute jaunt across town, and with our extra snowy winter some days have been really crappy, but I really like the job and spring is just around the corner...right? ;o)

3. In less exciting news, I've also joined Snap fitness and have been going regularly thanks to my workout-buddy Kristin! It's so nice to have someone to keep you accountable for going. I'm ready to drop a couple of pounds and get myself back in shape finally!

we have a walker!

Please ignore my horrible voice on this...I should have removed the sound. :o)

crawling, standing, fishy-lipped baby

Peyon is now 7.5 months and changing every day. It's so fun to watch her grow and explore! Some of the things she's now doing:

- She has been sitting for awhile, but can now get herself to a seated position from crawling or laying down.
- She has mastered the army crawl and is ALL over the house
- Is obsessed with standing and pulls herself up on anything she can
- Walks along furniture
- Stands alone for a very short time (about 5 seconds - ha)
- Cut her first tooth about a week ago
- Says "ba-ba-ba" and "da-da-da", but no "m" sounds yet. :o/
- Makes an adorable fishy face (see previous post)
- Is also obsessed with our dog, Chase. If he lays down, she makes a bee-line for him. She loves to grab his tail and feet. He doesn't feel quite the same about these activities, however. :o)
- LOVES to jump/bounce in her jumperoo and doorway jumper. Seriously, she gets a little out of control sometimes. Ha!
- Also obsessed with electronic things - cell phones, remotes, etc.

recent pics

A little wrong, but I LOVE her expression in this one.

Taking shelter from the storm last week with Grandma.

Yep, I officially suck at blogging! Oh well...

Peyton is now 4 months old! Wow! She is rolling like champ, obsessed with blowing bubbles (raspberries) and we just started her on cereal (so far it's NOT going so well). Honestly though, it feels like just yesterday I was pregnant and wondering when our little bundle would arrive.

We just had her 4 month appointment on Monday and according to the doctor she's doing everything she should be at this point. She definitely still has her moments, but overall we can't complain. She has been sleeping through the night consistently for at least a month and she's really only crabby now when she's hungry or really tired. Almost makes me want another...ha, ALMOST being the key word. :o)