Plated + Served: Hot-To-Trot Gluten-Free Brownies

February13

Okay, I know this is probably too late for tomorrow, but I got busy today

If you wanna generate some heat on Valentine’s Day, these homemade Brownies are just the ticket.

So easy to make… I’ve just added cayenne pepper and cinnamon to a basic Brownie recipe. They almost taste like a mole poblano—that rich dark red Mexican sauce made with chilies, chocolate, nuts and seeds.

Trust me on this one.

I made the Brownies in my new fave silicone kitchen item, Silpat’s Entremet non-stick silicone baking pan. One caveat with the Silpat: Make sure you let the cooked brownies cool in the pan for 30 minutes. That way, when you flip them on the cutting board to cut, they won’t stick. You can also use your favorite 9-by-9-inch pan.

I goosed the brownie recipe on the back of the Silpat box by using gluten-free flour, adding spices and omitting the nuts.

Spice up your Valentines Day a little bit… some sweet, some heat… the rest is up to you!

Hot Brownies

 

 

 

 

 

Gadget Tree: Demarle Silpat Non-Stick Baking Pan

February12

I love it when the stars align and things fall into place just as you’d like.Silpat Box

Sometimes when I test a new product or recipe, I don’t get the results promised. So I re-test. And re-test. And re-test.

But sometimes things come together perfectly on the first try (of course, I still have to re-test and re-test and re-test).

I wanted to try Demarle’s new Silpat Silicone Baking Pan AND I needed to make a new recipe for gluten-free brownies. So… I made the brownies in the Silpat Baking Pan.

Perfection. The Silpat Baking Pan AND the Brownies!

SilpatI’ll talk about the Gluten Free Chile Brownies tomorrow, just ahead of Valentine’s Day. Right now, I’m going to sing the praises of my new favorite baking tool.

If you don’t know, Silpat is a great non-stick liner for cookie sheets that makes clean up extra easy. Now they’ve come up with this 10-by-13¾-inch reusable pan that’s also non-stick… you just wipe it clean.

I know some people are wary of using silicone in the oven, but Demarle makes sure all of their products are food safe, Kosher and NSF certified and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Silpat Baking Pan needs to be used on a cookie sheet so it stays stable… and you can’t use knives or sharp utensils. I flipped the brownies onto a cutting board to cut them. Oh, and they advise against putting it in the dishwasher.

This is a great addition to my baking battery. Like I said, I love it when the stars align!

 

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The Best Brownies

March19

The Best Brownies

When it comes to sweets and desserts, Drew and I are always on the hunt for “The Best ___” (fill in the blank).

There was one summer we searched for the perfect chocolate cake. We both put on a few pounds.

Lately we’ve been looking for the best brownie recipe because brownies are so transportable and easy to eat on the run. We wanted a brownie that was moist and fudgy, just a little tiny bit cakey so they’d hold their shape, and didn’t easily fall apart or get too gooey and wind up smashed when packed in a lunch or put out for a bake sale. I think we found it… these are The Best Brownies. Let me know what you think!

Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com