Olive oil salted dark chocolate brownies

From the NY Times...amazing.

I'll also admit that I made another batch in a pinch and used trusy ol' Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix with half olive oil/half canola oil, and the salt and coconut added as instructed below. Have to say...I don't know that you could have told the difference?

At any rate, use high-quality chocolate and this recipe will quickly become a favorite.

3/4 cup olive oil, plus more to grease pan

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Fleur de sel, for sprinkling (be generous!)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water until smooth. Add the unsweetened chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted. Whisk in the olive oil. Add the eggs, yolks and vanilla, and continue to whisk until combined. Add the sugar, whisking until fully incorporated. Using a spatula, fold in the flour and salt until just combined. Fold in the bittersweet chocolate pieces.

3. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle 1 cup of the shredded coconut on top of the batter. Pour in the remaining batter and smooth. Top with remaining coconut. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and bake until just set and firm to the touch, about 25 to 30 minutes. (These brownies solidify as they cool, so inserting a toothpick to check for doneness will not work; it does not come out clean.) Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Yield: About two dozen brownies.

Giant Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

I made this for dessert on Christmas Eve and it was a huge hit...I think the thing that really set it off were the 60% cocoa Ghirardelli chips, but I'm sure it would still be good with other varieties.

Serves 8

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1 large egg
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups (1 bag) 60% cocoa large Ghirardelli chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm; top each wedge with a scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce if desired.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

This recipe is loosely based on a classic by Martha Stewart, with quite a few adaptations and one big change to make this version very easy!
While I nearly always prefer from-scratch recipes, I am not sure that Ghirardelli's Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix can be beat for rich, chocolately, delicious brownies. So, instead of making the chocolate part of these from scratch, that's what I used instead.
The only thing I'd change about these next time would be to add mini-chocolate chips to the pumpkin batter (this was Scott's request, and I think it's a good idea).
Otherwise, these turned out well and I'll probably make them again before fall is over.
Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Brownies
Makes about 24 brownies

Ingredients

1 box Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie mix, made according to directions (high-altitude, if applicable)

For the pumpkin batter (make usual altitude corrections if needed, i.e., 1-2 Tbsp more flour, a bit less baking powder):
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
(optional: chocolate chips)
Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Spray a 9″ x 11″ baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Prepare brownie mix according to directions; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients for the pumpkin batter (flour, baking powder and salt)

4. Beat together the 2 eggs and 3/4 cup of sugar. Mix them for 3-5 minutes until fluffy. Add the vanilla and pumpkin and mix thoroughly. Add the melted butter and spices and blend well. (If desired, add some chocolate chips here!)

5. Pour the dry pumpkin batter ingredients into the wet and use the stand up mixer to combine thoroughly, again without overmixing.

6. Pour 2/3 of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Spread pumpkin batter on top of the chocolate (this will require being gentle and patient to try and get the batter to stretch evenly across the brownie mix). Using a ziploc bag with a hole cut in the corner, or else working carefully with a spoon and your hand, spread the remaining brownie batter into 3 lines parallel to the long-side of the brown pan. Using a knife, swirl the pattern by slicing through the batter in alternating directions parallel to the short side of the pan.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan.

Mint Pesto Brownies

An explosion of mint in the garden sent me searching for ways to use a lot of mint in a little time.
These are delicious, even for someone like me that doesn't generally like a lot of mint in my dessert.A shortcut I'd definitely recommend is using Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix -- absolutely delicious and cuts prep time down drastically.
I've made 3 batches of these so far and they've all disappeared in moments.

MINT PESTO

This is terrific with chocolate. Try it as a filling for (ice cream!) sandwich cookies or mix some into chocolate sauce for ice cream or cake.

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

2 cups packed fresh mint leaves

1/3 cup honey

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, briefly chop the nuts before adding the remaining ingredients. Puree until reduced to a paste. If not using right away, transfer to a glass container, lay plastic wrap over the top so it is touching thus keeping air from penetrating the pesto. Store in refrigerator for up to a month.

Yield: about 1 cup

MINT PESTO BROWNIES

To swirl the pesto into the brownies, try placing the pesto into a small plastic bag with a corner snipped off. (Hint: it might help to microwave the bag for 10-20 sec to soften the honey and let the pesto squeeze out more easily)

Pipe lines of pesto going one direction and then run a knife through the lines in the opposite direction to swirl.

Favorite brownie recipe or mix, prepared as instructed

1/4 cup mint pesto

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Light butter or coat with non-stick spray the bottom only of an 8-inch square baking pan.

Prepare brownie batter and turn batter into prepared pan. Swirl the mint pesto into the batter by drizzling it on in parallel lines and then running a knife through the lines from the other direction.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. For best results, allow to cool completely before cutting.

Big Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these based on a Baking Bites recipe, and overall, I think they turned out pretty well!
Scott says the verdict is still out on the cornflake crumb addition though, so I'm thinking for next time I would keep all else the same, but substitute food-processed oatmeal instead, to still give the cookies some heft but less corn-grain-y crunch.
Anyway, I thought they turned out pretty well, not going flat or spreading too much. I added about a 1/4 cup extra of AP flour and reduced the baking soda a little for altitude (prob used ~3/4tsp), so if making this at sea level, back off the flour by about a 1/4 cup. You can also use all AP flour, though I mixed mine up a little to play with the cookie texture (and a little added nutrition never hurts!)

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour (1 3/4 if at sea level)
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda (3/4tsp at alt)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups crushed corn flake crumbs/rice krispies/puffed rice cereal (or oatmeal "flour"?)
2 cups chocolate chips (I used the large ghirardelli 60% cocoa ones...SO good)

Preheat oven to 350F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, followed by cereal crumbs and chocolate chips.

Using a 1/4 cup measure as a spoon, drop 1/4 cup scoops of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave at least 4 inches between cookies to allow for spread (I put 5 or 6 on a sheet). Cookie dough should be shaped in the 1/4 cup measure, not in a round ball (as this results in the most even baking). Refrigerate dough mounds for about 30min to reduce spreading.

Bake for 13-16 minutes, until cookies are golden at the edge. Remove from oven and let cookies set on cookie sheet for 6-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes 18-20 large cookies...but then again, I ate a lot of dough :-)