Archive | June 2012
June 25, 2012  

Cleaning Out The Lunchbox: Chewy M&M and Oreo Brownies

It’s the Last Week of School!
There’s no better way to get the kids to “clean out” their Lunchboxes than to make an absolutely amazing Lunchbox Treat that will have them searching for the very last crumb….

Chewy M&M and Oreo Brownies

Here’s a riff on our Cook’s Illustrated Inspired “Block Party Brownies” from the beginning of the school year. Both the Oreos and M&Ms in these brownies tend to “disappear” into the chocolatey darkness. The kids have fun trying to search for hidden cookie bites and candies with slightly faded coatings within the chewy brownie goodness.


Chew M&M and Oreo Brownies
Makes 24

Ingredients
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 additional egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup Oreos, broken into pieces (about 10-12 cookies, each cookie divided into 4-6 sections)
1 cup or 200g package of M&M candies


Method
Preheat oven to 350 with the rack in the lowest position.
Line a 9×13 pan with two layers of tin foil, with one set of long edges hanging out over the 9-in sides so that you can easily remove the brownie from the pan.
Spray foil lined pan with baking spray.
Whisk cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth.
Add chopped unsweetened chocolate until melted and smooth.
Let this mixture cool slightly, or you’ll scramble your eggs.
Add melted butter, oil, eggs and egg yolks and whisk again.
Whisk in sugar and vanilla.
Using a spatula, add flour and salt to this bowl of chocolate glory.
Add Oreos and M&Ms and fold gently.
Pour batter evenly into pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until knife comes out relatively clean.
Lift the brownie from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Slice brownie into squares.
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With our Lunchboxes set aside for the summer holidays, It’s time to transition over to our sister site, Summer of Funner!!!!
 There, at http://www.summeroffunner.com, you can check out last summer’s activities and keep up with this summer’s adventures.
The Lunchbox Season will return in September, 2012! 
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The Lunchbox Season : Summer of Funner : In Defense of Burning

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June 5, 2012  

Observing The Transit of Venus: Easy “Backs to the Sun” Pin-Hole Viewers & Blood Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Observing The Transit of Venus

This evening, Venus will appear to cross in front of the Sun. The first half of this event, known as the Transit of Venus, occurred in 2004. Tonight’s event is the twin or second part of the Transit which follows eight years after the first. A pair of crossings such as this occurs only about once each century!  The next Transit of Venus won’t take place until 2117!  

 To celebrate this rare occurrence, we are making pinhole viewers with which to watch the transit saftely, that is, by keeping our BACKS TO THE SUN!  And we have come up with a recipe for some celebratory cookies: Blood Orange Sugar Cookie Suns crossed by a Dark Chocolate Venus in Transit.

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QUICK ”BACKS TO THE SUN” PIN-HOLE VIEWERS

Since we didn’t have time to pick up the special eclipse glasses required for tonight’s event, we are TURNING OUR BACKS TO THE SUN and constructing quick and easy Pin-Hole Viewers.  

Basic Materials
Thick White Cardstock or Posterboard
Pin
“Fancy” Materials (optional)
Scissors
Thin Wooden Dowels
Hot Glue/Gun

Method
It takes about 1 minute to make a pin-hole viewer for an eclipse or transit. 
Simply take a thick piece of cardboard or cardstock and use a sharp pin or needle to poke a hole into the center of the cardstock.
Standing with your back to the sun, hold the card in front of you.  
Observe the eclipse or transit against a wall in front of you, upon the sidewalk, or upon a second blank piece of cardstock which you hold below your pinhole viewer.
   
We made some fancier viewers by cutting pairs of hearts and circles out of thick white poster paper.
Then, we used a sharp pin to poke a hole into the center of one heart or circle from each pair.
Finally, using a hot glue gun, we attached thin dowels to the backs of all of our hearts and circles.
Stand with your back to the sun, hold the shape with the pinhole above the unpinned shape, et voila!
We’ll be using these tonight!!!
  
REMEMBER: NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT AN ECLIPSE OR TRANSIT!!

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Blood Orange Sugar Cookie Suns Crossed by Dark Chocolate Venus in Transit
Makes 48 (recipe may easily be halved)
 
Ingredients
1 c unsalted butter
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 blood oranges: zest of both and 1/4 cup juice reserved
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom (optional)
.5 tsp cloves (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
2.5 c all purpose flour
red and yellow food colouring (optional)
.5 c dark chocolate chips (or your chip/candy of choice)

Method
Heat oven to 350 F.
In a mixer or with a sturdy wooden spoon, cream butter and sugar.
Add the eggs and beat for 30 seconds more.
Add the zest, juice, spices and extract and beat until incorporated.
Add baking powder, soda, and flour and beat more slowly until incorporated.
If you would like the cookies to have a true orange tint, add drops of red and yellow food colouring.
Using two tablespoons, drop dough onto parchment-lined pans, flattening each drop cookie just slightly with the back of a spoon.
Nestle three chocolate chips together (almost on top of one another) towards one edge of each cookie.
Bake approximately 10 minutes.
If so desired, use the tine of a fork to swirl the three chocolate chips into one united Venus just after baking.
Cool cookies on wire racks.
    
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The Lunchbox Season : Summer of Funner : In Defense of Burning

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