Cooking
Page 73 in the old book / page 119 in the new book
Petites Trianons fall somewhere between brownies and cake. The batch I made was cakey and a little drier than I would have liked. I baked them for exactly 28 minutes as prescribed by Maida, but I can't help but wonder if I should have taken them out a little sooner. She describes them as "small, plain, fudgelike squares similar to Brownies...", but they were fudge-like in taste only.
These bars are easily mixed in a saucepan, so this was truly a no-fuss recipe. I bought a big chunk of Callebaut baking chocolate (sold by the pound in Whole Foods) which I used for these and will be using for the next few recipes. The cookies tasted great, but I'm not sure I can detect the difference between a good baking chocolate and an "ordinary" baking chocolate (such as Baker's or Hershey's). It would be interesting to do a side by side comparison some time. It has been a while since I last made brownies and I must say, there are few things in this world that smell as good as chocolate and butter baking together - no matter which kind of baking chocolate you use!
I wouldn't choose to make these again because I prefer a moister brownie, but if you like cakey brownies, you can't beat this recipe for simplicity.
Even though this wasn't a stunning debut for the bar cookies, I think everyone was pretty happy to be getting their chocolate fix again...
Suzanne: "This was a cakey brownie and a little dry. The brownie did not have a rich dark chocolate flavor that I like in a brownie. Rating - 3.0"
Denny: "Very good. I liked the cake-like texture very much. Very good. Rating - 4.2"
Laura: "Moist, yummy, & TASTY! Rating - 4.0"
Phil: "This 'cookie' was exactly as Cathy advertised - like brownies, but a little cakier. My sample was a smidge dry, with a subtle but lasting after taste of fine chocolate. Was expecting something a little more elegant with this moniker but c'est la vie. Rating - 3.3"
Overall rating by the panel - 3.6
Next week - All-American Brownies
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Butterscotch Brownies
Page 92 in the old book / page 135 in the new book These brownies smelled so good while baking! They were good too... though I'd be inclined to tweak the recipe a little next time. These are not the typical "blondies" you may be accustomed to. There...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate Mint Sticks
Page 80 in the old book / page 126 in the new book I thought these were fantastic, but not everyone agreed with me. If there's one thing I've learned in my cookie project thus far, it's that people may be open to trying all kinds of new cookies,...
- Mondays With Maida - Fudge Brownies
Page 78 in the old book / page 125 in the new book While there are still a number of chocolate bar cookies ahead, strictly speaking, this is the last of the brownies. This recipe is very similar to the All-American Brownies, but with double the chocolate,...
- Mondays With Maida - Greenwich Village Brownies
Page 75 in the old book / page 123 in the new book The brownies this week are truly over the top - 6 ounces of chocolate, 8 ounces of butter, 6 eggs, 3 cups of sugar plus some corn syrup for good measure, and 3 cups of pecans! Care to hazard a guess...
- Mondays With Maida - All-american Brownies
Page 74 in the old book / page 120 in the new book You know that saying, "less is more"? It has never been more deliciously proven than with these brownies. The recipe for this week's cookie is just a slight variation of last week's Petites Trianons....
Cooking
Mondays with Maida - Petites Trianons
Page 73 in the old book / page 119 in the new book
Petites Trianons fall somewhere between brownies and cake. The batch I made was cakey and a little drier than I would have liked. I baked them for exactly 28 minutes as prescribed by Maida, but I can't help but wonder if I should have taken them out a little sooner. She describes them as "small, plain, fudgelike squares similar to Brownies...", but they were fudge-like in taste only.
These bars are easily mixed in a saucepan, so this was truly a no-fuss recipe. I bought a big chunk of Callebaut baking chocolate (sold by the pound in Whole Foods) which I used for these and will be using for the next few recipes. The cookies tasted great, but I'm not sure I can detect the difference between a good baking chocolate and an "ordinary" baking chocolate (such as Baker's or Hershey's). It would be interesting to do a side by side comparison some time. It has been a while since I last made brownies and I must say, there are few things in this world that smell as good as chocolate and butter baking together - no matter which kind of baking chocolate you use!
I wouldn't choose to make these again because I prefer a moister brownie, but if you like cakey brownies, you can't beat this recipe for simplicity.
Even though this wasn't a stunning debut for the bar cookies, I think everyone was pretty happy to be getting their chocolate fix again...
Suzanne: "This was a cakey brownie and a little dry. The brownie did not have a rich dark chocolate flavor that I like in a brownie. Rating - 3.0"
Denny: "Very good. I liked the cake-like texture very much. Very good. Rating - 4.2"
Laura: "Moist, yummy, & TASTY! Rating - 4.0"
Phil: "This 'cookie' was exactly as Cathy advertised - like brownies, but a little cakier. My sample was a smidge dry, with a subtle but lasting after taste of fine chocolate. Was expecting something a little more elegant with this moniker but c'est la vie. Rating - 3.3"
Overall rating by the panel - 3.6
Next week - All-American Brownies
Nutrition Facts
- Mondays With Maida - Butterscotch Brownies
Page 92 in the old book / page 135 in the new book These brownies smelled so good while baking! They were good too... though I'd be inclined to tweak the recipe a little next time. These are not the typical "blondies" you may be accustomed to. There...
- Mondays With Maida - Chocolate Mint Sticks
Page 80 in the old book / page 126 in the new book I thought these were fantastic, but not everyone agreed with me. If there's one thing I've learned in my cookie project thus far, it's that people may be open to trying all kinds of new cookies,...
- Mondays With Maida - Fudge Brownies
Page 78 in the old book / page 125 in the new book While there are still a number of chocolate bar cookies ahead, strictly speaking, this is the last of the brownies. This recipe is very similar to the All-American Brownies, but with double the chocolate,...
- Mondays With Maida - Greenwich Village Brownies
Page 75 in the old book / page 123 in the new book The brownies this week are truly over the top - 6 ounces of chocolate, 8 ounces of butter, 6 eggs, 3 cups of sugar plus some corn syrup for good measure, and 3 cups of pecans! Care to hazard a guess...
- Mondays With Maida - All-american Brownies
Page 74 in the old book / page 120 in the new book You know that saying, "less is more"? It has never been more deliciously proven than with these brownies. The recipe for this week's cookie is just a slight variation of last week's Petites Trianons....