Brownies for a Friend and a Road Trip

 Not only do I love blogging about food, but I also love reading other food blogs.  Alpine Berry, my favorite baking blog, has really excellent dessert recipes, and I have tried out many in its contents.  I got this recipe for Nutella Cheesecake Brownies there,  and learned about World Nutella Day, which truly restores my faith in humanity. 

These brownies are VERY rich, so I recommend only making them for crowds or as gifts.  When I made them to give out at Christmas, I reserved the Nutella from the cheesecake layer batter, warmed it and drizzled it over the top in lengthwise lines, then dragged a toothpick across the chocolate in horizontal lines to achieve an effect similar to this one:

It’s pretty but totally unnecessary.

Because of the trouble I have maintaining usable baking pans (Teflon is great until it starts flaking off), I recently had to ditch my 9”x9” inch square pan.  So when I made this batch for Adam’s birthday, to enjoy during our celebration weekend in New Orleans, I used two loaf pans lined with aluminum foil.  I thought it gave the brownies a good height I didn’t get with the 9”x9” square pan, so experimenting pays off once again.  I’ve also thought of making these in a mini muffin pan for more formal occasions.

By the way, I will be posting pictures of food from New Orleans.  Get ready, cause I’m about to get my eat on.