March Madness

Its supposed to be Fiesta Thursday 

but March Madness has swept through the Ever Ready blog today and some expected recipes have vanished. How can that be?  
Try these recipes and I'll bet you won't be disappointed. 

Today is March 3rd, a one day nationwide event, Flip It Forward Day A Pancake Fundraiser sponsored  by Country Living Magazine in conjunction with Cracker Barrel Restaurant to raise funds for USO Military Organization. This link has all the details.  
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2016/03/upcoming-events.html 

Just in case you can't make the event Ever Ready will flip a pancake recipe forward to you
The Original Pam Cakes
Cook's notes: The people at Southern Living Magazine often celebrate special occasions with "Pam Cakes". The recipe was developed by Test Kitchen resident, Pam Lolley. The recipe was published in November 2015 issue. These pancakes are light, fluffy and impossible to resist. YUM! YUM!
You don't need a special occasion to serve these though I think March Madness qualifies.  
Recipe makes 12-14 medium sized pancakes. 

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

• Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. 
• Whisk together buttermilk and eggs. Gradually stir into flour mixture. 
• Gently stir in melted butter. Batter will be lumpy. If batter too thick, thin out with a little more milk. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each  pancake onto hot greased griddle. 
• Cooking tip: Preheat oven to 250 degrees and place cooked pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet to keep warm up to 30 minutes. 
  

The following recipe is one of the most addictive, chocolaty brownies recipes I have ever made. The addition of butterscotch chips really enhances the flavor. It takes a little extra time but so well worth it. And if you a fan of Baileys Irish Cream this is just the recipe for you. 
Kitchen Tip: Espresso powder amps up the rich, chocolate flavor of many desserts including cakes, brownies and cookies without leaving a strong coffee taste.

 

Bailey's Butterscotch Brownies

Cook's notes:Recipe from tastykitchen.com with very few adaptions :)

Ingredients:
For the brownies
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp.salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp. instant coffee granules (I used espresso powder)
1/4 cup Bailey's (or other similar brand) Irish Cream
1 tsp. vanilla
4 TB. butter
4 oz. 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate, bar chopped (I used 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate but a Semi-Sweet Chocolate bar would also work)
2 TB. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup butterscotch chips
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-2 tsp. Bailey Irish Cream

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 and line a 8×8 baking pan with aluminum foil and allow the foil to hang over 2 opposite edges. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl mix the eggs to break them up. Add in the sugar, coffee granules or espresso powder, Bailey’s, and vanilla. The recipe called for mixing 15 minutes (my arm got tired with hand held mixer and I declared 10 minutes was good enough!)
• Place the butter in a metal bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and add the chocolate. Heat just until melted and remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder. I placed small saucepan on low, melting butter and chocolate and that worked fine.  
• Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, add the flour mixture to the batter and gently mix. Fold in the butterscotch chips.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake brownies in the preheated oven for 2o minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pan on a wire rack. Cut brownies when cooled, the top part will be a little crackly but whip cream covers it.  
• Whip cream and towards the end add in Baileys. 

Cooking tip: Cream whips better if beaters have been chilled in freezer.