m&m marshmallow brownies

Remember the basic Brownie here, ya well I've made it even better.

Yes, start with that butter and sugar on your pan.

2 cubes butter

1/3 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cup Gluten free flour
*2 small bags of M&Ms (optional)
1 package of mini marshmallows

1-1/4 tsp xantham gum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter, Stir in cocoa, sugar, eggs, & vanilla.  In a separate bowl mix gluten free flour and xantham gum.  Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Mix well.  Add one m&m bag. The batter will be a little thick so I usually try and plop it on in different areas and then smooth it as even as possible in the pan.  You want to be careful not to lift the sugar off the bottom of the pan.   Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Stick a toothpick in the center to make sure it is almost done.  Add your bag of marshmallows and another m&m bag and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

The picture above is right when I added the m&m bag and the marshmallows.

This is after 5 minutes.

Let it cool completely and the marshmallows will flatten out a bit.  

Add chocolate frosting.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1/3 cup cocoa

Powder sugar

Melt butter and cocoa together on the stove over medium heat.  Add powdered sugar and cream to a consistency that you desire.  In this particular one I added 2 cups powder sugar, but sometimes I like it gooey and sometimes I like it with a thicker consistency.  It's up to you. 

My 2 year old.  Isn't he yummy?  

Yes, he likes chicks, coloring on himself, & BROWNIES!

My 6 year old who asked for seconds.  This brownie is delicious!

* There are times when I don't have the M&M bags and so I don't use them.  Either way it is really good.  These brownies are really rich and messy, just the way I like them. 

ENJOY

Carrot Cake

So when my husband was little he told his parents that carrot cake was his favorite for his birthday.  In reality, it wasn't he just knew that his siblings (all 8 of them) wouldn't like it.  Therefore, he didn't have to share his birthday cake.  Yes folks, I married a smart one.  Fast forward 20 years and his favorite cake really is carrot cake.  I have an amazing recipe for carrot cake from a church cookbook that I have used for years.  I decided last month that I would attempt to make it gluten free and let me tell you it is even better!  I made it for my husband's birthday on a Tuesday and the following Saturday we had my niece's baptism.  Chad wanted me to make it again, yes it is that good.  My sister-in-laws family has a bunch of people with celiac and I think all of them asked me for this recipe so here it is in all of it's glory.

Carrot Cake

3 cups finely grated carrots (I use a miniature food processor)

2 cups sugar

2 cups + 2 TBS gluten free flour

4 eggs

1-1/2 cup vegetable oil

8 oz. softened cream cheese

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1-1/4 tsp. xantham gum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and sugar your 9X13 pan.  Cream the cream cheese, add sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and carrots.  Mix well, I use my kitchen aide mixer for this, but a good hand held beater should work well too.  In a separate bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together and then add to the wet ingredients.  Pour (it will be semi runny) into your sugar greased pan and bake on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes.  Check it with a sharp knife to make sure it is cooked through.  Then let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

Frosting

1/4 cup butter

4 oz. cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

2-1/2 cups sugar

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, add butter and beat until smooth.  Then add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until it is smooth.  If the consistency seems to thick then you can add a tiny bit of hot water to it, but this rarely is needed.  Frost the cake and serve.  By the way, this cake is even better the next day after it's been in the fridge and it's cold.  Seriously, you can eat it for breakfast.