Stress Test

Vegan Chocolate Espresso Brownies and 4 Chocolate Blondies.
Last week was one of the most insane weeks I have had in a long time culminating with a 14 hour drive to Chicago, yeah...  So what does Alison do when she is stressed?  BAKE.  Yep.  I bake.  I don't work on my sides, practice my songs, or start working on my character analysis for the new show I am in, I bake.  I mean why not really?

So after a particularly stressful day and rehearsal I went home and wanted BREAD. Well, I am recently gluten free so bread was not an option.  Unless... I bake my own damn bread.  So I get on my trusty iphone, because I don't have a computer at home - yes, I am Amish - and start looking for an easy gluten free bread recipe.  Where did I end up?  At good 'ole Elena's Pantry.  She is so great and makes her recipes so simple. I mean all it called for was almond meal, arrow root powder (a great replacement for baking soda), agave nectar, 4 eggs, and some salt.  Mixy, mixy pop in the oven and 30-40 minutes later?  BREAD!!!  Gluten free bread!

Freshly made gluten free bread!

Now, this is not like your regular bread that you buy at the store, but for someone who is looking for some serious carb loading it was perfect.


It could use some delicious marmalade or jam because it is a bit dry,  but until I can find a good sugar free recipe, gluten free bread and ghee sounds delightful to me.  Yeah, I am a poet...

Spongy just like bread!

I also knew that I was going to be embarking on an epic road trip to Chicago in two days and I wanted to be sure that there was significant snackage for the driver and some delights for my friends in Chicago. In fact, there was a request for my vegan espresso chocolate brownies from my friend Mr. Graves who is allergic to Omega 3's. What kind of life is that?  No eggs, no almonds, no fish - ick, truly.  So why not bring him some serious joy with a vegan delight?

I went to the market and purchased some soy milk, cocoa powder, flour, and sugar and got down to it.  I decided to make the espresso brownies and my blondies, which are quickly becoming my especiality.  They have milk, white, bitter sweet, and dark chocolate chips in them.  Um, yeah they are awesome.  And I thought why not make some chocolate chip cookies while I am at it?  I mean we are going to be in a Uhaul for what I thought was 12 hours, but was more like 14.

I have to say that the blondies and the chocolate chip cookies were really a no brainer.  It was the espresso brownies that seemed foreign to me although I have made them many times before.  Instead of using a bain marie, aka a double boiler, I followed the recipe and microwaved the semi sweet chocolate. It immediately felt wrong.  I was also using this new cocoa that was half dutch processed and half regular.  I normally only just use regular cocoa, yep, I am ghetto.  The texture was thicker than I remember it being, but I thought perhaps that meant chewier.  But something about it just didn't seem right.  I lined the brownie pan with aluminum foil, sprayed it, and hoped for the best.

The cookies came out of the oven and they were perfection; crispy on the edge and soft in the middle.  How do I do it?  A Silpat.  Yep, I finally broke down and got one and it has drastically changed the quality of my cookies.  I mean they were always pretty off the hook, but a bit inconsistent.  Now, they are always good, all the time.  I really suggest getting one.

Silpat cookie.  BAM!
The brownies came out of the oven and the edges of them looked a bit whacko.  I was bummed because I knew I didn't have enough time to make another batch and they were specially requested from my friend in Chi-town.  Crapola.

The specially requested vegan espresso brownies. 

Then the blondies came out.  They looked awesome.  Here is the thing with the blondies, the edges get hard, but when you cut away the edges the blondies are moist and delicious.  And with all those different chocolate chips in them, forget it!

I mean...

I also cut away the edges of the espresso brownies and they looked okay, although not the ooey gooey brownies I know Sir Graves was dreaming of.  Ah well,  I had to go to work on some sides, pack my dress for the concert I was singing the following evening, and maybe get around to sleeping so they will have to do.

Well, thank goodness I made the bread, cookies, brownies, and blondies because that 14 hour drive was something.  My friend Scott was such a trooper for driving the whole 14 hours on THE most boring highway on the face of the earth.  I mean I have never been on a highway that only has truck stops the whole way.  Like the WHOLE way.  Now truck stops are fascinating.  They have everything you could possibly want, need, and maybe desire, but truck stops are a little scary too. Like horror movie scary. So we were in and out in no time.  Scott needed sugar sustinance to make it through the drive and I needed bread to satiate me.

I arrived in Chicago at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. GMT and my dear friend Jake welcomed me with open arms.  Four hours later we were up, he was eating the brownies and blondies for breakfast, and I was getting ready for an audition.  He was reaping the benefits of Mr. Graves brownie request.

He and Sir Graves said the brownies tasted smoky.  Smokey?  Why smokey?  Huh. The different cocoa?  Perhaps the coffee?  I have no idea why they tasted smokey, but they smelled smokey now that they mentioned it.  They said that they tasted good, but I know they were just being nice.  So sorry the brownies were smokey and not as delightful as they last time, but the cookies, and the blondies made up for it I hope.

Smokey brownies












Delicious delights all made in a moment of stress.  Really is there any better stress reliever?  Okay, don't answer that.

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