Vermont Brownie Company

I like to find thank you gifts that are unique and not something that they would ordinarily get. I found out about the Vermont Brownie Company from my sister. She had been lucky enough to sample them and said they were pretty delicious, so I took her word and sent some to a few people. However, I had not personally sampled them until now. Luckily, I got a package in the mail that had these yummy brownies in them. This was the sampler pack which had walnut chunk, maple toffee crunch, apple blondie (a season flavor), signature, peanut butter, and espresso dulche de leche. All of them sound amazing and I had a hard time picking out which one to try first. In the end, I opted for the signature brownie. It was chocolately and moist with chunks of chocolate, and surprisingly a touch of salt. The salt balanced out the sweetness and added an interesting twist on a normal brownie. These were just the right size, where you got enough to satisfy your sweet tooth but weren't feeling sick afterwards. You definitely want to try these, even if you just order them for yourself because we all deserve a little treat every once in a while and I can't wait to try the rest of them!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars

It's obviously the onset of fall with all these pumpkin recipes that I have been posting about recently, but I can't seem to get enough of them. I would suggest keeping a can of pumpkin on hand at all times during this season...you never know when you will need it. Besides then you will avoid the rush of everyone wanting pumpkin closer to Thanksgiving and then finding out it is all gone when you get to the store. This recipe came from Pennies on a Platter via another one of my Pinterest sessions. I love the good old chocolate chip cookie, but throw in some pumpkin and what's not to love about that. I also have to say that this recipe literally takes no more than an hour from start to finish, including washing dishes. I know you are skeptical because there are lots of recipes that say that they only take 30 minutes, but what they really mean is 30 minutes of preparation time. I promise you these are beyond super simple and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. The unique thing about these is that they have a subtle spice flavor because of the nutmeg and allspice. It works really well with the pumpkin and the chocolate adds the chocolate flavor that few can resist.

There are five steps to this process. Preheat oven and prepare pan. Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients. Mix the two together and add chocolate chips. Pour into the pan to bake. The wet ingredients are 1/2 cup of pumpkin, 1 egg, 2 egg whites, and 1 tbsp canola oil. The dry ingredients are 1 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cocoa, 2/3 cups packed brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp allspice. Once all the ingredients are mixed together, add in the chocolate chips. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, however, I don't think you can go wrong with too many, so I added more along the lines of 1 cup. The batter will be pretty easy to get into the parchment lined pan. The only issue I ran into was that I didn't have an 11 x 7 pan, so I used a 13 x 9 pan. This made them a little thinner then normal. I also made them in a 9 x 9 pan and found the 9 x 9 pan make thicker, cakier brownies. I guess it really just depends on what you want. Bake for 10-15 minutes and let them cool. Then slice and enjoy. Once you bite into them, you get the notes of spice and pumpkin and then the chocolate flavor. These are a great twist on a traditional chocolate chip cookie. Though mine didn't end up looking like the picture in the original recipe, they were very yummy. Since Halloween is just around the corner and these are pretty festive, I decided that I will be using these in my goodies bags this year. It will be something different from the usual store bought candy. So whip yourself up a batch of these and cozy up with your favorite book!

Brownie Bliss

There is just something about the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to get enough. Today was my lucky day because I got to indulge in my mom's homemade dark chocolate peanut butter brownies. I warmed them up and when I took a bite was greeted by an explosion of melted chocolate in my mouth. The cakey texture of the brownie, the melted chocolate, and the pockets of peanut butter created a symphony of flavor. This was definitely not a dry and crumbly brownie, but was moist and tasted like a melted peanut butter cup. I am working on having her give me her "secret" recipe, so that I can pass it on to you. Stayed tuned for a post so that you too can make this delicious brownie at home.

Brownie Challenge

Ready to bake

Over my few years, I have found that finding the perfect thank you gift can be very challenging. However, I don't think that I have ever had someone turn down any sort of food item. I was in need of a thank you gift recently and immediately thought that I would do a baked good. In this case, there was an extra challenge because I couldn't use dairy products. Well, most dessert items have some kind of dairy in it, so nothing came to mind immediately. What I did think about though, were some unique chocolate chips I had seen at the grocery store. They happen to be dairy, soy, and nut free. Just what I needed, but what about the other ingredients?


A quick internet search didn't really turn up much in the way of dessert ideas. There were plenty of main dishes and sides to browse. Then I stumbled on this recipe on Food.com for brownies. Now how do you make brownies with no dairy? Substitute in applesauce and these chocolate chips and you are good to go. They are very easy to make. Wet ingredients, dry ingredients, make a well and mix the two together, fold in chocolate chips, and bake. I sprinkled some extra chocolate chips on top for decoration and because you can never eat enough chocolate.

Hot and fresh from the oven

Though I wasn't able to try them, they seemed to be moist and full of chocolate goodness, with the smell of chocolate lingering and tempting me to try a sample. However, I managed to resist and they brownies made it in one piece to my friend. Even though, I don't have specific dietary requirements, I believe that I will make them again to try them for myself. These brownies taught me not to be afraid of dietary requirements and that healthier options can be achieved just as well. Let me know if you have any great recipes to for specific diets or if you are looking for suggestions! I love a challenge and am sure we can find you something delicious!