Makin' Moves & Salted Caramel Brownies

Why yes, fellow food-lovers, I am in fact making several things lately. Moves. That's one of them - lots and lots of moves. Salted caramel brownies is among the more delicious of what I've been making. But both will be discussed today as promised.

All jokes aside, I never joke about food. So, we'll start with that. I have been dying to make a chewy, chocolatey, omnom-screaming brownie. My brownies last week were good, but they were more intense due to the added coffee. I have thus added a few little tricks of my own in the form of beer and salted caramel. And while I hate to brag, this brownie kicked some serious taste buds! I was nervous that the caramel was going to harden and cause dentists all over Nashville to curse Littlest Love. But fortunately for me, I made a quick, super soft caramel that was to die for. And thus it was both ooey and gooey inside those brownies. We all know those are the basic brownie requirements.

Ohh, look at those soft squares of buttery caramel goodness...

I went to the store in search for Guinness (brilliant!), but I happened upon this Vanilla Java Porter by Atwater Brewery (support Detroit!) in the beer aisle, and well, Guinness took the back burner. This stuff is delicious! I couldn't let the rest of 6-pack go to waste, so it's cooling in my fridge for a post-work beverage.

It poured a beautiful, brown caramel color, and was a great addition to the dark cocoa powder.

And there you have it. Thick, chewy, caramel-y brownies!

Ohhh... Ahhh...

Oh, now you want to hear about all the moves I've been making? As if it doesn't get better than salted caramel and chocolate, I have some totally SWEET news! As of now, Littlest Love has become a real-live business.  I have formed an LLC and handled 99% of the business side of things, and am just working on creating contacts and new friends in the form of suppliers and wholesalers who want to buy my goods!

If you think that's not exciting enough, I am working on a survey that I plan to send out very soon that will request your honest opinions. The survey results will likely be the decision-maker in whether or not I offer an online-only Cookie of the Month Club! How many of you want fresh cookies from Littlest Love over-nighted to your doorstep?! Survey Monkey will tell all!

In the meantime, I'll be baking more cookies and brownies this week!  And next weekend, I'll be baking cupcakes for a friend's birthday party. I'm still trying to conjure up a final peanut butter cupcake combination, so if you have any ideas, please share here in my comments, or find me on Facebook!

Red, White & Nomnoms!

Fourth of July is the day that Americans celebrate 'Merica's birthday by lighting shit on fire, eating until we can't move, and yelling " 'Merica! " at the top of our lungs every time someone mentions beer, anything deep fried, or the colors red, white and blue. It's a time when we all get just a little bit redneck, a little bit patriotic, and a lotta bit full.

And now I get to talk about my redneck, patriotic, and super full week(end)! I started it off early on Tuesday night, baking and shipping cookies to Orlando. Those cookies then made there way to St. Augustine for a VoicePlay performance! They were dispersed amongst family and friends, and from the pictures I received it looked like everyone really enjoyed themselves. I know I had a great time baking these star-cutout brownie cookies. They were chewy in the middle and crisp around the edges, and they were filled with strawberry and blueberry buttercream. And by golly, they screamed 'Merica!

Naturally, I couldn't let the leftover buttercream go to waste, so the little cutouts made cute little star brownie bites that I shared with some local friends.

Wednesday evening I went for a true American pie. I didn't go for the usual strawberry, blueberry and whipped cream stars and stripes. No, I went big. Since blackberries are in season (and a recent obsession of mine) I went for a blackberry and lime pie. And I used a family recipe for the pie crust that would bring big, fat patriotic tears to your eyes. Just look at that golden brown, super delicious, perfectly baked star pie!

As you can see, this bad mamma-jamma didn't last long...

As for the rest of my baking, I put it on hold for a quick trip to Chattanooga as a last hurrah with some Nashville friends who are moving away. We ended up eating plenty of delicious food, all of which I could talk about in great length. Some of the hot spots were: Urban Stack, Aretha Frankenstein's (pancakes pictured below), Rembrandt's (see a picture of Rembrandt's "Nun" - a double stacked chocolate cream puff - here), and Heaven & Ale (four 4-oz sampler pictured below).

Aretha Frankenstein's blueberry pancakes (not pictured: Irish 8-Ball = Guinness + 2 Shots Espresso):

Heaven & Ale - an awesome new growler-fill and tasting station in Chattanooga!

Did everyone enjoy their 4th of July?? Please share links to your holiday festivities! To 'Merica!