The Brownie Recipe for Everyone - Panko-Encrusted Wasabi Brownies

I'm imagining you staring at your screen.  Your head is cocked to the side and you've rested your hand on your chin to ponder my bizarre title.  Could a panko-encrusted wasabi brownie really be the brownie recipe for everyone?  Let me explain:

Irish Coffee Brownie Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day

Irish coffee cupcakes are coffee-flavored cupcakes spiked with whiskey and topped with chocolate whiskey cream cheese frosting.  Irish coffee brownie cupcakes are the same thing, but with a surprise inside...

...a hidden brownie center!

I probably don't need to tell you how sensational these Irish coffee brownie cupcakes are, or how you need to make these cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day, or how these are a coffee-lover's dream.  Just go get the recipe on PaulaDeen.com* and get baking!

*For those of you who don't know, I regularly develop cupcake recipes for Paula Deen's website.  These St. Patrick's Day cupcakes are my March recipe.

NY Bakery Cupcakes: Good But No Match For Mom's Brownies

Despite all the fall cupcake creations I have made, I took the journey to NY for Thanksgiving sans cupcakes. My Aunt pointed out on several occasions that she had yet to have any of my cupcakes. She later made the decision that she would come to St. Louis to visit.

Lesson learned: Don't travel with cupcakes and people will come to visit!

Despite the fact that I didn't make cupcakes, our Thanksgiving was not without them. Our cousins had picked some up at a NY bakery. NY bakery cupcakes, like the black and white cookies you see beside them (see my post on Black and White cupcakes if the black and white concept is new to you), are their own breed of dessert. Both baked goods feature a similar frosting that is hard and can be peeled off. The vanilla also has a subtle lemon flavor. If you grew up in NY, you know it and love it. If not, you may question the flavor and why the frosting isn't puffy and swirly.

Also of note on the T-Day dessert menu was an apple pie special ordered by my mom's fiance from Jericho Cider Mill. It's easy to screw up apple pie - too sweet, too corn starchy, too dry. This one was perfect. Rumor has it that these need to be ordered well in advance of a holiday in order to get one. It's well worth it!

However, no bakery dessert can compare to Mom's brownies. That was the dessert I went for this Thanksgiving (in addition to sampling everything else off my husband's plate). Some like their brownies fudgy. I like mine cakey, not gooey, and these brownies deliver. I also like my desserts small and Mom cuts them into really small pieces so that you never feel guilty having seconds.


I'm thankful this Thanksgiving for the tastes that make me feel at home and the family to share the flavors with.

Mom's Brownies

They were originally Grandma's brownies, but my mom has taken ownership of them at Thanksgiving. Besides, if I call them Mom's brownies, then when I'm a mom and I make them, they will be my brownies and I don't have to wait until I'm a Grandma. No, everyone, I'm not pregnant.

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 T cocoa
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 c walnuts (optional)

Beat all ingredients for 3 minutes. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.