Friday, September 12, 2008

ORANGIES (ORANGE BROWNIES)



















I've never met a brownie I didn't like. I may be partial to dark chocolate, but I love blondies and marbled cheesecake brownies, too. An orange brownie sounded intriguing, but it was the orange cream cheese frosting that really got my attention. I don't generally use Paula Deen's recipes; they are just too laden with fat. This recipe, however, did not have a disproportionate amount of fat and, with the substitution of Neufchatel cheese for cream cheese and the addition of some toasted coconut, these orangies could become a new favorite.


ORANGE BROWNIES
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 eggs
2 tsp pure orange extract
1 tsp grated orange zest


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 X 9 inch pan.


Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest. Using a hand held mixer, beat until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan.


ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 (8 oz) pkg Neufchatel cheese, softened
4 tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 (1 lb) box confectioners' sugar
2 tbs orange zest
2 tbs orange juice

OPTIONAL: Spread 1/2 cup of shredded coconut on a cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree oven. Watch carefully, stirring as it turns a light brown. Cool before sprinkling over frosting.




In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese with a hand held mixer. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until frosting is smooth. Beat in the orange zest and orange juice.



Use a fork to pierce the pan of brownies. Spread icing over brownies. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Cut into desired sized squares.

Larry doesn't quite get the concept of orange brownies, but they're sure disappearing fast. I made him bring a bunch to work today since they have been known to call my name.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for visiting my blog. These orange brownies look so cool! I would never have thought to make citrus-flavored brownies, but I may just have to! I'm bookmarking this recipe. :-)

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  2. "eat what you love and love what you eat", i love that.
    thanks for visiting my blog. i like yours alot. i live in california, so we have tons of oranges all the time, i'm going to have to try these :)

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  3. Thanks for visiting my blog, I loved the idea of a citrus brownie, It will definetely be my next recipe, so I'll tell you later on how they did turn out! I love your blog, it's catchy!

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  4. Hi Arlene. How's it going? Thanks for stopping by my blog. I don't have a recipe for Tres Leches Creme Brulee, but I found this recipe for Tres Leches Flan, close. Check it out and let me know how it comes out. I think I'll experiment with making a creme brulee. I have one for Mexican Chocolate but not Tres Leches.

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  5. Ooh, this could be a good way for me to use the millions of oranges I bought last weekend :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Those orange brownies look sooooooo delicious. Put coconut on anything and I'll eat it. LOL

    L/H, Peg

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  7. Orange brownies? Wow, what a great idea--so fresh! And they look fantastic, too.

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  8. You know, I've heard about these, but never tried nor tasted them. Your recipe and mouth watering photos just motivated me to do so. Orange is so underrated in baking!

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