Amazing Fat-Free Banana Ice-Cream

A number of different chefs have done something like this, but here's my take.

Take 2 overripe bananas per serving and peel them and cut them into slices that are 1/2 inch wide. Freeze them in a flat layer until they are solid, a good 6 hours at least. Right before serving, puree the bananas in the food processor (not more than 6 or so at a time). If the bananas are having a tough time pureeing, you can add some milk to help it get going. Top it however you like, I especially like a quick mix of honey and peanut butter and some chocolate. Hard freeze any leftovers and they will stay good.

Blackberry-Basil Crumble

I made this recipe with blackberries I picked when I visited Arianna in Northampton a few weeks ago. The blackberry/basil combination is really good and definitely different! This is adapted from a recipe in one of my favorite books, "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. Enjoy!

• 4 cups blackberries (optional: use half blackberries and half apples - peeled and cut into small chunks)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 large handful of basil leaves, chopped
  
• 1⁄4 cup honey – or more, depending on tartness of your berries

Preheat oven to 400. Combine the above in an oven-proof casserole dish, mix
and set aside.

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
  
• 3 heaping tbsp brown sugar
  
• 1 stick cold butter
  
• Pinch of salt
  

Cut butter into flour and sugar, then rub with your fingers to make a chunky, crumbly mixture (not uniform). Sprinkle it over the top of the fruit, bake 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Devour!

Two Blackberry Cakes

Blackberries have been on sale for the past few weeks, so...

1. Blackberry Upside Down Cake

Adapted from this Gourmet magazine recipe

• 2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (12 ounces), washed and dried
  
• 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  
• 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
  

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Line bottom of a buttered 8- by 2-inch round cake pan with 2 rounds of parchment paper, then butter parchment. Dust pan with some flour, knocking out excess.

Arrange blackberries in 1 layer in cake pan. Sprinkle berries with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and shake pan to help distribute sugar.

Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and mix at low speed until just incorporated. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk in 3 batches, mixing at low speed until just incorporated.

Spoon batter evenly over berries, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven until top is golden and a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert a large plate over pan and, using pot holders to hold plate and pan together tightly, flip cake onto plate. Peel off parchment and serve!

2. Walt's Blackberry Cake

From 1001 Low-Fat Desserts

• 6 T butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• pinch ground nutmeg
  
• 1 1/2 cups pureed fresh or frozen (thawed) blackberries
  
• 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg. Mix in combined dry ingredients (flour --> nutmeg), alternating with blackberries, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Pour batter into greased and floured 6-cup fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cook cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Optional: Drizzle with sugar or brown sugar glaze.

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

A delicious, wholesome coffee cake with a interesting flavor twist. Adapted from this post on Food Loves Writing - Shannalee calls it "a sparkling blueberry coffee cake, the kind that is dense, with sweet crumbles all over the top and chock full of dark blue berries that stain all the dough they touch, creating bursts of almost-purple throughout." I used frozen Maine blueberries that my roommate picked last summer. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tablespoons rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
scant 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of chopped dried thyme
pinch of chopped dried rosemary
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup maple syrup, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups fresh wild blueberries (or other berries)

for topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut 1/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of chopped dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
a couple teaspoons sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, with the rack in the middle. Butter a nine-inch round cake pan or something similar, and line it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme and rosemary, and set aside. In a separate large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy. Drizzle in the maple syrup and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat in the egg, lemon zest and vanilla extract, scraping the sides again.

Add half of the flour, stir just a bit, now add a splash of the buttermilk, stir again a little. Add the rest of the flour and stir, and now the rest of the buttermilk. Stir until everything barely comes together and then very gently fold in one cup of the blueberries. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan and set aside.

Make the streusel: whir the flour, butter, brown sugar, thyme and walnuts in a food processor, pulsing about 20 to 30 times until the mixture has gone past crumbly/sandy to slightly moist, like the beginning of a dough. Crumble 2/3 of it over the cake batter, sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup berries on top of that, and then add the last of the crumble. Barely pat in place with your fingertips.

Place the coffee cake in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. When it is almost finished, sprinkle sugar all over the top to give it that extra sparkle. Let the cake cool for five minutes and then remove it carefully from the pan to cool on a rack.

Serves 12 – 16 modest slices.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yummy, healthy, and satisfyingly-chocolately cookies, adapted from this post on the food blog 101Cookbooks.

5 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour (all-purpose is a fine substitute)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, very, very finely chopped (by hand)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar (light is fine too)
1/4 cup unsweetened, natural applesauce
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup large-grain sugar (fex: turbinado)

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, racks in top and bottom third. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

Finely chop the chocolate bar into 1/8-inch pieces, more like shavings really. Try to avoid big lumps and chunks, which make flattening out the cookie dough later more difficult.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, walnuts, and shaved chocolate. Set aside.

Using a mixer beat the butter until fluffy. Beat in the sugar and mix until it is also light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the applesauce, then the egg, mixing until both are well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and stir by hand until the ingredients barely come together into a uniform dough.

Scoop out the dough in teaspoons and roll into a ball shape. Place two inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Gently flatten each dough ball into a thin, round patty with two fingers and then sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of large-grain sugar. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies are golden and fragrant. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Kayaking Carrot Cake Cookies (Inside Out)

These cookies are really fun, really good, and (according to Mom) a cinch to put together. Our extended family spent a week vacationing on the Carolina coast over Christmas, and as per tradition, a number of people spent a day kayaking near Wilmington. My mom wasn't going to go kayaking but wanted to contribute to the experience, so she woke up early and made these cookies for the kayakers. Luckily for me, she saved a few for the non-kayakers :-). This recipe is from my new Gourmet cookbook.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup + 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 6 T unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup + 2 T packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup + 2 T granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 c coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
• 1 c (3 oz) walnuts, chopped
• OPTIONAL: 1/2 c raisins
  
• 8 oz cream cheese (low-fat is ok)
  
• 1/4 c honey

DIRECTIONS:

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 2 large baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins (if using) at low speed. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. Cool cookies on sheets on racks for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.

Spread a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling on flat sides of half of cookies and top with remaining cookies.

Makes about 1 dozen sandwich cookies

Easy Chocolate Mousse

No one will be able to guess what the secret ingredient is! This is a mish-mash of a bunch of recipes, but the final recipe is all mine! It has a bit of a Mexican-chocolate flavor - you can omit the cinnamon and use other flavorings (amaretto, orange, etc.).

1/2 cup whole or lowfat milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6-7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
12 oz (1 package) silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons brewed dark coffee or espresso (pref. at room temperature)

Pour the milk into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Remove the milk from heat stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon. Let cool.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler - if you don't own a double-boiler, you can cobble one together using a tiny saucepan set under a larger mixing bowl. Fill the tiny saucepan with an inch or two of water and bring barely to a simmer - place the big mixing bowl with the chocolate on top of the tiny saucepan and let the heat come up and gently warm the chocolate while you stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add the milk mixture and silken tofu to the melted chocolate. Process with a hand or regular blender until completely smooth - or process everything in the Cuisinart. Stir in the coffee and vanilla. Taste and adjust for flavor, adding a bit more sugar if needed.

Chill in the big bowl (or in individual bowls) for at least 1 1/2 hours, the longer the better. The pudding will set up nicely as it cools.

Makes 6 decadent servings.

Perfect Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies

These are really easy, yummy, and fool proof! Adapted from this post from the blog Food Loves Writing.

1/2 cup of margarine/butter/oil (or some combination - I used half butter and half oil, Food Loves Writing recommends margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats (I used quick oats and it turned out fine!)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the oatmeal and chocolate chips. After well-mixed, add the oatmeal and stir together. Then add the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased or Silpat cookie sheets. Bake for ~12 minutes. Cool and eat!

RUSKS (dry biscuits/cookies)

(from Sunday at Moosewood Restaurant)

Rusks are hard, very dry biscuits, originally prepared in South Africa b the Dutch for traveling lost distances in a hot climate. Rusks were a bread that wouldn’t spoil Now, all over south Africa, rusks are eaten as snacks, dipped in coffee, tea, or milk. In the cities , man different varieties of commercially baked rusks are available. There are raisin, chocolate chip, almond, peanut.

Yields about 2 dozen

2 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/3 cup sugar
½ t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
½ cup melted butter
2 eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
2 t. vanilla
2 t. almond extract

Preheat oven to 400

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients. Combine all the wet ingredients, purl them into the dry ingredients and stir until you have a soft dough, similar to biscuit dough

Turn the dough on to a well-floured surface and roll or pat it to about 1/2 “ thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles about 2 X 4”.

Bake the rusks about 2” apart on buttered baking sheets for about 25 minutes until the tops are crisp and browning a little Now, eat a few “soft” rusks warm from the oven.
Loosely pile the rusks on a baking sheet and keep them in a 200 degree oven all day or all night (about 12 hours) to dry. The finished rusks should be very dry and hard. Cool and store in an airtight container. Rusks will keep for weeks.

NANCY’S NOTES:
1. I made it in the CUISINART, mixing the wet ingredients, then adding everything except flour, then added flour last
2. Instead of rolling/patting the dough on a floured surface, I used a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Yum!
3. I cut the rusks into smaller parallelograms instead of squares – more pointy and crisp corners
4. Instead of leaving the oven on all night, I just put them back into the oven which was turned off, but still warm and left them there all night
5. They do not keep for weeks because we ate them all in 48 hours


VARIATIONS
Oatmeal – reduce white flour to 1 ½ cups and add 2 cups rolled oats (and add currants/raisins/chocolate chips)
Almond rusks: Add 1 cup chopped almonds and omit cinnamon
Peanut: add 1 cup chopped peanuts

ALMOND MACAROONS

These are Kosher for Passover!

Makes about 2 dozen

3 or 4 egg whites
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 ½ cups blanched almonds
1 ½ t almond extract
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats (Silpats).
2. Toast almonds in a skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently until they become fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Combine sugar and almonds in food processor fitted with metal blade. Process for about 3 minutes, until it becomes a fine powder. Remove from food processor.
4. Clean and wipe dry food processor. Whip egg whites, salt, and extract together at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Fold almond mixture into egg whites, turning over and over until incorporated. Batter will sticky.
5. Spoon batter by tablespoons onto prepared pans; cookies will spread to about 3-inch rounds, so leave plenty of room. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are brown around the edges, 9-11 minutes. As soon as cookies come out of the oven, remove paper or Silpat with cookies on it from baking sheet. Let cookies cool completely before removing from paper; use a thin metal spatula if cookies stick.

Caramel Matzoh Crunch

It's almost that time of year...

• 4-6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets
• 1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed firm
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover bottom of pan with baking parchment - on top of foil. This is very important as mixture becomes sticky during baking. Line bottom of pan evenly with matzoh boards, cutting extra pieces of matzoh, as required, to fit any spaces on the cookie sheet as evenly as possible.

Combine margarine or butter and brown sugar in a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed, saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over matzoh.

Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 F. Bake 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure mixture is not burning (if it seems to be browning too quickly, remove from oven, lower heat to 325 F, and replace)

Remove from oven and sprinkle matzoh boards immediately with chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand 5 minutes then spread melted chocolate over matzoh. While still warm cut into squares or odd shapes. Chill in refrigerator until set. You can also serve it in confectioners' paper cups as a candy.

Ginger Chocolate-Chip Biscotti

I made this recipe for the big meeting of the parents (Boehm/Luberoff + Upton/Cadwell). Great flavors and a good crunch, not to mention very low fat.

Yield: 3 dozen

1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 egg white
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground cloves
3/4 c semisweet chocolate minichips
2-3 T chopped crystallized ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine vanilla, eggs, and egg white in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour and next 6 ingredients (flour through cloves) in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture, chocolate minichips, and crystallized ginger to egg mixture; stir mixture until well-blended.
3. Divide dough in half, and turn out onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Shape each portion of dough into a 12-inch-long roll; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool rolls for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
4. Cut each roll diagonally into 18 (1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks.

Adapted from a Cooking Light magazine.

New Zealand Truffles

These are from the infamous Avonhead Playcentre Family Cookbook from when we lived in Christchurch.

1/2 tin sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon cocoa
1 packet malt biscuits
vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
7 Tablespoons butter
1 packet marshmallows
shredded coconut

Melt sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, cocoa, butter, and vanilla. Do not boil. Crush biscuits and add to all ingredients except marshmallows. Roll mixture around a marshmallow, then roll in coconut and put into fridge to chill. Wet hands during rolling process is easier. If mixture gets hard to work with, reheat a little bit.

Red Wine Pear & Plum Tart with Walnut Crust

This recipe was created by me and got great reviews from both my roommates and my book club.

Crust:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup light brown sugar
12 T cold unsalted butter, diced
1 egg yolk

Filling:
2/3 cup cabernet sauvignon or other dry red wine
1/2 cup sugar
1 T grated lemon rind or 1.5 T lemon juice
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground allspice
1 lb plums, prune or red plums, each cut into 6 thick slices*
1 lb pears, preferably Bosc pears, cored and thinly sliced*

* you can also use all plums or all pears - you could even try apples or another firm fruit

To prepare filling, combine wine and granulated sugar in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium. Add lemon rind or juice, cinnamon, allspice, and fruit to pan, stirring to coat; simmer for 15 minutes or until the fruit is tender.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make the crust, combine flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand (using your fingertips) or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.

Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Spoon fruit mixture onto crust, draining off the liquid as you go (you don't want the tart to be soggy). Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the fruit.

Bake the tart for 40 or 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate.

Farmgirl's Mexican Monkey Cake

This yummy cake comes from one of my favorite food blogs: www.foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com.

Makes One 8-Inch Square Cake

1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) butter, softened (or 1/2 cup trans-fat free margarine, such as Earth Balance)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1-1/4 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (they cannot be too ripe)
2 Tablespoons yogurt or sour cream
1 Tablespoon milk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a glass pan such as Pyrex). Grease an 8"x8"x2" baking pan. In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips, brown sugar, walnuts (if desired), and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and egg with an electric mixer until fluffy (I use a hand held mixer). Add bananas, yogurt, and milk, and mix well. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt just until blended.

Spread slightly more than half of the batter in the pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the streusel and then top with the rest of the streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This cake tastes even better the next day, and it freezes beautifully. You can freeze the cake whole or cut it into pieces, wrap them tightly in plastic, and place them in a zipper freezer bag. Defrost at room temperature--or in the microwave.

Martha Knows her Shit!: Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

beat together:
1 stick butter/soy garden
1 T fresh ginger, chopped finely
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C molasses

dissolve 1 t baking soda in to 1 1/2 t boiling water and add to butter mixture.

mix in:
1 1/2 C + 1 T flour (spelt even works nicely!)
1 1/4 t ground ginger
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1 T cocoa powder

dough will be softy stift. add 7 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped. Roll into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Bake at 350 for not very long.

Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies

These come from my friend Dara - the recipe won a brownie bake-off a few months ago!

PUMPKIN BATTER:
1 T unsalted butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 c canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1 t vanilla extract
½ t ground cinnamon
½ t ground ginger
1 T flour

CHOCOLATE BATTER:
5½ oz good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 eggs, at room temperature
1½ c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
¼ t salt
1 1/3 c flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch baking dish.

2. Prepare pumpkin batter: In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter with cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar, scraping bowl occasionally. Bet in egg, then add pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. Stir in flour.

3. Prepare chocolate batter: Combine semisweet chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Set bowl over saucepan with 1-inch of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, combine eggs with sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat at low speed until light and fluffy- about 4 minutes. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in melted chocolate. Sift flour over the batter and fold it in just until combined.

4. Spread chocolate batter evenly in prepared pan. Using a Tablespoon, drop dollops of the pumpkin batter all over the top. Using the back of a butter knife, swirl the pumpkin batter slightly into the chocolate.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes (starting checking on brownies at 30 minutes to see if they're done- a toothpick inserted into center should come out clean).

6. Let brownies cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 24 brownies