I don't know why exactly, but I got it into my head that I should bake some brownies. Unfortunately I got this into my head after I ate three of my remaining four eggs, and you know what brownies take a lot of? Eggs. Further adventures in disaster baking await.

Ingredients

• 6 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 11/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 11/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup walnut pieces
• 1/2 cup caramel or chocolate sauce, store bought

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

A friend mentioned that she loves pine nuts over dinner, and, since I was planning to bake her some cookies for a trip anyway, I plugged "pine nuts" into a Food Network search and baked the first recipe it came up with. It helped that I had all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup toasted pine nuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, pine nuts, and chocolate. Stir until just mixed.

I said I would bake something for dessert on Sunday, and I decided on chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. My search on Food Network turned up ridiculous results (no, I do not want to make a sundae), so my friend suggested I check out Recipezaar. I initially misunderstood this as Recipe Czar or Tsar, but after we worked that out, I found the winning recipe.

Ingredients

* 1 1/4 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts (optional)

A few weeks ago, (Cult)ure threw an Estonian party in honour of one of our editor's Estonian heritage. When said editor pointed us to Nami-Nami, an Estonian food blog, and I found this recipe, it seemed like fate. Oh, little did I know . . . I've added notes throughout, the better to explain the cake of many disasters.

Marbled Blackcurrant and Chocolate Mousse Cake

(Uhke šokolaadi-mustsõstratort)
Adapted from the Finnish Pirkka-site.
18-20 slices

 Chocolate sponge cake:
2 large eggs
75 ml caster sugar (5 Tbsp)
75 ml plain flour (5 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
0.5 tsp baking powder

Back in the day, 3 Musketeers was my favourite chocolate bar (sometime between Crispy Crunch and now, when I'd prefer to eat chocolate). When I saw the 3 Musketeers Mint package waving its "New!" flag at me, I took a closer look. When I saw that it had a dark chocolate coating (hilariously, I misread this as "toasting"), I decided to give it a try.

The package claims that there is 35% fat than a regular 3 Musketeers, and I think that might be because there is 35% less chocolate bar. Actually, to my surprise, there were two smaller chocolate bars about the size of two "fun size" bars (I've often wondered who is having fun with that size). The chocolate certainly appeared dark. We were off to a good start. 

First bite: Okay, no. The thing that makes a 3 Musketeers is its fluffy filing. The mint filing had a consistency closer to something that contains coconut (thicker, less fluffy), which is never okay to me. It's bright white colour did nothing to discourage that feeling. Also, the mint was inexplicably mild. I signed up for mint. Why wouldn't I want to taste it?

If you don't know what A Glass and a Half Full Productions are, that's really a shame for you. Fortunately, you can head on over to check out this week's YouTube picks, which feature nothing but. I defy you to not see the genius in that advertizing campaign.

Even though I cook for myself and others regularly, I'm really more of a baker. Actually, I think my preference for baking is directly linked to my preference for one pot meals. I just like having everything together in one place. Blondies, in case you haven't heard, are brownies without the cocoa. With this recipe, you've got the cookie-cake vibe of a brownie, chocolate chips to satisfy your chocolate craving, and crunchy toffee bits that elevate the square from a more mundane chocolate chip cookie place. As you can imagine, this simple recipe is a big hit.

Ingredients:

If I had known it is today, I wouldn't have eaten Special K for breakfast. Fortunately, there's always lunch. Check out our Tuesday recipes for some ideas to make today diet free.

As is my wont, I asked my friend what she wanted me to make for her birthday. She choose truffles. I've never made truffles before, but they never seemed all that difficult to me when I've seen the feat performed. Having made them, I can tell you they are fairly easy to make. The only thing they don't tell you is how long they take. Be prepared to devote the majority of your day in inactive prep while your truffles lounge in the fridge or on your counter (depending on the recipe).

I chose a base recipe that I could flavour my own way, and I decided to take on what I thought was a slightly more challenging recipe (pictured, as taken by yours truly) at the same time. I had that completely backwards. Ina Garten may advise you to leave the chocolate on your counter for 1 hour in order to firm it up, but that is a lie. It won't be ready to roll after an hour on your counter. It won't be ready to roll after 3. It won't be ready if you stick it in a cool breeze near an open window or even in the fridge for 30 minutes after that. It will never be firm enough to roll without melting in your hands. That's great if you then want to spend the next 10 minutes licking your hands clean (I didn't) or get them licked clean by someone else (you naughty minx!). I'm sure I lost at least 1 truffle per flavour (orange, maple, and peppermint) because of melting. Also, the yeild is not 60 truffles. I got 45 for my troubles.