Fat Witch Brownies: A Recipe and a Giveaway!!
I realize that I live in Arkansas.
Rural Arkansas.
As in….there are like, cows across the street from me.
But in my heart, I am a New Yorker.
A bagel eating, subway taking, chinese take-out ordering and having delivered to my tiny apartment-ing New Yorker.
Okay…..so maybe I’ve never been to New York.
But still, that’s just a technicality.
Because I’ve been imagining myself in New York for years.
Tens of years, really.
And in these imagine-ings, I expertly navigate the city (in 5 inch heels, no less) while juggling a latte, a designer handbag, and my cell phone, which I usually use to answer super important phone calls in between fancy lunches and trying on clothes at Bloomies.
Which is Bloomingdales when I refer to it in my Arkansas life, but being a New Yorker requires me to step my lingo up a notch.
Of course, we are going to totally ignore the fact that I can barely navigate my way out of the majority of rural Arkansas towns.
And that I may have gotten myself lost in a parking lot once.
Which, in my defense, was at a very large outdoor mall and if they had implemented a better system (flashing neon arrows leading out, perhaps?), the whole thing could have been avoided.
Anyways.
When I saw the Fat Witch Bakery Cookbook available for pre-order a few months back, I knew it had to be mine for several reasons, the main one being that Fat Witch Bakery is legendary in New York City.
Plus, I really love cookbooks.
And witches.
Especially ones that make brownies.
This book is made up of 50 recipes for brownies, blondies, and bars. Along with the original Fat Witch brownie recipe, this book also includes recipes for Banana Bread Brownies, No Bake S’more Fun Brownies, Cappucino Brownies, and PB&J Bars.
The Fat Witch recipes are easy to follow, use common ingredients, and the book is full of glossy, beautiful pictures.
What I’m saying is that I’m pretty much in love with this book.
And because I love this book….and I love you…..I decided that I want to share it. Unfortunately, I am not rich. So I can only send a book to one of you.
For the rest of you, here’s the first recipe I decided to try: Frozen Cream Cheese Brownies.
(click here for a printable recipe)
INGREDIENTS
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (I used salted butter and omitted the extra salt at the end of the recipe)
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips
16 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached flour (I used bleached, it was all I had)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Grease and flour a 9×9 inch baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Set aside to cool.
Beat the cream cheese and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in 1 egg and set the mixture aside.
Place the remaining 1 1/4 cups of sugar in a large bowl and beat in the remaining 3 eggs, one at a time until smooth. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture and mix until well blended.
Measure the flour and salt and then sift together directly into the chocolate batter. Mix the batter gently until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains.
Spread three-quarters of the chocolate batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the chocolate layer in the pan. Then gently pour the remaining chocolate batter over the top of the cream cheese layer, spreading evenly with a spatula.
Dip a rounded edge knife in the pan and lift straight up, creating a marbled effect in the batter. Repeat to create a pattern, either random or in rows.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only crumbs, not batter, on it.
Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 1 1/2 hours. Freeze brownies in the pan for 45 minutes. Cut just before serving. Wrap any uneaten pieces with plastic or foil and return to the freezer.
Do I even need to tell you that these brownies were delicious?
Now, how to enter to win the whole dang book:
1. Become a Google Follower (right there on your right) and leave a comment. It can say anything. But not mean stuff. Because I’m very sensitive and I will take it to heart and dwell on it all week and probably even have nightmares.
2. For a second entry, Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link or your Twitter ID.
3. For a third entry (or second, if you don’t have a Twitter) become a “liker” on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know. And don’t you dare lie, because I will be checking missy (or mister). Not that any of my readers are liars. You’re all perfect, right? Of course you are.
I will be accepting entries until noon on Thursday and will announce the winner later Thursday afternoon. Winner will be chosen using Random.org.
Good luck and have a fabulous Monday!!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I realize you could be doing more important things with your time. Like watching the news or washing socks. I hope you stay awhile. Much more fun than socks, I promise. 
I got lost in a parking lot once with my 7 year old, only she was 6 at the time. Now every time we are in a parking lot she feels the need to remind me of when we got lost but she found the car *sigh*. The brownies sound so yummy!! I am going to have to give them a try.
Oh and I am a "liker" on facebook :).
A parking lot? I got lost in a RadioShack!
I tweeted about the giveaway – @kitchenkarate
I like on Facebook!
I am SO going to win this time :)
I didn't get lost trying to leave a parking lot, but I did lose my car in a parking lot. In the rain. With my 4 kids in tow. :'( Not the way we wanted to end the day. ;-)
I'm so glad someone else feels this way! I'd move to NY in a heartbeat if I could afford living in a NY shoe box of an apartment!
Cream cheese. . .and brownies? Oh my goodness. That's a deadly combination.
Wow it sounds like my kind of cookbook! :) Lol, i'm really picky about cookbooks. They HAVE to have pictures and the recipes have to be fun and easy. But not too easy that they use cake mixes.
Girl I am so with you! Let's go to New York sometime ok? We can go shopping in heels anytime you like! Preferably pink ones, but I'll leave that up to you.
PS: Omg those brownies look good! I would love love LOVE this cookbook!
I like on Facebook! And I got lost on a 3 mile loop ranch here…… we passed the giraffe exhibit three times–once in reverse.
I'm also a "liker" on fb too =)
I am a follower. This recipe (and book!) look delicious!
I am a google follower, and would love to have this cookbook!
I "like" you on facebook! Awesome giveaway, thanks!
The brownies look delicious!
as an actual new yorker I see myself the same way, although that's not exactly my reality either.
I'm currently living in the Catskills and it is totally the opposite of city living!
Oh and I haven't quite figured out how to "twitter" yet, but I'm a liker on Facebook!
I tweeted (@jhgive).
I'd love to win this because my birthday is on Halloween and I always thought I was a witch when I was a little girl. It would be so cool to have a cookbook with the word "Fat Witch" in the title! Thanks for the chance to do that!
i'm a follower, I'd love this book!!!
I "like" you on facebook, I think you are the best!!
I'm a Google follower! I have been in a buying cookbook mood lately have a few ear marked for eventual purchase, but right now I live through fun blogs like yours for recipe ideas since funds are a little low here and can't splurge at Borders!
I follow you on Google and you are my FAVORITE blog! Every time I log in I wait to read yours until last because I just know there is some thing lol hilarious in it!
I "like" you on FB too!!
Googling you ;-)
(ooh that sounds dirty o.O) and don't feel bad about the parking lot. i need to tie a large novelty bow on the top of the danger mobile so i can find it… i *always* forget where i park if i spend more than 10 minutes in a store T.T
Liked ya on Facebook as well! <3 <3 <3
I just tweeted! (That really does not sound very good lol) @jlwils86
I am a "liker" on FB.
I am a "follower". I love any kind of cookbook I can get my hands on. :)
I'm a follower! Sounds like a fun one! Thanks!
MMM! the brownies sound fabulous! I too am a lover of cookbooks, especially baking cookbooks! Love to bake which is why I really enjoy your blog and have become a follower!
I love looking at the pictures of your desserts. I feel like it allows me virtually enjoy all kinds of delicious goodness without consuming the actual calories. I've got 10 pounds of leftover baby fat from #2… still working on that. But I am a follower!
Oh… and I went and liked ya on FB too. Sweet!
I've dreamed of New York for a long time, too. Rural Illinois sure isn't New York! Still never really been there, unless you count driving through the Bronx without stopping. Thanks, GPS.
P.S. Google followed & facebook liked. :)
thank you so much for this brilliant blog! I also get lost in parking lots without a map. -.- sigh,
Also I followed you on google and liked you on facebook!
Out of all the food blogs I follow your's has got to be my favorite. You sound like someone who could be my best friend with your grand New York (daydream) adventures! But don't forget to make a stop at Fat Witch's after shopping at Bloomies!
oh yum! those brownies look amazing!
I love the dome on those brownies! They look tasty and GORGEOUS!
Hi. I am a follower! NYC is my FAV place! I really hope you make it there one day, you will fall in love even more.
I'm a follower! I would love this cookbook. My little sister loves brownies!
I like you…on Facebook. Not in a creepy way. (:
facebook.com/honeywithsole
I tweeted.
http://twitter.com/honeywithsole/status/25008221703
i follow you on googlereader! :)
and i tweeted abt your contest too!
@valchoa
Kristan, love you idea of city life–too bad it's not much of a reality. Most people just shlep along in their ordinary lives, going to their ordinary jobs, wearing their ordinary shoes….sorry to burst your bubble :-) Would love the cookbook and I am already a follower/liker. Thanks, Donna
i am a google follower and this recipe looks so good!
I am a new fan of the site and a new "liker" on facebook. My sister adores brownies, in fact we make them the entire month of June for her birthday, so now I have a new brownie recipe to add to our repertoire but I don't think I'll be able to wait until June to make them!
Wow, it looks amazing!
I'm a follower.
I now have to make these today.
I am a follower.
oh I am also a facebook follower
these look simple and yummy. I'm a follower on facebook.
This cookbook sounds amazing! I would love to win it!
What if we already follow you on FB? :p
I'm definitely a follower of you on facebook!
I am a FB follower!
And I just signed up to follow you on Google Reader too!! I love your recipes and my husband is enjoying his 5 lb. weight gain from them too!
Just became a follower! I thought I already was, but apparently not… Love your blog!
…and now I'm a fan on FB, too. Again, I totally thought I was, but…
just found your blog and love it! I am most definitely a follower!
How cool! And here I was thinking I was the only backwoods wannabe New Yorker. Only exception is that I live in a high rise pent house apartment that over looks the city. You should see the lights at night. Well, in our case I should say "imagine" the lights at night. LOL
Anyway, I follow you via Google Friends Connect.
Already following you here, on Facebook and on Twitter (@cbunten)!
My daughter had to help me find my car yesterday in the mall parking lot!
Love your writing and your sense of humor…AND your recipes! Thanks for doing what you do!
Tweet
http://twitter.com/HeartnSoulmom/status/25025434739
I like you on Facebook, I really, truly do.
(Cheryl HeartnSoulmom)
Um we NEED this cookbook! Cream cheese brownies!? Amazing. And of course we follow you on our reader…!
I'm a google follower! I would LOVE to have this cookbook – my collection is remarkably small. :( sad day.
I like you on Facebook too! It's because you're so hilarious, and all your recipes look delicious. You should come out with your own cookbook!
I have the same dream about nyc. The food, the clothes, the shopping, the famous people. Maybe we should plan a trip together…I know my brother Jordan would love to come too!
I am a google follower!
I'm a google follower. :) Those brownies look so yummy!!! :) And is it sad I LOVE the name? Super fun! Thanks for a change to win it!
I am a google follower. That book sounds delicious, hope to win it, so I can give it a try
I "like" you on Facebook too! :)
I (and my hubby) LOVE your blog. We made the white Reeses cookies yesterday for our football sunday get together. They were SO good. And I'm definatly trying these next. Holy cow (the one across your street) they look delicious!!
Oh I have to try that one!!!! maybe I'll get lucky and be a winner! :)
Looks amazing-fat witches rule!
I am a google follower!
Ok, done and done! Just waiting for my cookbook now!
Seriously, this was a great find and I look forward to reading your posts.
Please check out my site: KateCookstheBooks.com
Love reading your blog…you gave me a chuckle for the morning. Would love to see the glossy pictures…that's the best part of a book!
Have a spectacular day!
deb
I gotta try these brownies! Plus I think they should have named them Frozen Dream Cream Brownies. Just sound delishously dreamy!
Love the name of the brownies and the name of the bakery and I am living in a rural area and long for the city too. I am a follower. Joni
I am a Google follower.
I am a "liker" on Facebook!
Love the recipe. I will be making these this afternoon.
These brownies sound great! I'd love to see what else the cookbook has…already a follower :-)
Kristan, I have to say I look forward to your posts and emails everyday! They bring a lil sunshine to my email! LOL Oh, and I too haven gotten lost in a parking lot….Many many times LOL! So with that being said, those brownies look amazing and I will be making some today! I just became a google follower and a facebook fan!
i've been a follower via google reader, but i follow you public now too, 'cause we all wanna be popular and stuff!
Oh my goodness! Those sound so good! I may have to make some this week.
Love your blog!!! Although I have only followed for a few weeks, I love reading it!
I "liked" you on facebook!!
Thanks for all the yummy ideas!
Your posts are always so very entertaining that I felt as though I were walking right beside you down those NYC streets, not in 5 inch heels 'cause I'd break my neck….LOL
I'm a Follower of your Blog…..
I'm a "Liker" of your Facebook page too! =)
I have been reading your blog for a while now and just realize that you are in Arkansas! I am in a rural town of Arkansas, too! I am in the Fort Smith area – small world! Love your blog!
Looking at that photo, I think it's just a given that they tasted a good as they look. : )
i always mean to enter this giveaways and then end up forgetting but this time i knew i had to any book called the fat witch cookbook just has to be mine plus that recipe made me want to eat the computer screen. i dont know what your facebook is although i shall look and i dont have twitter but darnit i shall still enter! :P
Mmm, yummy. I, like you, have a cookbook fetish. I can't walk by them without picking them up.
I have been following you on my Google reader for awhile now!
These look delicious!
I am a Google Follower. :)
I am also a "liker" on Facebook. :)
ooooo pick me, pick me!!! I know it's totally random but I sure do hope I win this one!!! As always, a loyal follower/liker!!
Pick me! I totally <3 brownies!
I like to picture myself living in a rural setting like you do versus living in a crazy town (vegas).
Those brownies look so good and now I really..really..REALLY want one (like alot). Ok first maybe I should eat lunch.
i'm a google follower.
I'm a Google follower & the picture you posted is making me hungry!
I'm also a "liker" on Facebook, but I don't tweet!
I'm pretty sure I've been a google follower since June, and I'm a lover of what I call "cook book porn," so I want in on this giveaway!
Oh my gosh! This recipe sounds heavenly. I can't wait to try it (and eat them all, I'm sure!) Your post was hysterical, by the way! crazybulldogs@comcast.net
http://www.makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com
i DREAM about living in New York ! i really do so i totally understand (& i'm so with you on the getting about in 5-inch heels :)
i'm an fb liker too ;)
Quraisha
Those brownies look amazing! Im sure I will be trying those next! As always, love your blog!
I recently discovered how much I love cream cheese in desserts that are not cheesecake.
Woo-Hoo, I'm a new follower. I just saw your mint chocolate cupcakes and didn't have time to blink before the recipe was already coming out of my printer. I've been a lover of mint and chocolate since I was teething…well not really but it could be true!
I "like" you on facebook
I'm a follower!!! These brownies look amazing! Love your blog.
Ooooo and I LIKE you on FB!
I tweeted, @meganspaperie
Me! Me! Me! I want to live in NYC, too!!! Let's go…we'll take TidyMom…she just got back! ;)
I follow you on Google Reader, does that count? Please?
Tweet! @bakeat350tweets
I just recently found your blog, and I think your hilarious! I told my sister to look at your blog because she and I have the same sense of humor =)
I love cookbooks and I love brownies! Great giveaway
joosbornenc@yahoo.com
I tweeted my name is @southerncooker
I like you on Facebook
I tweeted you – @MaggieDalton and I liked you on facebook =)
YUM!! Glad I found your site!
I love the name of the brownies! So fitting for me..lol I followed you here! Cant wait to try this recipe!!
I followed you on Facebook. I'm /RRTBether
I also tweeted… @bakedbybeth
I'm a facebook liker. :)
and a google follower.
Wow, I need to make this right now! I'm a liker :)
Just tweeted you!
I am a follower already by email…and I would LOVE to win that cookbook! YUM! Those brownies look delicious! Thanks for sharing!
happiqueen at aol dot com
I am a follower and it sounds like I NEED this cookbook!
I follow on Google!
I follow on Facebook!
I RT'd on Twitter!
Oooh, this looks awesome. I follow on GFC!
FB fan sarah linette
just found your blog through Tidy Mom, it looks so yummy,i had to be a follower!!!!!!
liking the yumminess on facebook too!!!
Love reading your blog
Twitter: debharb
@bakescupcakes enter to win Fat Witch Bakery Cookbook
Love NY too, a lot, too! And to bake anything that includes chocolate!
I love collecting cookbooks too!
This cookbook looks like it's right up my alley…brownies and my favorite!
I am a follower and a liker! I can't wait to win a fabulous cook book!
These look soo YUMMY!!! I would love to have a great cookbook with the best blondies!!
This cookbook is on my "I want" list.
I've followed your blog for a while.
I tweeted your giveaway: http://twitter.com/cspod/statuses/25100292665
I follow you on FB, too.
I am a follower! I have been for a while. I love your stuff.
butterflyanla6318@gmail.com
I live about an hour outside of NYC and commuted there for a little bit for college. I was planning on moving there, but then I got married and my husband is so NOT a city person! Oh, well… I would love this book!!! It has all of my favorite in it!
I "like" you on Facebook, too!! :)
I follow you on my google reader.
I too have the New Yorker syndrom! I have never been but know if I went I would never want to leave!! Sometimes here in Southern Oklahoma I pretend it is New York too but everyone else just doesn't know how to play pretend as well and they mess it all up!! I'm already a follower! Who wouldn't follow this blog? Crazy people that's who!!!
I'm a "liker" on Facebook!
I am a liker on facebook
I am a follower, I love your blog, so much, I check it everyday. you make the best stuff.
And I tweeted (@PinkCupcakeKT) -
Check out this great recipe and sweet giveaway from @bakescupcakes :::A Recipe and a Giveaway!! http://ow.ly/2H9Dn
Love your blog. So many yummy treats. I'm going to "like" right now. Thanks!
Brownies & Blondies are my favorite food group!
I'm a new follower, but I can't wait to read more from you! I am trying to teach myself to bake, so I am always looking for new recipes (I love to cook in general actually). I am so excited to try those brownies! And I MUST order that cookbook! Currently, the only baking book I have is the Martha Steward Cupcakes book, but I've only been baking for about 2 months. Can't wait to read more! Thanks!
I love baking – and american recipes :)
But would you ship this giveaway to Germany?
That looks AMAZING! But I do have to say the Banana Bread Brownies caught my eye! So I guess I just need the whole book now! Love your blog!
I really do like you on FB too. I"m excited to get some awesome ideas! Thanks!
I follow your blog!! :D
Your comment about living in rural AR with cows across the street brought back memories. That is where my dad lives, whome I lived with during my teen years. You know, you live close to Jacksonville (where all your friends are), but you have a Cabot address and have to go to school in Cabot, and a Lonoke phone number which makes everyone long distance so you are never allowed to call anyone! LOL I'll never forget the smell of the chickan farm down the street!
I follow through blogger- hope that counts cause that cookbook sounds so neat!
I follow with GFC. I am drooling over these brownies!
I became a liker on facebook. – amybarrett926 at aol.com
I am a "liker" on facebook!
I am a follower :-)
I'm a 'LIKER' on facebook :) And oh, how I adore brownies!!
LOVE this blog, I just recently tried out the mountain dew cupcakes (so easy and tasty). And I now follow you, keep up the wonderful recipes
Love, love, love the blog…and brownies! :)
Already a follower! Love your blog!
I would DIE to live in NYC….
And I'm a follower, on your blog that is, not so much in real life, I march to the beat of my own drum :-)
Oh and I'm a Liker of the FB page…. :-)
love your blog! old follower via google reader!
p.s. congrats on winning! the koolaid cupcakes were AMAZING!
following on twitter (@SeeLauraRun)
http://twitter.com/SeeLauraRun/status/25166942175
like ya on facebook!
I like you on Facebook!
I follow you on google but wanna know. How do you stay thin when baking so much. I LOVE your website.
Long time lurker who has just been convinced to follow!
I now like you on facebook too!
I am already one of your many faithful followers:)
I also now "like" you on facebook!
I am definately a faitful follower! :)
I also like you on facebook. Actually, I love you, but I don't think that is currently an option.
Those brownies do sound very yummy! Love the photography & I am following you via Google
I just tweeted about your blog entry and contest! http://twitter.com/LiCiOuSFoOD/status/25253856033
I follow your blog! A few weeks ago I went to the mall with the baby. I truly thought I'd lost my car. Took me a few minutes to find it. Felt just a little silly, lol. ;)
I'm a "liker" on Facebook too!
I LOVE reading your blog! I'm also a liker on fb
i am a follower =) you make me laugh and smile.. and give me some great recipe ideas! thank yoU!
sarabanister13@gmail.com
I tweeted about this AMAZING giveaway
http://twitter.com/sarabanister/status/25279681793
sarabanister13@gmail.com
i LIKE your facebook page =)
sarabanister13@gmail.com
You're so funny. I am a follower of yours so give me one chance.
Thanks so much for this neato giveaway.
:)
ButterYum
PS – I'm a native NYer…. but have been out of the city for decades now. :(
Hi Kristan!
My name is Joy, and I just became a follower. Can I just tell you that accidentally discovering your site just made my day? I have a feeling that I will now be a frequent visitor, and I'm going to have lots of fun exploring your archives!
I recently saw this book come up for pre-order on Amazon, and it's actually sitting in my cart right now! Needless to say I'm very excited to find your giveaway, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed :) Thank you for your generosity!
Oh, and I wanted to let you know that I not only share your love of cookbooks, but also your sense of direction (or lack there of)- so you're certainly not alone!
If you ever have a chance, I'd be honored for you to check out my baking blog, "Hot Oven, Warm Heart." Here's the address: http://hotovenwarmheart.wordpress.com/
Maybe we'll talk again some day!
Fondly,
Joy
I am a follower of your blog.
I'm a "liker" on FB.
Going to tweet right now. @icywit
i follow your blog!
I followo your blog with Google Friend Connect.
I also "like" Confessions of a Cookbook Queen on Facebook as Barbara Palermo
We are visiting New York for the First time next week, and thanks to your post, I'm adding the Chelsea Market to our list of must-see places.
Thank you! I'll be thinking of you as I enjoy a Fat Witch brownie!
Can't wait to try the frozen cream cheeese brownies!!!
I love this recipe but my boyfriend is sort of a brownie purest. I would like to use the fat which brownie recipe you have but without the cream cheese and the freezing… do you think this recipe will still work?
Thanks so much!
P.S
I'm a New Yorker and am crazy about these Fat which Brownies, I used to work a block away and I went to the bakery every lunch hour for a handful of free samples. Lol; and although they quickly caught on to my excessive free sampling they always offered them to me :)
I stumbled across your blog a few nights ago…and have been eating up every post. I really am enjoying them. But when I saw you were from Arkansas…so am I by the ways…I had to post to you and let you know that I was enjoying it.
it is friday and i just got the invite to try to win the book!!!