Caramel Brownies and Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins

I just had to put that photo at the top of the post, because it's a show stopper. The second I saw this recipe for Caramel Brownies pop up on Annie's Eats, I immediately emailed it to Ben. He has been waiting for me to make them for him ever since. We had a gathering tonight where I had offered to bring dessert, so I thought these would be perfect. I told Ben, and he resisted, saying he wanted them all for himself :) Luckily, this makes a huge pan of brownies so there were plenty left over! Yes, I shamelessly copied Annie's photo too - only mine had already chilled in the freezer for 20 minutes so weren't quite as gooey! These were intense. Definitely REQUIRED vanilla ice cream or milk to cut the richness! I actually nearly felt ill after eating these, but I still loved every bite.

A few friends came over with their kiddos this morning, and we all enjoyed these Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins from The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I know it's strawberry season in the rest of the country, and I MIGHT have been able to find them locally here, but I actually just used some frozen ones we have on hand for smoothies. It made these muffins slightly mushier, but they still tasted delicious. The lemon didn't come through enough for my liking, even though I probably used a bit more zest than was called for. I LOVE ricotta in baked goods - my favorite form is still in these lemon ricotta cookies. It was serendipitous that I made these this morning, since I knew one of the attendees of our dinner party doesn't like chocolate, caramel or really anything that sweet, so I brought him his own special dessert in the form of one of these muffins.