Continuing to venture out on my own! Brownie Bites to dies for!

This week I was low on groceries and too lazy to shop so I decided to modify the recipe for Rocky Road Brownies courtesy of Alice over at Sweet Savory Life because it requires two eggs and that's all I had on hand. I'm not a fan of nuts unless in a delightful salad, so I knew I couldn't just do this recipe without changing it, but her photos looked SO delicious that I just had to try it.

The first time I made these I tasted the batter and knew they would be winning brownies, but I had to bolt towards the end of the baking time and had to leave the removal of the brownies from the oven in the capable hands of my roommate. They ended up a bit too toasty to eat and i ended up digging out the middle and snacking on that part alone. In spite of this little snafu of a baking experience, I knew I had to redo this recipe to prove to myself that this delicious batter was worth tasting in baked form.



Last week I purchased a mini muffin baking pan because I've wanted one for about a month now and happened upon one at Target- so whammo! I bought it. My twist on the recipe was minor but oh so tasty. I omitted the nuts and the marshmallows this time around and (of course) used the muffin pan to make bites instead of regular brownies. The final alteration was to use the leftover cream cheese frosting from last weeks Carrot Cake to top some of these bites and holy smokes! That was the best idea in the world! On the frosted ones I also decorated them with one of the Ghirardelli 60% Chocolate Chips (which are larger than normal chocolate chips) and that too was a wonderful addition.

The bites ended up tasting delightful both with and without the frosting and were a big hit at the office. I really think that they were my favorite recipe that I've ever tasted for a brownie- just delightful. So please, take a look and try these! I promise you won't be disappointed:



Brownies Bites Recipe- Modified from Sweet Savory Life

BROWNIE INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips (dark or semi-sweet)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine marshmallows, almonds, and chocolate chips then set aside. In a medium-large bowl, mix (by hand) melted butter, sugar, and vanilla until blended. Add one egg at a time mixing/beating well. Add flour, cocoa, and salt and stir the batter until fully incorporated making sure you scrape the sides of the bowl including the bottom.
Spray the mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. Scoop brownie batter inside the pan- about 1 tbsp per cup. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the brownie batter. Using the back of a clean spoon, gently press down the chips into the batter just enough so the chips are slightly packed down. Bake for 19 minutes or until done. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Brownies slice really nicely if completely cooled.


ICING (from Pioneer Woman's Sigrid's Carrot Cake):
1 stick Regular Butter, Softened
1 package (8 Oz) Cream Cheese at room temperature
1 pound Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla

DIRECTIONS: In larger bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla and blend.

This one's for you mom!

So since I made a Chocolate Bundt cake for Trissie for Easter, I had to deliver for mom too. That means a request for Carrot Cake because Pioneer Woman re-posted a recipe last week that included fainting in the instructions. You know that's going to be a good cake!!! Anyhoodles.

I forgot to grate the carrots first, but it was no biggie- even with the newly orange finger nails. I also actually sifted as instructed. Please pat me on the back for that. I hate sifting with a passion.

I can tell I'm getting more comfortable with this whole baking business and i ventured out and *gasp* added nutmeg! Sidenote: my sister is the cooking kid in the family because she is all about not actually following a recipe (which makes copying her delicious food THAT much harder). She loves to add fun spices and new ingredients and I love her (and her food) for that. She really kicks butt in the kitchen. Well that's why I am now the baker for the family because I like recipes. I like order and instructions and guidance. They're my best friends and the reason that baking works so well for me. Baking is like a science experiment- a sometimes very volatile science experiment (see macaroons), so it's usually important to do as little fudging of the recipe as possible to make sure you get a moist and delicious baked good. So now you will all understand that nutmeg is a big step for me :)

The cakes are cooling right now and I whipped up the frosting (sans chopped nuts because adding nuts to dessert is just WRONG) and it is to DIE for. I whipped up a double batch per Ree's instruction and will undoubtedly have extra. Guess I'll have to take care of that myself! Definitely a cream cheese frosting recipe worth holding onto! Until later my friends! I must go and frost.

The verdicts are in- the cream cheese frosting is delicious (my own input) and the cake is a perfectly dense, moist, not too carrot-y cake(everyone elses input)! All reviews so far have been amazing. I may even venture into adding more spices next time just to see what happens, but there will definitely be a next time! :)