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.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is where I can chronicle my adventures into baking- my new hobby. So far I've been baking 1-2 times a week and working with recipes I've found all over the web. For the most part I bake whatever sounds good- from cupcakes to cakes to cookies and to infinity and beyond. Mostly I've done cakes and had some pretty good luck. My goal is to find the best recipes from all of the sites for the classics like chocolate, red velvet, white, yellow, or funfetti. When I see a recipe that calls my name, I'll bake it.

Today I saw some Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on Doughmessticated and couldn't help but wonder how that would change the flavor of the most classic cookie in the world! So I tried them out.

The recipe starts with melted butter- FINALLY. Most recipes call for room temperature butter. I'm a major last-minute baker and my butter is cold. As I saw in a baking book somewhere, cold butter makes for a more "cold" consistency- i.e. not as soft and squishy. Anyhoodles, the melted butter means I don't require planning. YAY!

There were more pretty basic ingredients: brown sugar, sugar, flour, baking soda, salt. It also had heavy cream, which I see a lot in cakes, but haven't seen in cookies, so I was intrigued. It called for bread flour and I used AP flour, so that may have something to do with my final product. Now, I don't know the difference between the two types, but I know that there is a difference and I thought it had something to do with leavening, so I added a bit more baking soda and salt, just for fun.

So I whipped these bad boys up and the dough is kinda sticky, but a good consistency. They baked to a pretty thick cookie, which looks amazing. These are easily the prettiest cookies I've made. I think it was the buttermilk that gave them this slightly matte sheen that cracks with the baking process. I swear- they're so pretty they look fake! I was pretty stoked to see them look so pretty, but the first dozen came out a little hard. The recommended timing was 12-17 minutes and I did 13:30 and it was too long. The next batch I did 12:30 and they were beautiful!!! Highly recommended.

Taste test has come through and the flavor is just divine. I just wish they actually were chewy. I haven't tasted the second two batches since they've cooled completely, but I am hoping for a softer result. Maybe it was the AP flour substitution for Bread flour- who knows? Even the well done cookies are just delightful with milk- trust me, I tried.

Best of luck should you try these lovelies! Let me know what works for you!

Original Recipe link