Minty Brownie Bites

Welcome to day #2 of Christmas Week, a multi-blogger event co-hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Jen of Juanita’s Cocina. Today’s theme for Christmas Week is “Peppermint Surprise”.

This one wasn't quite so easy for me, as I'm not a huge peppermint fan. My daughter suggested some peppermint brownies, so I poked around a bit and ran across a recipe from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. Chocolate Mint Brownie Bites. Oh boy...I might like peppermint after all...

Minty Brownie Bites (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

2 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 whole Andes Chocolate Mints
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate or white chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crushed peppermint bark or candy canes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.; spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.

Place the unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl and microwave until just melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the Andes mints until all melted; set aside.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the chocolate. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling the cups about half full. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for ten minutes before inverting the pan and releasing the brownies.

For the glaze, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or until hot. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Spoon the chocolate over the tops of the brownies and sprinkle the crushed candy over the tops.

As you can see, I was having a bit of an issue deciding what kind of peppermint treat to make.

When microwaving chocolate, keep an eye on it. Chocolate is too precious to have go up in smoke.

Ree talks about how she over-filled the muffin tin...I did the same thing.

But, they turned out ok....

I decided I really liked the taste of this Peppermint Bark, so I used it to top the brownie bites. Crushed candy canes might have been prettier.

Put a drip pan under the brownies when you pour the glaze on, or you will have a mess.

I experimented with the batter, just a smidge. Here, I topped a mini brownie with a Peppermint Kiss.

Box them up and give them as gifts....

....or just plate them up and enjoy!

Make sure you visit all the participating bloggers today to see what special dish they whipped up for you.

• Peppermint Marshmallows from Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic
• Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies from Jen of Juanita’s Cocina
• Candy Cane Blossoms from Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Candy Cane Cocoa in a Jar from Anuradha of Baker Street
• Peppermint Brownie Trifle from Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Candy Cane Mocha from Isabelle of Crumb
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Erin of Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• White Chocolate Peppermint Covered Pretzels from Erin of Spiffy Cookie
• Candy Cane Milkshake from Ramona of Curry and Comfort
• Peppermint Fudge from Heather of Girlichef
• Minty Brownie Bites from Cathy of The Dutch Baker’s Daughter
• Candy Cane Oreo Cheesecake Cookies from Chung-Ah of Damn Delicious

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I've been messing around with a red velvet brownie recipe for awhile. My daughter and I put our heads together and came up with one using a brownie mix quite some time ago, and I really liked it. In fact, I had to stop making it because I was eating it all by myself. Not a good situation. Actually, I was going to make them for work tomorrow (Halloween potluck), and then I got to thinking that maybe I should be making my brownies from scratch.

Let me just say that I'm not opposed to using cake and/or brownie mixes. I've won recipe contests using refrigerated cookie dough and dry cookie mix. I'm thinking that most people use them. They are convenient and sometimes cheaper (who hasn't stocked up on brownie mixes when they are on sale for $1?). Many times, I just can't seem to get the same consistency in a cake or a brownie than I can get from a mix. That said, most of the time I prefer the made-from-scratch versions. Today, I will give you both versions of my recipe. I will let you decide.

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Printable Recipe

1¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups granulated sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

½ cup buttermilk

3 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 ° F.; line a 9X13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side of the pan.

I found the coolest parchment paper--on one side non-stick foil and on the other side, parchment. It fits into the pan much easier...

Place the flour, baking soda, sugar, cocoa and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until well-combined; set aside.

In a separate, medium sized bowl, beat together the melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and the food coloring.

Quickly bring eggs to room temperature by placing them in hot water for a few minutes.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top of the brownies are dry to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully removing the brownies using the paper overhang. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and the butter in a medium bowl. Add the orange peel, vanilla, and the orange juice, blending until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat to desired consistency. Frost cooled brownies; sprinkle walnuts evenly over the top, if desired. 

Be careful not to over bake your brownies...better to under bake. Dry brownie = yucky.

They turned out pretty good. I'll bet adding some mini-chocolate chips would make them better, though. In the mean time, if you would rather have the convenience of a mix, here is the other recipe:

Red Velvet Brownies with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (from a mix)

1 box (18.4-19.5 oz) milk chocolate brownie mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; line a 9"X13" pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side of the pan.

Place the contents of the brownie mix in a large mixing bowl. in a separate, medium bowl, whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, vinegar and food coloring until combined. Add the liquid mixture to the brownie mix and beat with a wooden spoon until combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the brownies using the parchment paper overhang. Cool completely before frosting.

Which do you prefer--from a mix or from scratch?

Blondies....the "un" Brownie

It was sometime last year that my friend Shane (Culinary Alchemy), over at BakeSpace, posted a recipe for his delectable blondies. It kinda went viral..... at least it did with the folks we chat with at BakeSpace. I was a little unsure about them, however, since I'm a brownie lover..... I wasn't so sure I would like something so un-chocolate. Michele (My Italian Grandmother)  added some chocolate chips and called them "Blondies with Low Lights" and raved over them. Finally, I broke down and made a batch....and another....and another. Guess what? I like them better than brownies. Who'd a thunk it? Check out Shane's original blog post: Blondies- The UN-Chocolate "Brownie"  I almost followed his recipe:

Blondies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dark brown Sugar
2 Large eggs
1 large Egg Yolk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
(optional) 1/4 cup Heath Toffee Chips

Directions:

Line a 13x9 pan with parchment.

The parchment paper is critical. Let it hang over the edge of the pan, so you can lift them out, cut them, and put them back in to store. I don't know about you, but I always have a problem with the parchment paper curling up, so I spray the bottom of the pan with some cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan, melt butter.

Stir in the brown sugars, stirring until "melted' and the mixture just begins to bubble (This is similar to making a Pecan pie)---heed the "just begins to bubble" part. If it cooks too long, your blondies will be as hard as a rock.

Oops...I only had light brown sugar so I added a tablespoon of molasses. It's OK if you use all of one kind of brown sugar....I've made them both ways---both yummy.

Whisk eggs and yolks together with Vanilla.

Pour in the eggs in a steady stream, while whisking constantly to prevent scrambling.

OK...I did have a few scrambled eggs in there. It was all good in the end.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.

Fold Flour into the egg mixture.

Fold in Pecans and toffee chips (if using)

Here's where I differed just a bit from the recipe. I used about a cup and a half of pecans and I used about a cup chocolate covered toffee bits. Subtle "low lights" , if you will.

Spread into the pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes (5 minutes less for dark pans)

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Lift via parchment and cut when cooled.

If I'm bringing these to work, I put them back into my pan and cover with the lid. Easy...plus no one puts knife marks in your pan if they are already cut. :)

I guarantee you'll be making these again.