Rolo Brownie Bites

Let’s just all be thankful Fall is here and we can pile on the clothes with the pounds to stay warm. I’m a firm believer that a little extra padding never hurt anyone. Like I tell Matt, love the pudge—it’s where all happiness radiates from.

If you haven’t guessed, I like sugar—ALOT. Next to sugar, is chocolate, then butter. Combine the three and mix it into my favorite form and you’ll find a brownie. And that is pretty much why you see so many brownie recipes here.

I hope you enjoy this brownie-meets-candy mash-up as much as we did in my home! Happy Monday to the start of another awesome week.

A few notes:

• I used Wilton’s Brownie Bites Pan to make these. If you don’t have one, a mini cupcake pan will work just as well. If you have neither use an 8-inch pan.
• To stripe the tops like the picture I used caramel sauce.
• For the brownie base, I used Alton Brown’s Brownie recipe. Yes, can you believe it-I deviated from my stand-by brownie recipe from Alice Medrich.

Rolo Brownie Bites

Makes about 48 brownie bites | Preparation Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter wells or 8-inch square pan.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar, sifted
• 1 cup brown sugar, sifted
• 8 ounces melted butter
• 11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 1.7oz Rolo pack of candy

Chocolate Covering:

• 1/3 cups dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

To make the brownies:

1. Place egg in a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars mix to combine. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
2. Pour the batter into brownie bite pan or into mini cupcake pan and place a Rolo in the center and bake for 15 minutes. If you are using an 8-inch square pan place Rolos on top of and press into  brownie mixture and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the toothpick method: a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. If using brownie bite pan or mini cupcake pan, cool for 5 minutes then remove brownies. If using an 8-inch pan, let cool before slicing.

To make chocolate covering:

1. Place chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl over (not on) simmering water. Gently stir until melted.

To assemble:

1. Pour 1 tablespoon over tops of brownie bites or alternately dip tops of brownie in chocolate. Drizzle caramel sauce on top.

Salted Caramel Brownies

Yep, I’m totally stuck in a salted caramel rut, although I warned you there would be a mini-onslaught of them. And since posting took bottom priority last week due to work unexpectedly coming down hard and fast like an avalanche, I’ll be posting the remaining salted caramel recipes this week.

I’m keeping this short since I have a week’s worth of baking to catch up on, and honestly, I’m a little tired and rundown.

A few notes:

Salted Caramel Brownies

Brownie portion from Alice Medrich | Preparation: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover 8×8 pan with bake spray.

Ingredients:

Brownie:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour

Salted Caramel Layer:

• 1 large egg
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup salted caramel, homemade (recipe follows)
• 2 tablespoons flour

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons of heavy cream
• ½ teaspoons of kosher salt

Instructions:

Brownie:

1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute. Set aside.

Salted Caramel Layer:

1. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

Assembly:

1. Measure out ¾ of brownie mixture; set aside. Pour remaining brownie batter into an 11×3 inch pan. Pour salted caramel mixture on top. Pour ¾ cup of brownie on top. Using a skewer softly pull brownie and salted caramel mixture in circular motions throughout the top to create a swirling pattern on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the brownie starts to pull away from the sides of pan.
2. While brownies are baking prepare ice bath. Fill a pan with ices cubes and water ¾ inch deep (yes, this really does help the brownie). When the brownies are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it in the water bath. Allow brownies too cool completely in the water bath.

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce:

1. Add sugar and water into a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Use a wet brush to remove any crystals that form on the side. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to high. Now and then, using the handle give the pot a swirl to keep the mixture moving. Do not stir the mixture directly. The mixture will start to bubble after a minute. As the mixture darkens to a medium amber color, approximately 5-7 minutes, add the butter and cream to saucepan. The mixture will bubble wildly. Whisk to combine (bubbles will subside upon cooling). Add salt and stir to combine.

Snickers Cheesecake Brownies

Yes, pointless. My advice eat, enjoy and don’t worry that the calorie count if printed would probably require a comma.

Ouch. My point exactly. We should adopt a “Don’t ask. Don’t tell.” policy here.

Now with that out of the way, let’s talk about what matters. We could talk about how delicious and perfectly chocolatey and moist the brownie base is, and how the cheesecake topping adds just enough creaminess to smooth out the chocolate and how the addition of chopped Snickers brings the cheesecake brownie to great new heights.

But-nope. Let’s talk bribery.

That’s bribery with a big “B”. If you’re a regular reader than you know I equate time as a commodity. I never have enough of it and I usually have to pay to steal some. Luckily, my broker goes by the name of Matt and instead of exchanging dead presidents inked in green, I use sugar for payment. More to the point: Snickers, his favorite candy bar.

These brownies bought me a weekend to finish my personal project-well, almost done. I’m sort of a perfectionist, so I’m sure it will require one more weekend of tweaking. If anyone has any Snickers dessert suggestions, please let me know!

Call me lazy or call it pride, but a Snickers persuasion is just so much easier than begging and pleading.

A few notes:

• Don’t skip the ice bath portions. Trust me it works and makes  a difference. I ‘ve tried bypassing it and the brownies to do not come out as soft and tender
• Your palate, your preference: If Snickers is not your thing, top the cheesecake with what you like. If you were to bribe me with this cheesecake brownie, I would ask for something like raspberries-a nice fruity tart flavor to cut through some of the sweetness.
• If your a Snickers fan you might also like these Snicker cookies, aka. Bikini Killer Cookies.
• Yeah, I went a little crazy with the photos this time around. But as many of you know, next to food, photography is a huge passion of mine- practice, practice, practice (hence all the shots). See that last one with the spilled milk-my black board I had erected to cast a shadow came toppling down on the glass. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, I cleaned it up, recomposed the shot and it did the exact same thing AGAIN. By then, I decided to move onto the other shots you see, what didn’t move on-my milk spilling. It didn’t matter where I moved that glass of milk, I ended up spilling it another two times. It took a total of four times before I finally dumped it in the sink.

The Aftermath

Things that make me want to cry!

Snickers Brownies

Brownie portion adapted from Alice Medrich

Preparation: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover 8×8 pan with bake spray.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour

Snickers Cheesecake Layer:

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 8 Snickers (fun size, 4.62 oz.), chopped

Instructions:

Brownies:

1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute.
2. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie starts to pull away from the sides of pan. While brownies are baking prepare ice bath. Fill a pan with ices cubes and water ¾ inch deep (yes, this really does help the brownie). When the brownies are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it in the water bath. Allow brownies too cool completely in the water bath.

Snickers Cheesecake Layer:

1. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Pour on top of cooled brownie and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Cool to warm then press chopped Snickers into cheesecake layer.

Creme Filled Brownie Bites

If you have never seen their show, Two Fat Ladies, look them up on You Tube. While their fully fat laden cooking maybe out of vogue, I’m pretty sure you can still enjoy their humor – the ladies are hilarious.

As for the brownie team up in this recipe, I filled the brownies with a simple pastry cream. I love how it evens out the richness of the chocolate, while adding a nice textural contrast to the fudge like brownie. And yes, more sprinkles – they make me smile, so I added some.

So it seems that aside from the sprinkle run, I’m all about stuffing desserts lately (another one coming up tomorrow). I’m sure in a few days, the sprinkle and stuffing run will be replaced with a new infatuation and you’ll see a few recipes incorporating my new found love .

For now its sprinkles and stuffed desserts, combining the two for this post I give you . . . Crème Filled Brownie Bites. Enjoy!

A few notes:

• If you are familiar with making cake balls, this is the same idea; with no binder since the brownie texture is almost fudge like and therefore provides enough moisture to bind the brownie crumbs into a ball.
• Your palate your preference, you can easily change out the crème filled portion for peanut butter, Nutella or pretty much anything you can think of. I’m thinking my next one will be a cookie dough filled one on a stick.
• For an Easter twist, dip the brownie filled bites in some pastel colored candy melts instead of chocolate.

Creme Filled Brownie Bites

Makes 24 Brownie Bites

Classic Brownies

Adapted from Alice Medrich

Preparation: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover 8×8 pan with bake spray.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour

Pastry Cream:

(Click here for a step-by-step tutorial)

• 2 cup of whole milk
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg yolks
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Pouring Sauce:

• 2/3 cups dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
• 4-5 tablespoons water, warm

Instructions:

Brownies:

1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute.
2. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie starts to pull away from the sides of pan. While brownies are baking prepare ice bath. Fill a pan with ices cubes and water ¾ inch deep (yes, this really does help the brownie). When the brownies are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it in the water bath. Allow brownies too cool completely in the water bath.

Pastry Cream:

1. Combine cornstarch and ½ cup milk and stir to dissolve. Beat whole eggs and yolks into corn mixture; set aside. Prepare an ice bath; set aside.
2. Combine remaining milk with sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove sauce pan from heat and transfer mixture to a new pan to reduce any residual heat. Set aside and cool milk mixture for 5 minutes.
3. Slowly add egg mixture into hot milk stirring constantly so the eggs do not curdle. Return mixture to stovetop and stir vigorously until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to stir until the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream, about 5-7 minutes. Once pastry cream reaches this stage, remove sauce pan from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Transfer the saucepan to the ice bath. Stir occasionally until pastry cream is cool about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Pouring Sauce:

1. 1. Place chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until pouring consistency is reached. Set aside and let sauce cool to warm.

Assembly:

1. Crumble brownie into small pieces with a  food processor or with your hands. Measure out a heaping tablespoon and roll brownie crumbs into a ball. Using your finger or the round end of an object, create a well. Fill that well with your pastry cream or your choice of filling.
2. Measure out ¼ teaspoon of brownie crumb, using your fingers flatten it into a circle then place it on top of the crème filled well. Refrigerate brownie bites for at least 30minutes or overnight.
3. Remove chilled brownie bites and dip in chocolate glaze or candy melts.

Irish Brownie Bombs

Hit the jump over to Endless Simmer for my recipe write up on this goodie!  FYI. . . Don’t forget to check out last year’s St. Patrick’s Day dessert Irish Cake Bombs.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownie Bites

Fall is here and I’m pumpkin crazy. This year, I don’t know if it’s made worse by the fact that I have a blog and want to share and chronicle all my pumpkin recipes or it’s the shortage that has me rushing to make as many things as I can.

Either way or either excuse, I’m happy to say I got the last three cans of pumpkin puree on the shelf. That means next up is Pumpkin Pie Bars with my secret ingredient. But don’t worry, I promise to sprinkle a few other recipes in before I hit those.

A few notes:

• I used pastry bags to dispense the brownie mix and pumpkin mix to minimize the mess and for ease. If you don’t have pastry bags, use a Ziploc or a spoon.
• For an alternative to the swirl topping, try drizzling top with caramel or butterscotch sauce once the brownie bites are done baking or sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top of the pumpkin layer prior to baking.
• Keep Pumpkin Swirl Brownie Bites covered and refrigerated to maintain freshness for up to 3-5 days.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownie Bites

Yields 48 mini bites

Prep: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover both mini muffins pans with bake spray.

Ingredients:

Brownie Portion:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour

Pumpkin Mix Portion:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1/2vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spices
• 1/4 teaspooon salgt
• 1/3 cup of sugar, plus two tablespoon
• 2 tablespoon flour

Instructions:

Brownie Portion:

1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted.
2. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next.
3. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute.
   

Brownies Adapted from Alice Medrich

Pumpkin Mix Portion:

1. Combine all ingredients and beat until blended.

Assembly:

1. Fill mini muffin pans 2/3 of the way up with brownie mix. Reserve 1/3 cup of brownie and set aside. Next gently pour a spoonful of pumpkin mix on top. Place small dots of reserved brownie on top of pumpkin mix then using a skewer or a toothpick, lightly swirl brownie dot into pumpkin mix.
2. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. Start checking for doness at 10 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean the brownies are ready.
3. Allow Pumpkin Swirl Brownie Bites to cool in pan for five minutes on a cooling rack before removing.

Caramel Brownie Trifle

If you are trimming down for bikini season, shield your eyes from this wondrous dessert that I spotted, I made and I devoured. And if the saying is true that sharing is caring, then here is my decadent find from Glorious Treats to you.

This recipe is made up of all your childhood favorites like brownies, chocolate pudding, whip cream, caramel sauce, and then topped with some Heath bar.  Pile it all into one dessert and your sweet tooth will be tingling with glee.

I have to admit, after salivating all over my computer screen from the picture I had extra incentive to try this recipe since I already had half the components made.

A few notes:

• Hit the jump for the recipe to this Caramel Brownie Trifle Recipe from Glorious Treats.
• I changed out the pudding for mousse and used the brownie recipe from my previous post, Chocolate Mousse Brownie Bites instead of boxed brownie.
• If you need to trim even more time off this fast and easy dessert, forgo the box brownie mix  for some store bought brownie bites from Trader Joe’s or from your local grocer’s bakery section.

Chocolate Mousse Brownie Bites

It started with a simple request for a basic brownie, to quote the requestor, “Can you make straightforward brownie-no candy bar chopped and piled on top, no crushed cookies tucked in the center, no cream cheese top, just a plain brownie?”

As evident by the picture, I’m sure we can all agree I’m not a very good listener-kind of. I did in fact make the brownies as requested for the family and then choc-la-fied them some more with mousse to what you see in the picture.

I usually like my brownie warmed and with a scoop of ice cream. This time around I wanted to try something lighter like a mousse and . . .I may never go back. Okay, a wee-bit of an exaggeration, since I love ice cream.

But what I did like about the mousse was it provided a textural break with its lightness while smoothing out the richness of the chocolate for a more even bite.

If you skip the mousse on this recipe, be sure to bookmark it for future use because it is damn good mousse!

A few notes:

• You can make this recipe in an 8×8 pan and cut them accordingly or you can minify them into chocolate brownie bites. I like making brownie bites for portion control and because I like having a chewy edge with every serving.
• To make brownie bites like the picture, use mini muffin pans and coat it with nonstick spray, fill each hole 1/3 of the way up and bake for 8-10 minutes.
• Regular muffin pans will also work. Again coat with nonstick spray then fill each hole 1/3 of the way up and bake for 16-18 minutes.
• The brownies can be stored airtight for 2-3 days.

Chocolate Mousse Brownie Bites

{Printer Version}

Yields one 8×8 pan or 40  brownie bites

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Ingredients:

Brownie:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ salt
2 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour

Chocolate Mousse:
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
1 cup heavy
Instructions:

Brownie:

1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted.
2. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next.
3. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie starts to pull away from  the  sides of pan.
5.  While brownies are baking prepare ice bath. Fill a pan with ices cubes and water ¾ inch deep (Yes, this really does help the brownie.)
6. When the brownies are ready remove the pan from the oven and place in the water bath, taking care not to splash ice water unto the brownie.
Adapted from Alice Medrich

Chocolate Mousse:

1. Place chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until chocolate is melted.
2. Place second bowl with egg yolks, sugar and salt. Whisk over simmering water. Do not place bowl directly on simmering water. Whisk until warm about 2minutes. Transfer mixture to stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
3. Beat egg yolk mixture until thick and pale yellow and forms a ribbon when whisk is lifted, about 3 minutes.
4. Add chocolate to egg yolk mixture and mix by hand until incorporated. Add egg whites and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl beat cream until medium peaks form. Fold chocolate mixture until no white streaks are visible.
6. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Adapted from John Baracelli

Blackout Brownie Cheesecake

I don’t know what it is about brownies, but brownies or the addition of them to anything clears a dessert plate faster than almost any of my other desserts.

I think it has someting to do with brownies being one of those classic comfort sweets that is universally enjoyed. Add the cheesecake and it becomes the yin to the yang of this dessert.

A few notes:
1. Use a water bath to bake this. My first run without the water bath left me a dry and hard brownie bottom due to it being baked twice, once for the brownie itself and twice for baking the cheesecake.
2. I also find that a water bath often prevents a cheesecake from cracking on the top.
3. This can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator 45 minutes prior to serving.
4. Another close variation of this dessert in a bar form is my Black and White Brownies.

Blackout Brownie Bottom Cheesecake
{Printer Version}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Click here for tips on how to create a proper waterbath.

Ingredients:

Brownie Bottom Layer:
½ cup unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoon for greasing
4oz bittersweet chocolate in small chunks
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
1 cup flour, plus some for dusting

Cheesecake Layer:
2 ¼ cup cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 plain yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS:

Brownie Bottom Layer:
1. Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat and mix in sugar.
2. Add eggs, milk and mix well. Gently stir in flour just until incorporated.
3. Spoon into 9in springform pan that has been greased and floured. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and place springform in the water bath.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Cheesecake Layer:

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until well blended.
2. Fold in yogurt and pour over bottom layer.
3. Place springform pan in simmering water bath. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until center is set.

Black and White Brownies

Strange as it may sound, I don’t usually eat too many of my sweets once finished. After tasting the batter along the way, nibbling a corner as it comes out of the oven and then a second nibble once cooled—I pretty much have my fill of it. But with these, the chocolate and cream cheese pairing intoxicates me and my OCD inclination to finish what I start surfaces. So as usual from oven to mouth, I was third of the way through the pan when my three-year-old reminded me we don’t have sweets before dinner—Yep, thanks, Buzz Killington. 

These are so easy and so good; it may just become your go-to brownie recipe. 

A few notes:
• These are terrifically easy to make. I generally use a scale for most baking to measure everything out, but this recipe is pretty forgiving so you can bypass the scale on this one.
• The lattice top is accomplished by placing 1 cup of batter in a pastry bag and piping it onto the cream cheese topping with a #3 tip.
•  I made these just the other day and piped a shamrock for every cut square instead of the lattice and it turned out super. If you choose to do a motif, don’t forget the batter will expand on top of the cream cheese while in the oven.
•  My secret to making this one of the best brownies: Scharffenberger’s Cocoa Powder. It packs a nice mellow chocolatey flavor without overwhelming the cream cheese and the texture of the brownie.
•  If you forget to soften your butter, melt the stick ¾ of the way through in the microwave. Oddly, this doesn’t seem to affect the recipe.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart’s 2009 Holiday Magazine. You can find it here: http://bit.ly/aKrHFY