Orange and Chocolate Brownie Bites

Two classic flavors combine in one decadent little bite. These are so delicious and easy to prepare that nobody will know you didn't slave away in the kitchen for hours. These are like the ones you buy at your local store bakery, but so much better!

Orange and Chocolate Brownie Bites

Hands-On Time: 5 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Serves: Makes 24 bites

Bites:

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour - rounded
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon orange zest

Frosting:

1 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon orange zest
2 Tablespoons orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with paper liners or grease well.
2. Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth and let cool to room temperature. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, mix flour and salt together and set aside.
4. Mix eggs and brown sugar together with orange zest.
5. Add chocolate mixture to egg and sugar and stir until well blended.
6. Stir in flour until just combined.
7. Divide evenly into muffin cups and bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are set but the centers are moist and fudgey.
8. Cool for several minutes before frosting.
9. For frosting, blend butter and zest together well. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time and orange juice last. Mix until fluffy.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites

Brownie bites are nothing new. I've been making them for years and you can pick them up pre-made in boxes on grocery shelves and at bakeries. I've also made them with cherries in the center (Cherry Brownie Bites) and made them with orange, as well (Orange and Chocolate Brownie Bites) but for this Easter I decided to pop a mini peanut butter cup into each one and see what happened.

YUM is what happened. I posted a quick Instagram pic and people loved it. So, without waiting I wanted to share the basic recipe and a tip or two for getting these to turn out right.

Brownie Bites
Makes 24 Bites
Printable Recipe

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick (1/2 c) butter
1/2 c plus 2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with paper liners or grease well.

Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth and let cool to room temperature. Set aside.
Mix flour and salt together in a small bowl-set aside.
Mix eggs and brown sugar together until thick and pale. Stir in vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture until well blended. Stir in flour until just combined.
Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full (about 1 tablespoon)
Bake 12-15 minutes (I find 14 works well) until the edges are set but the centers are moist and fudgy.
Cool for 15 minutes before removing.

Now, the only addition here is a mini chocolate covered peanut butter cup pushed directly into the center of each bite. You can add the tiniest bit of dough to the top of each to completely seal them in, but I found letting the top open worked well, too.

Here's the important part: You MUST let these cool completely before attempting to remove from pans. The PB cup is very melty after baking and needs to set or the whole bite will cave in or fall apart; trust me on this one, I already made the mistake of trying to remove them too early. Once cooled, enjoy to your heart's content!

National Brownie Day

Did you know there is a National Brownie Day? Well, there is and today is it. Grab yourself a brownie and feel no guilt. I love an excuse to have chocolate and I wholeheartledly embrace this celebration!

Embrace it with me and leave a comment with contact information here for a chance to win a $30 gift set from Cheryl&Co.. That's right - thirty dollars to spend on thick, rich brownies or decadently iced cookies or any number of delectable treats offered up by Cheryl&Co. If you need more convincing, visit the website and if you don't rush right back to comment, then there's no help for you.

In the meantime, this recipe is a favorite at our house - rich and gooey brownies the kids can never get enough of.

Decadent Brownies
Makes one 9x13 pan
Printable Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs - slightly beaten
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put butter into 9x13 pan and place in oven until butter is melted.
Pour butter into a large bowl and add sugar. Stir until well blended. Add vanilla and eggs and stir well. Add cocoa powder and blend until smooth.
Sift in flour and stir gently until combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set but not stiff - don't overbake!

**Contest ends 12/15/2009 at 11:59 PM

Grandma's Favorites

Just before Grandma fell ill I made a batch of her famous brownies and was going to blog them. I also wanted to add to that the recipe for her favorite cookies. Life happens though, and I found myself unable to even approach the subject of Grandma without great pain.

Life goes on also and I want to share these two recipes.

A perfect batch of grandma's brownies.

The brownies my Grandma made are like no other I have ever had. These are truly "gooey" and absolutely sinful. Grandma knew this and even though she shared her recipe she failed to mention, on purpose, the one thing that made them so wonderful.

They don't get more moist than this!

I was surprised to hear my mother tell me this since Grandma was so sweet and lovable, and a true Christian woman. But, like the rest of us, Grandma had flaws and one was that she knew how much everyone loved these brownies and she knew that if they all knew how to make them, they wouldn't need her to do it. Grandma loved being needed. I guess that isn't really a flaw after all.

Gooey brownie love.

Grandma Sharp's Brownies
Printable Recipe

In two 8x8 baking pans (metal is preferable) melt 1 stick of margarine each. You can use butter but the texture will change.

In a medium bowl mix together 2 cups sugar and 2 T cocoa (grandma means SERVING spoon so, about 1/2 cup or slightly more). Add melted butter and 4 eggs. Blend well and add lastly 1 cup flour and 2 cups mini marshmallows.

Blend and divide equally among the already-buttered pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned on top.


The amount of baking time is key--if they go too long-forget the goo--they will just be brownies and THAT is the part that my dear Grandmother always forgot to mention. She would act surprised "Why, I don't know why they got so hard!". Silly Sharpie :o)

The next is a recipe for Confetti Cookies that originally came from Juanita Searfoss, Grandma's niece. When Grandma was not feeling well, these cookies were the only thing she could tolerate. I made them innumerable times over the last 12 years for her and she never tired of them. They have never tasted exactly the same to me as they did when I was a child but then, many things are that way.
Here is the story that goes with them: http://www.cookingwithanne.com/2009/06/grandmas-confetti-cookies.html

Confetti Cookies

These are similar to Mexican Wedding cookies.

Confetti Drops
Mrs C.L. Searfoss
Printable Recipe

1 c spry (shortening)
2 c flour
6 T sugar
1/4 c milk
1 oz confetti candy (multi-colored non-pareils)
1 t vanilla or almond extract
1/4 t salt
red food coloring
powdered sugar

Mix shortening and sugar and salt. Add red food coloring to milk so it distributes well-ebough so the dough will be a pretty pink. Add extract to milk also. Add flour alternately with milk. Add confetti and mix well so it gets throughout the dough.

Roll into 1" balls and flatten slightly on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Do not let them brown!
The original recipe says to roll them in powdered sugar while warm but I always wind up with a sticky mess if I do this so I let them cool first.