BROWNIE BITES
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Brownie chocolates! So very poppable! Petite, chewy, fudgey brownies cloaked in a velvety chocolate ganache. And just look at those goodies on top. Pop! Pop!
Looky, looky, what I made! You know you waaahnt one!
Okay, okay, I'll fess up, but no booing and hooing when I tell you I used a Brownie mix for these cute little, chocolatey delicious dessert tidbits. Brownie mixes are one of my only 'not from scratch' things I use. Suddenly making brownies is quick, easy and they taste quite remarkable, really.
Sure, sometimes it's definitely worth getting the eggs, butter and chocolate together to create brownie irresistable-ness from scratch, just because. But, I'm telling you now, keeping a good Ghiradelli, Duncan Hines or other Chewy Fudge Brownie mix on hand will come in handy more times than not. Add some gently toasted chopped macadamia nuts or pecans and top with homemade salted caramel glaze or a killer good chocolate buttercream and ta da! brownie excellence (from a box!) Sssshhhh, though, don't tell anyone about the box, because I promise you here and now, no one, not a soul, will ever know that plate of brownies you just set out, or in this case, Brownie Bites are not entirely homemade.
So when I came across these pretty little brownies online, looking like a tray of chocolates, I grabbed that box of Chewy Fudge Brownie mix from the pantry, as fast as I could, and within moments my kitchen was transformed into a chocolately delicious bakeshop.
These were just plain fun to make ...... from tapping the perfect little brownies out of the mini-muffins pans, to dunking them in silky liquid ganache to topping them with garnishes that promised to make every bite blissful. Fun!!
For decorating, I used beautiful toasted Okanagan walnut halves, malties, Hawaiian sea salt, chocolate covered raisins, fresh blackberries, Aero balls, chocolate wafer crumbs, chocolate jimmies and cut up Bounty candy bars. More fun!
I found the idea for these devilishly yummy tiny treats on both the Pioneer Woman and Let's Dish food blogs. Thanks Ree and Danelle!! These ladies had fun with brownie bite garnishes too, using everything from chopped nuts, toasted coconut, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, confetti candy sprinkles to M&Ms and fresh blueberries.
You're already thinking of what you want to decorate with, aren't you?
Who knows, you might even consider keeping a good fudge brownie mix on hand after you try these.
BROWNIE BITES - Makes 30-40
1 box Chewy Fudge Brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines) and the ingredients to make brownies
1 1/2 cups Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate chopped, or good quality chocolate chips
Not quite 1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons good vanilla extract
Chopped, toasted nuts, sprinkles, candy, fresh berries, sea salt, etc for decorating
Preheat oven to 325F. Make brownie mix according to package directions. Spoon a generous teaspoon of brownie batter in each tin of a very, very well greased (buttered) mini muffin pan. Do not overfill. Brownies should just reach the top of the pan when baked - you don't want any muffin tops.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until set. Let brownies cool in pans for a couple of minutes then invert on a cooling rack. Allow brownie bites to cool completely.
To make the ganache, mix cream with corn syrup and heat in a microwave safe container. Add chopped chocolate to a separate bowl. Add vanilla to warm cream mixture, then pour over chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate totally melts and mixture is smooth.
Add brownie bites face down in the icing. Dunk to submerge, and spoon icing over the top to thoroughly coat. Remove with a fork, tapping the fork on the side of the bowl several times quickly in order to get the excess to drain between the tines. Carefully set on a Silpat mat, parchment paper or waxed paper on baking sheet.
Decorate as you wish! Chopped nuts, candies, berries, sprinkles, sea salt…the world is your oyster!
Set the brownies in the fridge so the ganache sets. These are best served well chilled.
**I found I had a good bit of ganache left-over and was going to adjust the recipe for you, but thought better of it, 'cuz now that brownie mixes have become a staple in your pantry, it's a very good thing to have some chocolate ganache on hand**