Brownie Scrap Pile

  • Brownie Scrap Pile

    Sometimes life needs to be easier, doesn’t it?

    I have a way to do that and still enjoy it fully while indulging in the pleasures of rich, dense, fudgy chocolate.  With whipped cream.  And ice cream.  And maybe chocolate sauce just for fun.

    Here’s the scoop: make a batch of the World’s Best Fudge Brownies, and cut out whatever shapes you want (like if you’re making brownie stars for the holidays, or hearts for Valentine’s, or whatever your brownie-obsessed mind has in store).  And here’s where the easiness comes in: save the bits between the cut-outs and throw them in a ziploc bag destined for the freezer.  When you’re desperate for a magnanimously easy and wondiferous dessert, pull the ziploc bag out… thaw it on the counter while you whip up some cream, microwave the brownie scraps for a quick blast, and throw the whipped cream (and ice cream too!) on the pile of scraps.  Add a bit of chocolate sauce if you’re so inclined.

    Then settle back with a single spoon.  No sharing this one.  It’s all for you.

     

    Adapted from my World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie recipe…

    BROWNIE:

    4 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate

    (the better the chocolate, the better the brownie)

    3/4 cup unsalted butter

    2 cups sugar

    2 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla (use the real stuff)

    3 lightly beaten eggs

    1 cup flour

    1 1/2 teaspoons salt

    Optional: 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

    Optional: 1 cup lightly toasted nuts &/or chocolate chips

    WHIPPED CREAM:

    1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

    1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

    CHOCOLATE SAUCE (OPTIONAL!):

    1/2 cup sugar

    2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

    Pinch of salt

    1/4 cup water

    1 1/2 tablespoons butter

    1/4 teaspoon vanilla

    1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9 x 12 foil-lined pan.
    2. Melt chocolate & butter in microwave for 2:15 minutes and stir.
    3. Stir in sugar, then vanilla, then eggs, then salt, espresso powder (optional) & flour.
    4. Stir in nuts &/or chocolate chips if you so desire.
    5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 3o minutes (until center is just set).
    6. Cool & cut into squares- saving scraps for your “scrap pile”.
    7. WHIPPING CREAM: whip cream and confectioners’ sugar together until soft peaks form.
    8. CHOCOLATE SAUCE (optional, not pictured): In a small saucepan, stir sugar, cocoa powder, salt and water together.  Add butter, and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.  Boil for 1 minute, stirring throughout, then remove from heat and add vanilla.
    9. Plop whipped cream, ice cream and chocolate sauce onto warmed brownie scraps in a bowl.  Indulge!

    Tips:

    • Brownie baking tips can be found on the original World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie post here… check it out for useful brownie blather- like info on the nuts, chocolate, etc.  This brownie recipe asks you to bake with a larger pan and for less time, so if you like thicker chunks for your cutouts (and scraps!), just use the 9 x 9″ pan and bake for about 33 minutes.
    • This recipe is particularly easy if you have brownies leftover in the freezer that you can pull out and use on a whim.  If you DON’T have them leftover, then by all means- make them anyway and create a fresh scrap pile!  This recipe is really quite easy… don’t not make it just because you don’t have leftovers is all I’m saying.
    • Making the chocolate sauce is not a part of the “easy” promise, but if you do choose to make it- it will be worth it (as long as you use good cocoa powder, of course).  You can freeze any of the leftover sauce, by the way.  Thaw it in the fridge or on defrost in the microwave for a few seconds at a time… and use it when you know you need it (like maybe to dip your Pecan Chocolate Shortbread into.  It will call out to you when it’s ready to have again.

     

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    April 6th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , ,

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