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Friday, April 9, 2010

Brownie Bites/Cupcakes?

My Blog Site: Sandie from Inn Cuisine (a lovely blog by the way) e-mailed me and told me that she was unable to leave comments on my blog when I had the other theme, so I am in the process of changing things around (She just e-mailed me again and told me she is still having trouble! :( UF!). As you can see, there is still a lot to be done, so be patient with me. If you are unable to leave a comment on my blog, please send me an e-mail or something so that I can try to fix things. I've spent almost an entire day doing it, and I need to grade, gather data for my dissertation, and look for a summer job haha.
Now, the brownie bites. My adviser suggested that I thank the Spanish/Portuguese (and one Italian professor who is now my co-chair) linguistic faculty via e-mail for not kicking me out of the PhD program (all that said in my words of course haha). I told a colleague about her suggestion, and my colleague said that the protocol is to pass out "Thank You" cards! I didn't know about this custom, so when I learned about how formal it was, I decided to go beyond what was expected by not only passing out cards, but also baking up something yummy for the faculty.
I debated on trying a dessert I've never posted before on this blog, but I wanted to make something easy and something I knew tasted really good. That is how I decided on making this King Arthur Flour Brownies again but in small bite form. After the bites were done, I poured on some leftover ganache I made for another chocolate mousse cheesecake I made for my friend.
I made some with cupcake liners and some without.

The bites were a hit. My now ex-committee chair (she is still on my committee, though. Short, boring story) expressed her love of the bite a lot more vocally than the other profs haha. I then decided to tell her about my food blog and gave her my website address. I hope she visits!
In bite form, these brownies didn't form as crackly a top as they do in regular form. They were still very good. They tasted even better with homemade whipped cream on top. On eone of them, I put on ganache and then whipped cream! OMG! Amazing!! Too bad I had run out of ganache at that point. I plan to make these brownie bites/cupcakes again. Try them with both toppings for the full effect. Do I call these cupcakes? Brownie cakes? *scratches head in 'confusement'* hehe.
Last but definitely not least, to all of my professors, I say,
THANK YOU! ¡GRACIAS! GRAZIE! OBRIGADA!


Brownie Bites
adapted by King Arthur Flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa (I used regular cocoa this time around)
1 tsp salt (I used Kosher)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder (optional, but recommended)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 cups chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a muffin pan if not using liners. [If using liners, spray them with Baker's Joy or cooking spray because brownie batter sticks a lot more than cake batter.]

In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
The last photo of the bowl is after microwaving the butter/sugar mixture again. Notice the difference in texture from the previous photo.

While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl (or stand mixer), and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
Add the flour and chips (optional), again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.
Spoon the batter into a lightly-greased muffin pan or greased cupcake liners. Bake the brownies for about 15 minutes (30 minutes if regular sized brownies), until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

32 comments:

  1. Great pictures. I love the step by step shots. The cakes look delicious!

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  2. I feel like I haven't visited your blog for ages, like maybe a week! For some reason I still don't get automatic updates when you post, so frustrating. Wow, I wouldn't have thought it to be so formal either. Thank you notes? Well, good to see you went beyond! They look scrumptious.

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  3. I love the look of the one dripping with chocolate

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  4. How did I miss these? Yum!!! What a delicious way to say thank you!

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  5. Ya tienes otro seguidor de tu blog. Saludos desde España

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  6. Yummy, Memoria!!!!!!!!! My friend, I have so missed coming to your beautiful blog and drooling over your sweet and savory culinary delights! My doggone internet is still out at home and will not be restored until Wednesday (boy, what a hassle)! Anyway, in the meantime and in between time, I must say I think your brownie bites/cupcakes are so pretty; I like the step-by-step photos, and you have packaged and presented these desserts so nicely for your profs. I am glad they love you and are rooting for you as hard as I am, but I'M THE MAMA, and I love you best of all!

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  7. Your website is beautiful and I love your photographs.I'm a real chocoholic, so this is totally enticing. Thank you.

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  8. I see you're using your new tips- great job!

    I especially love that picture of the ganaches covered brownie bite- yum!

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  9. Thank you for stopping by my blog, Memoria. You have a great blog yourself. Love the recipes! I love brownie bites. My kids, too:) Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  10. I love your photos. Thanks for sharing the recipe looks and sounds so good. Great blog and recipes:)

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  11. Testing the commenting section.

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  12. Indeed, these look amazing! The chocolate ganache in the bites-that has to be a hit!

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  13. Love the new look. I am also really loving these little beauties - I could eat way too many.

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  14. Nice blog. You certainly kicked the brownies up a notch by pouring some ganache. Delicious!

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  15. Oi querida! Adorei a nova cara do blog e vou experimentar esse receita. Bj

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  16. Brownies *and* whipped cream?? Sign me up! (by the way, the comments seem to be working just fine!)

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  17. wow che golosi!!! bravissima!!!
    aspettami che arrivo...porto il gelato eh!:)
    un abbraccio!!! ciao!

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  18. These look super-cute Memória. And you are so nice for making these for your chair. I think I'm just going to give mine thank you cards...

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  19. I must say that I am more intrigue with the one without cupcake liner. Somehow, I find it more appealing. Although, the all look delish, of course.

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  20. If you ever care to defend your thesis to me. I would be a more than happy recipient of these cupcakes. They look delicious!

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  21. Wow, what a great way to make brownies Memoria...little bites :-) Love the pictures...muito obrigada!

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  22. They look so good! I love the ones without cupcake liners and with choc oozing out ... yummy!

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  23. These remind me of the million dollar winning recipe in the Pillsbury Bakeoff today. Only I'm sure these are much better with your homemade fudgey brownie base. Gracias por sus comentarios en mi blog en español. It always makes me smile!

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  24. Nothing says thank you like something delicious! I should have thought of that for reviews during architecture school!!

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  25. I love brownies....these look wonderful!!

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  26. those are so cute! I'm usually not big on brownies because I think they are plain, but yours are dressed up and adorable! yum! Plus, everyone loves brownie bites!

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  27. I'm having biggest chocolate craving ever right now...after look at your chocolate cake and now these beauties!

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  28. I'd love to make these for my wedding- looking to find out how many servings in this recipe??

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  29. Jen - According to King Arthur's website, this recipe makes about 24 2" brownies. I hope these brownies turn out well for you on your special day! Congratulations!

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