Mississippi Mud Brownies

Hmmmm….what is going on with me? I mean my blood sugar levels have barely recovered from my self-induced Halloween Candy Coma and here I am posting a recipe for more sweeties! Oh…and let me tell you, this isn’t just any old dessert. No sir-ee…this here is one of the most rich, decadent and utterly addictive brownie creations I have ever had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into…Mississippi Mud Brownies! Now I am well aware that there are countless Mississippi Mud Brownie recipes out there, not to mention the legions of Mississippi Mud Cakes, Mississippi Mud Pies and Mississippi Mud bars. Seems folks just can’t get enough of that good ole Mississippi Mud. What all of these delectable creations have in common is lots and lots of rich chocolate and oooey – gooey marshmallow. Many also have some nuts thrown into the mix and I even came across a few that make some good use of peanut butter. Yup many variations indeed. It seems like this quintessentially Southern dessert must have been around forever. But it looks like it actually originated in the 1970’s and was wildly popular back then. Apparently it wasn’t just a fad. Mississippi Mud desserts are still hot to this day!

This particular Mississippi Mud Brownie recipe will deliver you up a batch of moist, rich, dense chocolate chip filled brownies which are topped with a layer of fluffy marshmallow creme and lovingly drizzled with even more chocolate. I really think critical chocolate mass was achieved here. No nuts in these little gems, but as I’ve mentioned the recipe is easily customizable. Have a nut lover in your house? Throw a few handfuls into the mix or sprinkle them over the top. You can’t go wrong with this mouth-wateringly delicious creation. And perhaps if you hop to it you can have a batch ready before the final election results are in. I’m sure the resulting sugar rush will help soothe your frayed nerves. Though you might need to add something a bit more medicinal to that glass of milk – if you know what I’m saying. 😉

• Servings: one 13x9 inch pan
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Pass the Sushi

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips – I used semisweet

For the Topping:

• 3/4 cup marshmallow creme
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoon coconut oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with aluminium foil and spray with baking spray.

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 5-7 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the eggs and sugar on low speed until completely incorporated. Pour in the melted chocolate and continue to mix. Add the flour and beat mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and using a rubber spatula, smooth out evenly.

Bake for 40 -50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few wet crumbs. Place on a wire rack.

Scoop dollops of the marshmallow creme onto the hot brownies and let sit for one minute until softened.  Spread the marshmallow creme evenly over the brownies. Meanwhile, in a heat proof bowl, combine the chocolate chips and oil and microwave until smooth, 30 – 60 seconds. Using a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate over the marshmallow creme layer.

Cool for at least 2 hours before removing from pan, cutting into squares, and serving.

Enjoy!

Mississippi Mud Brownies brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

 

Banana Split Brownies

Banana Split Brownies! Sounds fantastic huh? The good news is they taste just as amazing as you might have imagined. Just picture this if you will…a fudgy banana brownie base, covered with a rich, banana infused chocolate ganache and then topped with gooey toasted marshmallows. That’s right! Three delicious layers!

My husband loves banana anything, so he was over the moon with these brownies as that banana flavour really comes through. There is mashed banana in the brownie base and the chocolate ganache is made with cream that has been infused with banana flavour. You just can’t beat that chocolate banana combination. And no self-respecting banana split can be served without ice cream, so make sure you have some on hand when you bake a batch of these little devils. Are you drooling yet?

Banana Split Brownies

recipe from: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup mashed overripe banana (about 1 medium banana)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup (3 oz) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (2 1/2 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Topping:

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chopped ripe banana (about 1 medium)
• 7 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (55-62% cacao), finely chopped
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I didn’t use these, husband doesn’t care for nuts)

Directions:

For the brownies: Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line a 9-inch square metal baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides so you can lift the brownies out.  Butter and flour the foil.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it smells nutty and is golden in color, about 4-5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the butter cool for 5 minutes.  Add the sugar and salt to the pan and whisk to combine.  Whisk in the eggs, banana and vanilla.  Finally, add the flour and cocoa powder and whisk until all ingredients are combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.

To make the topping: while the brownies are cooling, bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped banana.  Cover the pan and let steep for 1 hour.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Return the cream (with the banana still in the pan) to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Pour the cream through a strainer into the bowl with the chocolate.  Discard the banana in the strainer.  Let the chocolate/cream mixture stand for 1 minute then stir until smooth.  Pour the ganache over the brownies and spread evenly.

Preheat your oven’s broiler and set a rack about 6 inches from the heating element.  Distribute the marshmallows and almonds over the top of the ganache.  Put the pan under the broiler – watch it very carefully and turn the pan frequently – until the marshmallows are browned.

Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool until the ganache is set, at least 1 1/2 hours.  Lift the brownies from the pan using the foil handles.  Cut the brownies using a wet knife, which will keep the marshmallows from sticking. Served with ice cream, these brownies are to die for!

Enjoy!

M&M Cookie Bars

Want a tasty, crowd pleasing treat that doesn’t take much time or effort to make? Look no further, you’ve found it here with these M&M Cookie Bars. These wonderfully thick and chewy bars are simply delicious, buttery and chocolatey and every single bite is just bursting with M&M’s. And as I’ve mentioned, they are so easy to make I could almost do it in my sleep. (And perhaps I have…though that is an entirely different story) But really, in 45 minutes these little devils are done and dusted with the dishes washed up and everything!

The great thing about using M&M’s in these bars, besides the fact that folks just plain love them, is that it makes the dessert very versatile. M&M’s come in so many varieties these days. You can find bags of them with colours customized for almost every holiday, they come in white chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, pretzel filled, etc. etc. By changing which type of M&M you use, you’ll seem to have come up with a brand spanking new dessert every time. Minimal effort, maximum results. Gotta love that. Bake yourself the first of many batches today!

M&M Cookie Bars

recipe from: What Megan’s Making

yield: 16 squares

Ingredients:

• 2 1/8 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 12 Tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 12oz bag M&M’s, divided ( I used mini M&M’s but regular sized will work fine as well)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Grease a 9×9″ pan and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugars until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in 1 cup of M&M’s and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining M&M’s on top and press in slightly.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats

Wow! Time flies! Seems like I just finished my St. Patrick’s Day blogging extravaganza and here it is nearly Easter! Again, my hat is off to all of you daily bloggers out there. I just took a week off to recover from my 17 day stint at it and I still feel a bit wobbly about the whole thing. I thought I’d ease back into the saddle today with a great Easter recipe that is also really easy to make. Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats are just what they sound like, yummy Rice Krispie Treats with extra malt flavouring and one of my favourite Easter candies, Robin Eggs! For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Robin Eggs, they are made by Whoppers and are egg-shaped malted milk balls covered in pastel speckled candy shells. I love Robin Eggs and am so thrilled when they finally show up in the stores. The only Easter candy that lands above Robin Eggs as far as I’m concerned are Cadbury Mini Eggs. Oh my God! Don’t get me going about those little devils. Addictive, like crack. I literally can’t stop once a bag is opened. I haven’t reached that level with the Robin Eggs, though it may not be far off. I did polish off a bag of them the other day while working on taxes (better a bag of candy than a bottle of wine when tax preparation is concerned). I had one more bag left, so I figured I better do something with them pronto. That’s when I remembered seeing Sweet Southern Blue’s post about these Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats, so I got right to work. Not that it’s a lot of work, I must admit. I can get a pan of Krispie Treats done and dishes washed in about 15 minutes flat. And I’ve gotta say, it is pretty awesome that you can make such a classic, delicious, crowd pleasing snack at the drop of a hat!

Sweet Southern Blue makes use of her microwave to melt the marshmallows. I’m still an old-fashioned top of the stove gal and prefer to use the mini marshmallows over the big fellas. My husband and I both like to find the occasional whole unmelted mini marshmallow scattered throughout our treats, so I always hold back a handful or two of them to throw into the melted marshmallow butter mix along with the cereal. And I decided to use the mini version of Robin Eggs, also reserving a few whole eggs from being chopped to decorate the top of the treats. Of course the big version of Robin Eggs would work perfectly well, you just might need to do a bit more crushing prior to adding them into the mix. These treats would be great to make with the kids before Easter or a good way to use up Easter candy afterwards. Indeed, this recipe is certainly adaptable to whatever left over candy is on hand (sorry…what exactly is left over candy?!). Not matter what ingredients you choose, before you know it, these adorable treats will be made and your family singing your praises. I mean who doesn’t like a Rice Krispie treat, and with Robin Eggs to boot…what a winner!

Robin Egg Rice Krispie Treats

recipe adapted from: Sweet Southern Blue

Yield: 12 squares

Ingredients:

• 10.4 oz bag of mini marshmallows or 7oz container of marshmallow cream
• 3 Tablespoons of butter
• 4 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
• 2 cups mini Robin Egg malted milk balls, roughly chopped
  
• ¼ cup malted milk powder

Directions:

Butter a 8×8″ pan. Set aside.

In a saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows (remember to hold back a few if you like seeing the occasional whole unmelted marshmallow) and stir until completely melted and smooth.

Remove from heat and add the malted milk powder stirring until combined.

Add the Rice Krispie cereal and chopped Robin Eggs (as well as any reserved marshmallows). Mix until well coated.

Using a buttered spatula, press mixture into prepared pan.

Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

White Chocolate & Baileys Coffee Bars

It is day #5 of my St. Patrick’s Day countdown, which means there are only 12 days to go to the big day! I figured it was time to blog about something sweet. How about something sweet, with a wee bit of alcohol (strictly for medicinal purposes mind you) and a little caffeine to keep to moving? I’ve got it all right here for you in these White Chocolate & Baileys Coffee Bars.

These bars are nothing short of addictive! Chewy and moist with a buttery, coffee flavour, you will find you just can’t leave them alone. And then there is that richly decadent Baileys Irish Cream glaze drizzled liberally over the top. So good you could eat it straight out of the piping bag (not that I know anyone who would do that).

The original recipe called for sliced almonds to be scattered over the top of the bars before baking. My husband doesn’t care too much for nuts mixed into cookies or brownies, so I left them out. They sure do look pretty on Peanut Butter & Julie’s blog though, so if you like nuts, you might want to consider adding them in. These White Chocolate & Baileys Coffee Bars are just perfect for dessert, or great at your afternoon tea or coffee break as a little pick me up, or come to think of it – just fabulous for breakfast. I mean they are a bit caffeinated, you know to get you going in the morning. What is that you say? There’s alcohol in them? Oh, well everyone knows alcohol bakes out of desserts. Oh yeah, I guess the glaze isn’t baked. Hmmmm…..perhaps that’s why my day started off so lovely!

White Chocolate & Baileys Coffee Bars

recipe adapted from: Peanut Butter & Julie

Yield: 16 bars

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 sticks butter, melted and cooled
• 2 cups golden brown sugar, packed
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups chopped white chocolate (or white chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (I omitted these)
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
• 2-3 teaspoons whole milk or cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F degrees.  Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil so that there is a 1-inch overhang, and spray the foil with nonstick baking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy, 3-4 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and continuing to beat for 1 minute more after the last egg is added.  Beat in the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low-speed until incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the white chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.  Sprinkle the almonds evenly over the top.  Bake until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan emerges clean, 24-28 minutes. (It actually took about 35 minutes for my bars to cook, so just watch a make sure the top is set.) Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Irish Cream Glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and the Baileys in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Add enough of the milk/cream to achieve a thick glaze that is still of drizzling consistency.  Transfer the glaze to a small zip-top bag, seal, and snip a small corner off the end.  Use this as a “piping bag” to drizzle the glaze over the bars.

Allow the glaze to dry for at least 30 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Don’t you just love how life is full of surprizes? Well, I guess that is a kind of loaded question huh? The surprize could be your roof just collapsed in the midst of the latest round of thunderstorms. In which case I bet you wouldn’t be loving life’s little surprizes. But maybe you just opened a letter to find you’ve inherited a huge amount of cash from some relative you didn’t even know existed. That would be quite a nice surprize. Added to the difficulty here is that you can’t hear my tone of voice, so I could be asking in a genuinely happy manner or the question could be dripping with sarcasm. Usually with me I think the sarcasm bit would be a good guess, but this time I am asking completely sans sarcasm. I really am pleasantly surprized with just how fantastic these Chocolate Marshmallow Bars are. O.k. ….that isn’t as earth shattering a surprize as the inheritance thing would be, but hey, you gotta take those little pleasures and delight in them where you can. And these bars were really very tasty! I mean, obviously I thought they would be good when I decided to attempt to make them. I can’t really think of a time that I’ve looked at a recipe and thought to myself, “Wow. That looks God Awful! I think I’ll make that for dessert tonight.” However, I must admit, this time around I just needed to whip up something for dessert. I wanted it to be something easy and quick. You know, it had been one of those days. Generally any “bar” type of dessert would satisfy those criteria for me. And the ingredients looked good…chocolate, marshmallows, Nutella. Yet for whatever reason, I didn’t set out to make it with my usual excitement. Again, I knew it would be good, but I was expecting the usual run-of-the-mill brownie-ish bar dessert. But wowzers! These bars are the bomb! The bottom cake layer is moist and tender, the middle layer marshmallows are ooey-gooey perfection and the top layer…Oh my stars! The top layer is nothing short of phenomenal! I mean the chocolate and Nutella are so decadent and rich. But then there are also the Rice Krispies, which provide a fantastic crunchy texture to go along with the chewy marshmallows.  What have I stumbled upon!

They were pretty easy to make as well, so Ladies and Gentlemen,  we have a winner! There are a couple of “wait for everything to cool completely” times involved in the recipe, so you may want to start these earlier in the day. But definitely, whatever you do, do start them. They are truly amazing!

Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

recipe from: A Little Bit of Everything

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 1/3 Cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 Cup Nutella
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:

Preheat oven to  350° F. Line a 13″ x 9″ baking tine with parchment paper, leaving some paper hanging out over the sides.

In a small bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a nother bowl lightly beat the eggs. Add them to the creamed butter and mix well.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Spread into the prepared baking tin.

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over the top and return to oven to bake for another minute. Remove pan from oven after one minute and allow marshmallows to continue to melt on their own. Cool completely.

Once the pan of cake/marshmallow has cooled completely, make topping. Combine chocolate chips, Nutella and butter in a small saucepan. Melt over low heat and stir until blended. Remove from heat and stir in the Rice Krispies. Immediately spread chocolate/krispie mixture over the marshmallow topped cake evenly. Allow bars to cool completely before cutting to serve.

Enjoy!