Heart of Darkness Brownies

“ALL I REALLY NEED IS LOVE,  BUT A LITTLE CHOCOLATE NOW AND THEN DOESN’T HURT!”  Charles Shulz

 Well I think these brownies are very appropriately named.  And very much suited to the state of my own heart these days.  You see, I’m in a spell of very bad kitchen karma.  My strawberry tart, though incredibly delicious, didn’t hold up very well.  And today, while making these brownies, my lower oven was set to 350°; while my upper oven somehow was set to 450°.  So you can imagine the fate of one set of brownies!  And….in between batches, my power went out!!!  I think the kitchen gods are trying to tell me something.  Or maybe I think that my own heart has been a little heavy these past few days and so I am feeling a bit distracted in the kitchen.  Anyway…. I decided to abandon the strawberries in lieu of these incredible, moist, chewy, fudgey delights!  And believe me…..this was just what my poor heart of darkness needed.  You cannot believe what is in these!!!  But read on to understand why they will lift you out of your own dark place…….

 

 

 

Okay friends!  Look at this batter!   I was instantly lifted from my doldrums just from licking the bowl!!!  Who wouldn’t be…..dark, rich, chocolatey batter filled with brown sugar, pecans, chocolate chips, and chopped snickers bars!!! You bake them for a bit.  Then you toast a few marshmallows on top.  And wait….wait….wait for it……you finish it off with a drizzle of caramel sauce!

Ahhhhhhhhhh.  I feel better already!

I hope you will too.  Everything is mixed by hand this time…..so you get a real work out in before you dig in.  But I hope you will enjoy these as much as I did.

And here we go……

BROWNIES:

• 3 sticks of unsalted butter

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate

• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 TBSP pure vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup coarsely chopped and toasted pecans

• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  

• 5 full size snickers bars (2.o7 oz each)

• 4 cups of mini marshmallows

 

Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Spray 2 standard cupcake pans with non stick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate.  Stir until smooth.  Transfer the chocolate mix into a bowl.  Add both sugars, the eggs, and the vanilla.  Stir to combine.  Sift the flour and salt into the chocolate mix and stir to combine again.  Add the chopped nuts, chocolate chips and snickers pieces and stir to incorporate.

Fill each cupcake tin up halfway with the batter.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the surface of the brownies has a crackled but glossy look.  Remove the brownies from the oven and top each one with a little less than 1/4 cup of marshmallows, just enough to cover the surface of the brownie.  Bake another 4-6 minutes until the marshmallows are slightly melted and puffed up but not too brown.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool just enough to handle them.  Using a small offset spatula, remove the brownies from the tins and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

CARAMEL DRIZZLE:

• 6 oz caramel candies

• 2 TBSP heavy cream

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• pinch of kosher salt

You can make the caramel drizzle while the brownies are cooling.  Place the caramels, cream, vanilla and salt into a microwavable bowl.  Microwave on high, uncovered, for 1 minute.  Remove the bowl and stir until smooth.  If you need more melting time, do so in 3o second increments.  Stir until smooth.  Drizzle over your brownies and let cool completely so caramel will harden a bit.  Do not chill.  Serve immediately.  These may be stored, unrefrigerated in a covered container for about 3 days.  This recipe makes about 30 brownies.

Enjoy!!!

 

Slightly adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey