Brownies on a Stick

My first entry.... no pressure there! Well, I'm just going to dive in with what I am here for. I want to put up a stand at the local farmer's market. I don't want to sell your everyday, packaged on paper plate food. So I am testing a few ideas.

Here's the first one: Brownies on a Stick. Everyone loves food on a stick. People like to buy a simple one serving, yet decadent treat these days. So I began with testing the brown recipe. I had a good reason. Today was my turn to bring the treats for my son's first grade class. What better treat than brownies on a stick! I did feel a little sorry for the teacher, loading them up with sugar like that.

Well, I've been told before that brownies from a box were just as good as homemade, if not better. They definitely have not tried Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies! The recipe was very close to my Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte from Rose Levenbaum (which I will share soon!) Oh my word, these brownies are heavenly. You can not describe the texture. It will be my base brownie forever. The options are endless with these beauties.

First the recipe:

Outrageous Brownies

Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

This was adapted from a recipe for chocolate globs in the Soho Charcuterie Cookbook. Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 30 min Level: Difficult Serves: 20 large brownies

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Brownies on a Stick

Now, for the purposes of the Brownies on a Stick, I omitted the 3 cups diced walnut pieces and the 12 ounces of chocolate chips. After brownies were cooled and refrigerated, I used a 2" circle cutter.... you could pick any shape and size you wish, but keep in mind these little beauties are rich. I placed the brownie circles on a cookie sheet, inserted a Popsicle stick into the center and placed them into the freezer. I did not have time to let them freeze completely but it worked well any way.

Then, take some melted candy coating (Ghirardelli or even chocolate bark) and dip each brownie on a stick into the coating, covering the stick where it enters the brownie for more security and allow the excess to drip off. I then dipped the ends into sprinkles.

The possibilities are endless with decorating these little treasures in fun or decadent ways... for kids or adults. They definitely were a hit with the first graders and I can't wait to sell them at the farmer's market.