Chocolate Rum Balls

Oh my gosh, we cannot believe that it’s October already, September seemed to pass in an instant!  Guess that getting back into the groove of school and of course coming down with the crud from all those new germs, and being sick for over half the month had something to do with it.  Here we are though, on the mend and Autumn is in the air so back on our game and hopefully back to some delicious cooking…because honestly all that was made last month were pots and pots of Cheaters Chicken Soup!  We did add some variety when we then morphed the Cheaters Chicken Soup into Jalapeno Popper Soup and Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup.  Honestly, soup and scrambled eggs were our diet for the month.  Getting us back into the swing of cooking was two part, a friend asked us to bake some special treats for a party she’s having and it’s Secret Recipe Club time!  Thankfully this month we could accomplish both tasks at the same time as our assigned blog, Danielle’s Mostly Food and Crafts had some wonderful sweet treat recipes to choose from.  Seriously, key lime pie bars, truffle fudge, zeppolle, and brownie biscotti all sounded and looked amazing but in the end we decided on Danielle’s rum balls, because honestly, who can resist a good rum ball?

We stayed pretty true to Danielle’s recipe, really only changing the sugar we rolled the balls in to finish as she used sanding sugar and we used confectioner’s.  How did they turn out?  Well just amazing, we wouldn’t change the recipe a bit!  Check out Danielle’s blog for all her wonderful recipes and crafty fun. 

Chocolate Rum Balls (adapted from here)

• butter for greasing pan
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of dark rum
• Confectioners sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12x17-inch rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease with butter and set aside.  Place the butter & chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat at 50%, stopping and stirring each minute, until the butter and chocolate are melted.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 eggs then whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir in your chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour.  Pour batter into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake until top is shiny and a cake tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Break up the brownie into small pieces and transfer to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or the bowl of a food processor. With machine on low speed, pour in the dark rum, and mix until crumbs start to come together to form a ball.  Shape into 1-inch balls, and roll in confectioners sugar to coat. This recipe makes 4 dozen rum balls.  Refrigerate the rum balls uncovered, until cold, about 2 hours. Can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Egg-in-the-Hole 
Baked Teriyaki Chicken Wings 
Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip 
Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms 
Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup 
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce
Asian Pork Chops
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
Beef Keema  
Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries
Zesty Zucchini Skillet
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites

I almost missed this month of the Improv Cooking Challenge but thankfully I scheduled a reminder on my calendar which pinged me the other day and got me on track. I’m telling you, Maisie’s schedule is keeping me busy and I’ve barely had time to cook let alone sit down at the computer to do any blogging.  I think I need to better organize my life but that’s a project and story for another day.  Enough whinging and back to the challenge.  This month our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two specified ingredients of the month.  This month, being the month of love with Valentine’s Day and all, Kristen did a little pun and had our challenge ingredients as Hearts and Flours.  We didn’t have to use hearts, we could make anything as long as it was
either heart shaped or served/photographed in a heart serving dish but it did need to contain at least one flour of some sort.  I actually did think about possibly making some lightly batter-fried chicken hearts, I mean I’ve done it with great success with chicken livers, but instead I opted for something a little less offal (yes I can play the pun game too) and a whole lot sweeter.  So for my Hearts and Flours challenge I present, Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites.

I don’t know where this recipe originated but I’ve seen it all over the internet and it’s absolutely genius.  Being as easy as it is and the fact that it includes the nectar of the Gods Nutella, I’ve been wanting to make these for ages but as I’m always watching my “white” intake (flour and sugar), I just needed the right opportunity to present itself so to have an excuse to make these tasty little treats and thanks to this month’s challenge, the time came. 

So, how were they?  Well for only three ingredients (plus salt if desired), less than five minutes of work and ten minutes of cook time…they were amazingly delicious.  Shoot had they taken twice the work, ingredients and cook time I’d still be making these again and again.  I love the simplicity of this recipe and that I always have the required ingredients in my pantry so when the craving strikes I can easily whip up a batch.  One last great thing, the recipe can be halved only making 6 little bites and making them in a muffin tin, they’re portion controlled!!  I easily could have eaten the entire batch but after the one I enjoyed, I left that task to Eammon and he enjoyed each and every one.

If you make these, be sure to not to overcook them because the ooey-gooey slightly undercooked center absolutely makes the brownie bites all that much better. 

Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites 

• 1 cup Nutella
• 2 lg. eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat the Nutella until slightly warm and runny.  Stir in the eggs, flour and salt until fully combined.  Portion the batter between 12 full sized muffin tins lined with cupcake liners or use a silicon cupcake pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. (I used a heart shaped silicon cupcake pan)  Depending on your oven, bake 10-12 minutes, just until the tops of the Brownie Bites are just cooked.and dry.  Do not over cook as you want the centers to be slightly undercooked and gooey.  Allow the Brownie Bites to cool slightly in the pans, remove to a cooling rack, dust with confectioners sugar and then enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Rolo Brownie Bites with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Today Maisie and I decided to bake a special treat for a chocolate and caramel loving friend.  After a bit of thought we settled on making mini brownie bites stuffed with a Rolo candy and topped with a caramel cream cheese frosting.  A perfect two bite treat, surprisingly not over-the-top sweet, adorable and YUM!!

The brownie bites were very easy to make and Maisie and I had fun cooking together.

But I think that Maisie’s favorite part was licking the spoon, she really got into her work.

Rolo Brownie Bites with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 box fudge brownie mix plus necessary eggs, oil & water per package instructions (or your favorite homemade recipe)
• 24 Rolo candies plus extras for the cook's snack
• 4 TBS. butter, softened at room temperature
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 2 TBS. caramel sauce
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Remove all the wrappers and refrigerate the Rolo candies.  Pre-heat oven to 325F.  Prepare brownies according to package directions.  Grease a 24 cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray and fill each cup 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from oven and immediately press a Rolo, smaller side down, into the center of each brownie bite until the top of the Rolo is even with the top of the brownie bite.  Cool for a couple of minutes then carefully remove the brownie bites from the pan to a cooking rack.  Allow to cool completely.

To make the frosting, whip the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.  Add the caramel sauce and blend.  Add the confectioners sugar and whip until creamy and smooth.  Using a pastry or plastic bag with a piping tip, pipe the frosting onto the top of each brownie bite.  Chill in the refrigerator to set the frosting a bit before serving.

Enjoy!!

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Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies…say what?

I recently saw this recipe for Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars and I knew that Maisie would love making them so that’s how we spent a bit of time this afternoon.  The original recipe was really quite simple, make homemade chocolate chip cookie dough add Oreo cookies, top with a boxed brownie mix, bake and then try to distract yourself with activities or get out of the house long enough for the bars to cool.  I decided to simplify the recipe even further by using refrigerated Toll House cookie dough in lieu of making homemade and with that little change, making these outrageously decadent brownies was super simple and Maisie was able to do everything herself.

Maisie with all the ingredients.

Spreading the Toll House cookie dough into a parchment paper lined pan.

Laying in the Double Stuff Oreo cookies.

Happy little girl as there were a few extra cookies so she enjoyed a double-Double Stuff Oreo.

Mixing up the brownie batter.

Pouring the brownie batter on top of the Toll House cookie dough and Double Stuff Oreo cookies.

Spreading the batter and making sure that it was perfect.

Finally cooled, the entire tray cut in half.

Close up baby!!

Toll House Double Stuff Oreo Brownies  (adapted from here)

1 big batch roll refrigerated Toll House Cookie dough
1 pkg Double Stuff Oreo cookies
1 brownie mix for a 9x13-inch pan (eggs, oil and water as directed on the box)
Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper.  Spread the cookie dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.  Add a layer of Oreo cookies. Mix together the brownie mix according to the directions on the box.  Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreo layers. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Find some way to entertain yourself as you wait for the brownies to cool.  Cut into squares, grab a big old glass of milk and indulge.

Enjoy!!